Varsity Insider

No surprises, no changes to the top five in girls and boys basketball. Sorry to disappoint, but I didn’t see any flip-flops or big movements to make. Perhaps tomorrow’s hockey rankings will be different.

Here’s our Week 8 basketball rankings (through games played 1/30):

Boys basketball

1. Essex (13-1): The Hornets had a surprising test last week: A road meeting against two-win North Country. Thanks to Demir Smajovic’s 34 points, Essex rallied with a late run. Smajovic added 26 points in a victory over Colchester later in the week. Over the next eight days, Essex plays Rice twice, CVU and South Burlington. Grueling. Last week: 1.

2. Burlington (13-1):Can you guess who scored 24 second-half points in a win over South Burlington on Tuesday and, Friday, sink a pair of free throws in the final seconds to edge Rice? Yep, no surprise: Joe O’Shea Last week: 2.

3. Rutland (12-3): Only one win for the Raiders since our last rankings. However, it stretched the Red Raiders’ winning streak to 11 games. Last week: 3.

4. Mount Anthony (10-2): Two blowout wins, including a victory over Brattleboro, keeps Mount Anthony in the fourth slot. Last week: 4.

5. South Burlington (9-5): The Rebels had Burlington in an 11-point hole at halftime. Then O’Shea took over. They rebounded by using one big surge to knock off St. Johnsbury. Last week: 5.

Teams on the outside looking in:

Champlain Valley (10-4) and Brattleboro (11-4) are the only teams on the bubble of the rankings this week.

Girls basketball

1. Burlington (14-2): Middle-of-the-pack St. Johnsbury has a couple of impressive wins on its resume. But there was no letdown for BHS. Tonya Conley and Hannah Senftleber posted double-doubles and BHS now has eight straight wins. Last week: 1.

2. Rutland (15-2): Defense wins championships – or so the old cliché goes. The Raiders used that motto Saturday, running up a 24-2 halftime lead on St. Johnsbury – a team the Raiders only beat by four points earlier this season. Last week: 2.

3. Milton (16-0): The question of who’s No. 1 in Division II was answered on Saturday. Milton went into Hyde Park and dispatched previously unbeaten Lamoille, perhaps the Yellowjackets’ chief rival to the title come tournament time. Now this question: Should Milton be higher in our rankings? Last week: 3.

4. Rice (12-4): The Green Knights weren’t messing around in Newport, rolling past North Country by 23. Last week: 4.

5. Champlain Valley (13-3): CVU has a great scorer in Allison Gannon and a defensive-minded star in Shae Hulbert (five blocks and nine rebounds in a win over Spaulding). Big test Monday night for CVU, too: Off to Buck Hard Gym to face Burlington. Last week: 5.

Teams on the outside looking in:
Burr and Burton topped Brattleboro to improve to 12-2. … I wouldn’t bank on these teams going far in the Division I tournament but Mount Mansfield (9-7) and South Burlington (9-6) are playing better basketball of late. MMU’s on a three-game winning streak while SBHS has a five-game roll going.

Plenty of shifts and movements in this week’s edition for us to chat about. Hockey rankings will be posted tomorrow.

Here’s our Week 5 basketball rankings (through games played 1/09):

Boys basketball

1. Essex (9-1): During its current eight-game winning streak, Essex is averaging 75 points per game, while yielding just 57. Oh, and the Hornets halted BHS’ long regular-season unbeaten streak. There’s no question that Essex deserves the top spot. Also beat CVU. Last week: 2.

2. Burlington (8-1): Although their 58-game regular-season winning streak ended, the Seahorses are still right in the thick of things. They bounced back from the loss to Essex with a rout of Colchester. Last week: 1.

3. South Burlington (7-2): We said last week that SBHS has too much talent to stay down in the rankings. They confirmed our prediction with sound victories over Rice and North Country. In the win over the Falcons, the Rebels scored 60 second-half points, further proving their explosive nature. Last week: 5.

4. Rutland (8-3): Don’t look now but the Red Raiders are on a seven-game winning streak after edging previously unbeaten Mount Anthony in a classic battle. Last week: Not ranked.

5. Champlain Valley (7-3): A 1-2 week — with losses to Essex and Spaulding — drop the Redhawks in our rankings. Last week: 3.

Girls basketball

1. Milton (10-0): Can a Division II team earn the top spot in our rankings? Well, our rankings’ debut had the Yellowjackets in the top spot, and now they make a return. Strong, double-digit wins over lower-ranked D-I squads South Burlington and Colchester — plus a 40-point rout of BFA-Fairfax — are solid reasons for Milton’s jump. At this moment, who’s playing better? Last week: 2.

2. Rice (8-3): Can’t ignore a seven-game winning streak — not when the Green Knights knock off streaking Essex and defending champion Spaulding in a span of a few days. With the Knights’ quickness, are they a team nobody wants to face? Last week: Not ranked.

3. Champlain Valley (8-2): The Redhawks had a nice win over Burlington, getting double-double efforts from Allison Gannon and Shae Hulbert. But then they lost to St. Johnsbury. CVU’s reign atop the rankings is over — for now. Last week: 1.

4. Burlington (7-2): Tonya Conley’s 21 points helped BHS bounce back from a tough loss to CVU. Tonight’s meeting against Rice is pivotal.Last week: 3.

5. Brattleboro (10-1): Wins over an out-of-state school and Mount Anthony puts the Colonels back on track. Last week: 5.

Here’s our Week 3 basketball power rankings (through games played 12/21).

Hockey rankings to follow after Wednesday’s large slate of games.

Boys basketball

1. Burlington (5-0): Joe O’Shea’s stat line in BHS’ lone win last week says it all: 26 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Schedule alert: The BHS-Rice rivalry resumes Wednesday in South Burlington. Last week’s rank: 1.

2. Essex (4-1): The Hornets only played one game — a 93-57 win over BFA-St. Albans — but hold down No. 2 spot for the second straight week. Last week: 2.

3. South Burlington (5-0): It was milestone week for the Rebels. Tyler Kaczor set the program’s 3-pointers record (120 for his career) and coach Mike Kennedy earned his 100th career win. Last week: 3.

4. Champlain Valley (5-0): Jake Donnelly and Robert Russ combined for 71 of team’s 121 points during a pair of double-digit wins. Last week: 4.

5. Mount Anthony (4-0): The Patriots had two wins last week, including a 57-52 win over Rice. Last week: 5.

Girls basketball

1. Champlain Valley (5-0): Allison Gannon scored 16 and 20 points, respectively, in wins over North Country and Mount Mansfield. CVU notched its second win this season over MMU. The second time around was a 13-point win, opposed to the season-opening 55-51 triumph. Last week: 3.

2. Brattleboro (6-0): The Colonels jump to the second spot after another perfect week. One of their wins was over St. Johnsbury, the second time this month the Colonels beat SJA. Last week: 4.

3. Milton (5-0): The Yellowjackets won on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of last week, with their best win a 45-27 triumph over Vergennes. Brittaney Rice had 17 points in that win. Last week: 2.

4. Rutland (5-1): It’s tough to stay on top. Ranked first last week, the Raiders fell to defending champion Spaulding by 12 points at home last week. Last week: 1.

5. Burlington (3-1): Without three starters, who were suspended, BHS rolled over BFA-St. Albans. The depth is there for the Seahorses, and now they venture into our rankings. Last week: Not ranked.