MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The computers still favor Parkersburg South – barely.
The Patriots (19-3) remained the overall No. 1 team in Wednesday’s updated MetroNews boys basketball Power Index, presented by Critical Power Management, despite two losses to top five teams over the past week.
Parkersburg South’s 16-game winning streak ended a week ago with setbacks to George Washington (66-58) and University (60-45), but Tuesday’s 81-77 3OT bounce back win over No. 9 Beckley was just enough to keep the Patriots on top.
The No. 1 ranking is a credit to the Patriots’ overall schedule strength, which is 92.88 points greater than No. 2 University’s.
It’s a University (19-1) team, meanwhile, that has risen to No. 1 in the human poll following its win over Parkersburg South Saturday in the OVAC 5A championship. The Hawks likely would be the top seed in the state tournament, should they return to Charleston while avoiding a sectional final postseason setback.
University’s lone loss on the season came to Parkersburg South back in January and the Hawks are now just 10.67 points behind the Patriots for the top spot in the PI.
Fairmont Senior (19-0) remains No. 3 overall and the top team out of Class AA, while George Washington (17-3) is No. 4 and Chapmanville (21-1) jumps up to No. 5 overall.
Morgantown (15-7), which has won eight straight games and 10 of 12, moves into the top 10 at No. 10, seventh highest among AAA teams. The Mohigans ended the regular season with a four overtime win over now-No. 7 Martinsburg back on Monday.
The MetroNews Power Index is a computer based formula that factors in strength of schedule. Records listed are for games played through Tuesday, February 20.
2018 BOYS BASKETBALL METRONEWS POWER INDEX