5 area teams top district rankings

Five area high school basketball teams are rated No. 1 in their respective districts in the OHSAA's first MaxPreps Ratings Percentage Index rankings released Monday. In the boys ratings, Perkins, Margaretta and St. Mary Central Catholic all check in at No. 1 in the RPI rankings, which are used to seed district tournaments. In the girls ratings, Bellevue and Margaretta are easily No. 1 in their districts. The RPI formula was recommended by the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association, adopted by the OHSAA and is calculated using scores entered into MaxPreps. The formula is comprised of 40 percent winning percentage, 40 percent opponents' winning percentage, and 20 percent opponents' opponents' winning percentage. The ratings can be found on the OHSAA web site and are updated daily as scores are entered into the MaxPreps database. The Bellevue and Margaretta girls have impressive opponents' winning percentages. Lady Red opponents are winning games at a 74 percent clip while Margaretta's foes have a 63 percent winning percentage. Bellevue, ranked No. 1 in the state in Division IV, takes an 11-0 record into a home game Monday against 12-1 Clear Fork. The Lady Red will play in a nine-team district that includes Clyde (ranked fourth), Vermilion (fifth) and Perkins (sixth). Margaretta (12-1) visits Huron on Tuesday. Other top-3 girls teams in the area include Norwalk, which is No. 2 behind Ashland in a seven-team Division III district. In the Division VII Northwest District Group E, St. Paul, St. Mary Central Catholic and Danbury are rated Nos. 2, 3 and 4. North Baltimore, which is 12-2, is the top team in that district. In the boys ratings, Perkins is No. 1 in the Northwest District's Division IV Group A. The Pirates (11-0) are ranked No. 3 in the state in Div. IV. Bellevue, Port Clinton, Clyde and Vermilion are ranked Nos. 4-7 in that eight-team district. Margaretta, with an opponents' winning percentage of 63 percentage, is the top-rated team in the nine-team Division V Northwest District Group B. The Polar Bears (11-1) are ranked No. 4 in the state in Division V. In Division VII, undefeated St. Mary Central Catholic is No. 1 in the eight-team Northwest District Group D and is ranked No. 4 in the state. Old Fort, which lost 48-33 to the Panthers last month, in second in the district. Monroeville is No. 3. Sandusky is No. 4 in Division III Northwest District Group B, which includes 11 teams. Toledo Central Catholic is ranked No. 1 in the district. Oregon Clay and Mansfield Senior are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. School groupings are determined by how each of the OHSAA's six District Athletic Boards set up the seeding for their district. The Central, East, Northeast and Southeast districts put all schools together in each division, while the Southwest District divides its schools into North and South groups. The Northwest District divides its schools into smaller groups. The girls basketball tournament draws are Feb. 8 (Divisions III-VII) and Feb. 15 (Divisions I-II), while the boys tournament draws are Feb. 15 (Divisions III-VII) and Feb. 22 (Divisions I-II).