East Catholic, the defending Division I state champion, received 17 first-place votes from the 19 voting members of the media to remain No. 1 in the which was released Jan. 16.
Danbury’s undefeated Hatters remained No. 5 for the highest ranking among FCIAC teams and Ridgefield moved up to No. 10 as the other conference team in the Top 10.
East Catholic, which was 8-1 when the voting took place, is undefeated against Connecticut teams. East Catholic’s only loss was to St. Augustine (Calif.), 67-57, at last week’s Spalding HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass.
Teams from the Central Connecticut Conference are ranked in the top three spots. Second-ranked Northwest Catholic (9-1) and No. 3 Windsor (10-1) each received one first-place vote.
Notre Dame-West Haven (8-2) remained No. 4.
Danbury had an 8-0 record when the voting took place and is the only undefeated team in the current Top 10. Then the Hatters hosted Staples in a battle of unbeaten FCIAC teams on Tuesday, Jan. 17, and they improved to 9-0 overall with a 63-54 victory.
Fifth-ranked Danbury and Kolbe Cathedral flip-flopped spots in the previous poll and Kolbe Cathedral (8-1) was voted No. 6 for the second straight week.
The teams ranked 1-through-8 are again ranked in the same exact spots as they were in the previous state poll.
Wilbur Cross (6-2) is ranked seventh and followed in the Top 10 by Notre Dame-Fairfield (7-2), St. Bernard (8-2) and No. 10 Ridgefield (5-2), which ascended three spots to pop back into the Top 10 after having received the 13th most polling points in the previous poll.
The FCIAC had four teams among the top 15 teams receiving polling points this week.
Staples (7-0 at the time of the voting) received the 12th most points and Wilton (6-2) got the 15th most as they were the two conference teams among the 18 total in the “Also receiving votes” category.
With what has transpired up to this midway point of the regular season, particularly in the recent couple weeks when the conference season has revved up, all indications are that this is shaping up to be quite the entertaining and interesting FCIAC season with much balance and parity among many quality teams.
After Danbury’s 63-54 victory at home over Staples on Jan. 17 in that battle of unbeatens, Danbury’s 9-0 Hatters are the only undefeated team in the FCIAC standings with a 4-0 conference record.
Staples, Greenwich, and defending conference champion Ridgefield each have 3-1 FCIAC records.
There are eight teams with conference records of 2-2 in the standings updated through Jan. 17. Those teams are Brien McMahon, Trumbull, Darien, Fairfield Ludlowe, New Canaan, St. Joseph, Fairfield Warde, and Wilton.
The Ridgefield boys’ basketball program has an opportunity to extend its FCIAC record of most consecutive conference championships.
The Tigers have won the last four FCIAC championships from 2019-2022, beginning from when they dethroned Danbury in the championship game of the 2018-19 FCIAC Boys Basketball Tournament.
Last year the Tigers were seeded first, and they won that record-setting fourth consecutive title with a 46-40 victory over second-seeded Wilton in the championship game of the FCIAC tournament.
Ridgefield advanced to the final with a 67-59 victory over No. 5 Fairfield Warde, and Wilton cruised to a 67-43 semifinal victory over No. 6 Westhill.
In the quarterfinals: Ridgefield defeated No. 8 Greenwich, 42-21; Wilton advanced with a 68-40 victory over No. 7 Danbury; Westhill beat No. 3 St. Joseph, 71-65; and Fairfield Warde defeated No. 4 Staples, 55-52.
Prior to the conclusion of last year’s FCIAC tourney, Ridgefield had shared the record with Danbury (1990-92) and Trinity Catholic (2003-05) as the only three schools which had won three straight conference tournaments.