With the holiday season here and many teams off until after Christmas Day, I thought it would be good to look at where each area basketball team stands at roughly the halfway point of their regular season. Up first are the boys. All records as of 12/20.

 

Class 5A

• Shawnee Wolves (4-3 overall, 2-2 district)
  • The Wolves play in one of the toughest 5A districts in the state and with the new district format for 5A and 6A, the Wolves have tough games almost every time they are on the floor. But give the Wolves coaches a lot of credit, head coach Eric Litherland has had his team ready to play and they are off to a solid start. With a younger roster, look for the Wolves to iron out those wrinkles and get tougher as the regular season progresses.

Class 4A

• Harrah Panthers (0-6)
  • Harrah is off to a less than ideal start as they are still looking for their first win of the season. Depending on the draw they get at the always tough Skiatook Tournament right after the new year, the Panthers best chance for a win could on January 9^th when they visit Bethel.

• McLoud Redskins (6-2)
  • McLoud is off to a very strong start and have racked up some nice wins over solid teams. The 3^rdplace finish at the Bethel Tournament seemed to give McLoud a ton of confidence as they won their next two games by an average of 23.5 points. The back portion of McLoud’s schedule gets decidedly tougher, though. Including tournament games, the Redskins only have three more home games remaining and five of their final seven games are true road games.

• North Rock Creek Cougars (8-0)
  • The Cougars are off to a perfect start and find themselves ranked 2^nd in a very competitive Class 4A. Now, their schedule has not been the most difficult, but they have taken care of business with ease against everyone they have faced. The back half of the schedule does get tougher for NRC with just four home games remaining. They also have matchups with a pair of tough 3A schools in Oklahoma Christian School (1/9/24) and Crooked Oak (2/2/24).

• Tecumseh Savages (2-5)
  • It’s been a tough start to the season for Tecumseh. The Savages have played some tough teams and have only been able to pull out a pair of wins so far. The schedule does seem to ease up a bit for Tecumseh after the holiday break, so we will see if they can make a run and set themselves up for a postseason run.

Class 3A

• Bethel Wildcats (2-5)
  • The Wildcats have had a tough start to their season with matchups against two ranked teams and five of their first seven opponents having records of .500 or better. Unfortunately for Bethel, their opponents don’t get much easier but the back half of their schedule does feature quite a few home games. Hopefully, the Bethel fans can will their Wildcats to a few upsets and have the team playing their best basketball once the postseason rolls around.

• Prague Red Devils (3-4)
  • Prague is off to a solid start at 3-4. While they are just under .500 right now, the Red Devils have been away from home for all but one game. Over the next few weeks, with two tournaments on the schedule and road games at Meeker, Chandler, and Wewoka, if Prague can tread water and stay around .500, they should be able to make a run to end the year as six of their final seven games are at home.

• Seminole Chieftains (1-4)
  • It’s been a slow start to season for Seminole, but they also have not played many games. The Chieftains still have 17 games remaining in the regular season, meaning they have plenty of time to turn around their season after this slow start. They will need to start turning things around quickly, though, because three of their final four games are on the road.

Class 2A

• Dale Pirates (13-1)
  • The top ranked team in 2A, are playing not just the best basketball in the Shawnee area but maybe the state, regardless of class. This is a team that has challenged themselves with tough schedule and they have answered the bell. In the Kevin Brown Memorial Tournament of Champions in Illinois, the Priates proved they are great with three wins in four games, including a win over NATIONALLY ranked Metamora (Ill). Frankly, it’s state championship or bust for the defending 2A champion Pirates.

• Meeker Bulldogs (4-3)
  • Meeker is off to a very nice start considering they have only played one game at home. Meeker has fallen to a pair of ranked teams this season but they have also knocked off Weatherford who is ranked 12^th in 3A. Meeker still has a tough schedule ahead of them but they have shown that they can play with good teams. If they can clean things up over the next couple of months, the Bulldogs could be poised to go on a run the postseason.

Class B

• Earlsboro Wildcats (10-1)
  • Earlsboro is off to a fantastic start and find themselves ranked 4^th in Class B. The Wildcats have been tested and, so far, have answered the call with a 2-1 record against ranked teams. Things are about to significantly tough for Earlsboro as they the Wildcats play their final home game on January 16^th. That means their final eight games are all away from home.