A wave of upsets brought some shakeup to the UPSSA polls at every level this week. Two of the four polls have new No. 1 teams.
In Boys A-B-C, No. 1 Negaunee (16-1) finally got some payback against No. 2 Marquette last week in the form of a 55-35 victory. The Redmen (14-2) were responsible for the Miners' only loss this season. Elsewhere in the poll, Kingsford (11-4) dropped out after falling 51-47 to No. 4 Iron Mountain (12-4). The Mountaineers made their first appearance in the poll since they were 6-0 as of Jan. 8. No. 3 Ironwood (15-3) jumped two spots after No. 5 Gwinn (12-5) also lost this week to Ishpeming.
Tonight, the Mountaineers are set to host West Iron County (12-5). On Friday night, Marquette is set to host Kingsford for a Great Northern Conference contest and Gwinn will travel to Superior Central.
In Class D boys it was chaos as No. 4 Brimley (14-3) fell to Engadine and dropped two spots. That set up a tie at No. 2 between North Central (13-2) and Ewen-Trout Creek (13-2). Except, there will be more shakeup next week as both the Jets and the Panthers each fell Monday night. Munising (13-4) knocked off North Central 63-56 and Bessemer (13-3) took care of Ewen-Trout Creek 63-54.
Tonight, No. 5 Carney-Nadeau (12-3) has a stiff test at Superior Central (11-5).
In Class A-B-C girls last week, No. 1 Marquette (16-3) won the rubber match 58-55 at home against No. 2 Houghton (17-2). There was debate though as to whether that was enough to push Marquette back into the top spot. The Redettes received three first-place votes while Houghton garnered two.
Fact Box
BOYS
CLASS A-B-C
Record Pts.
No. 1 Negaunee (5) (16-1)25
No. 2 Marquette (14-2)20
No. 3 Ironwood (15-3)13
No. 4 Iron?Mountain (12-4) 6
No. 5 Gwinn (12-5) 6
Others receiving votes:?Kingsford (11-4) 5
CLASS D
Record Pts.
No. 1 Cedarville (5) (15-1) 25
No. T-2 Ewen-Trout Creek (13-2) 17
No. T-2 North Central (13-2) 17
No. 4 Brimley (14-3) 9
No. 5 Carney-Nadeau (12-3) 7
GIRLS
CLASS A-B-C
Record Pts.
No. 1 Marquette (3) (16-3)23
No. 2 Houghton (2) (17-2)22
No. 3 Negaunee (15-3)11
No. 4 Kingsford (13-4) 10
No. 5 Calumet (13-4) 9
CLASS D
Record Pts.
No. 1 St. Ignace (5) (18-0) 25
No. 2 Superior Central (18-0) 20
No. 3 Forest Park (18-1) 15
No. 4 DeTour (16-2) 8
No. 5 Bark River-Harris (15-4) 6
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First-place votes follow team name. Voting conducted by five-member panel of the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
No. 3 Negaunee (15-3) jumped a spot after No. 5 Calumet (13-4) suffered two losses last week.
The Miners are set to host Marquette tonight.
In Class D, No. 4 DeTour (16-2) was upset by Pickford (13-5) last week. That garnered the Panthers just a single vote and the Raiders did not fall in the rankings. On Saturday, DeTour took care of Class B Escanaba (5-15) 50-42. Poll leaders No. 1 St. Ignace (18-0) and No. 2 Superior Central (18-0) will try to compete their runs at perfection this week. The Saints, who won their last two games be a combined score of 159-27, host Cedarville Thursday before wrapping up at home against Cheboygan Thursday. The Cougars coasted to a 66-23 victory over Carney-Nadeau Monday night and try to wrap up an undefeated season at home against Engadine, Thursday night.