Eagles drop a spot to No. 6 in final boys NMHSCA poll of season

Brad Cox/News-Sun

Hobbs sophomore Devante Brown drives 

against Clovis Friday at Tasker Arena.

  These are the final New Mexico High School Coaches Association boys basketball rankings of the season and the ones that will be used at the NMAA's seeding and selection meeting when determining the state tournament bracket on Feb. 26.
  It's only part of the criteria, however. Here is the complete criteria as listed in NMAA bylaw 7.11.2.

1. Finish in district play and/or district tournaments
2. Head to head
3. Performance against other teams including district champions or runner-ups from other districts, regardless of class
4. Input from NMAA staff members
5. Overall records
6. Elimination - what teams from that particular class do not fit the 12 or 16 team format due to their lack of success during the current year
7. NMHSCA Poll
8. Member school input

  While Hobbs has won eight games in a row, which includes beating a Clovis team twice (including once in Clovis) that has defeated Eldorado (at Eldorado's gym in Albuquerque), Hobbs has dropped a spot in the polls with Eldorado leaping ahead. Eldorado has defeated La Cueva (which was ranked No. 2 prior to this week) twice now in the last week to win District 2-5A and is a team everyone expected to be near the top and I think voters were just waiting for Eldorado to give them a reason to move it back ahead of Hobbs. It will be interesting how the seedings shake out. Right now I can see Hobbs as high as a No. 3 seed and as far back as a No. 6 seed.

Class 5A
1. Las Cruces 86 (6)
2. Albuquerque 77 (3)
3. La Cueva 65
4. Cibola 61
5. Eldorado 59
6. Hobbs 57
7. Volcano Vista 27
8. Clovis 24
9. Sandia 15
9. West Mesa 15

Class 4A
1. Goddard 150 (15)
2. Roswell 134
3. Capital 113
4. Gallup 100
5. St. Pius X 93
6. Grants 62
7. Santa Teresa 49
8. Kirtland Central 33
9. Bernalillo 32
10. Los Lunas 22

Class 3A
1. Hope Christian 90 (9)
2. St. Michael's 80
3. Sandia Prep 66
4. Shiprock 58
5. Taos 58
6. Robertson 43
7. Silver 33
8. Pojoaque 23
9. Lovington 20
10. Socorro 13

Class 2A
1. Mesilla VAlley 143 (10)
2. Lagauna Acoma 123 (3)
3. Mora 120 (2)
4. Tularosa 104
5. Pecos 73
6. Santa Fe Prep 63
7. Texico 52
8. Clayton 50
9. Bosque 36
10. Magdalena 15

Class 1A
1. Cliff 136 (11)
2. Ft. Sumner 124 (3)
3. Logan 96
4. Dora 88
4. Springer 88
6. Capitan 50
7. Hagerman 42
8. Gallup Catholic 30
9. To'Hajiilee 28
10. Ramah 25