The best chance for a surprise development in an Associated Press high school state poll tends to be when the first one is released. But the first Tennessee Class AAA basketball rankings for the 2017-18 season reveal developments perhaps more stunning than surprising.
Riverdale’s girls, who won state championships each of the last two seasons, are ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today’s computer rankings and No. 5 in its expert rankings. Yet the Lady Warriors sit at No. 2 in the state’s first AP Class AAA poll.
Riverdale received 12 of the poll’s 16 first-place votes. However, Bradley Central, which is No. 21 in the USA Today computer rankings and not found in the publication’s expert Super 25, had the remaining first-place votes and managed to be the top-ranked team.
Riverdale is 16-1 with its loss coming to USA Today’s top-ranked team, Mitty (Calif.), in the Nike Tournament of Champions at Mesquite High School in Gilbert, Ariz. The Lady Warriors haven’t lost to a team from Tennessee since Oakland beat them in February 2016 in a District 7-AAA semifinal at LaVergne.
Bradley head coach Jason Reuter calls to his players during a timeout. The Cleveland Lady Raiders visited the Bradley Central Bearettes in TSSAA basketball action on January 5, 2018.Bradley is 17-0 and was undefeated last season until losing at home to Stewarts Creek (ranked No. 7 in the newly released poll) in a state sectional.