ESPN Boston boys hoops Top 25

Updated: March 18, 2013, 7:03 PM ET
ESPNBoston.com staff

Below is our top 25 MIAA basketball poll, as selected by our panel of staff writers and correspondents. (Updated 3/18)

Team Name Record Last Week Notes
1. Springfield Putnam (24-1) 14 The Beavers return to the Top 10, and elevate to the No. 1 spot in the land, after one of the most thrilling finishes ever in the Division 1 state championship, outlasting Mansfield 50-48 in overtime. It's the first time in a decade Western Mass. has gone back-to-back as champs in the D1 title game since the 2002-04 run of Cathedral, Amherst and Commerce.
2. Mansfield (25-3) 1 The Hornets came into the year with Top 10 hype and lived up to every bit of it, falling in overtime in the Division 1 title game. Scary thing is they stand a good chance at preseason No. 1 in 2013-14, returning everyone but Greg Romanko.
3. Brighton (21-6) 6 The Bengals silenced the critics with a remarkable run to the Division 2 state title, highlighted by a surreal finish in the EMass championship -- down 11 with four minutes to go, Malik James willed them to victory in the final second of the game, a finish they'll be talking about for years in Boston.
4. Danvers (24-2) 9 Like Mansfield, the Falcons came into the season with a mound of hype. Outside of a lackluster showing at the Comcast Tournament right before the playoffs, Danvers lived up to every bit of it and capped it off with a second straight D3 state title.
5. Central Catholic (21-6) 4 Many will be wondering what could have been with the Raiders. If Doug Gemmell and Nick Cambio are healthy for the playoffs, is Central hoisting a trophy on the DCU Center floor?
6. North Andover (19-5) 11 The Scarlet Knights fell to state champ Brighton in the D2 North title game, but you couldn't think of a better way to send off coach Mike McVeigh. After 31 years, one of the classiest acts in Massachusetts is retiring with a 497-176 record, having never missed the playoffs.
7. Lynn English (18-6) 12 The Runnin' Bulldogs re-taught everyone in the North district what it means to be truly uptempo. Next year they'll bring back one of the state's best backcourts in Freddy Hogan, Stevie Collins and Erick Rosario.
8. Milford (19-4) NR It was an historic and emotional Sunday evening at Harrington Auditorium back on March 10, as the Scarlet Hawks snuck by five-time defending champ St. John's of Shrewsbury to capture their first D1 Central title in 15 seasons.
9. Martha's Vineyard (18-6) NR By far the biggest surprise of the state tournament, the Vineyarders took Danvers to the wire in the D3 EMass game before falling 50-47. It's too bad we couldn't get another year out of seniors Izak Browne, Jack Roberts and Navardo Anderson. This was easily one of the most athletic teams we saw all season.
10. Andover (16-7) 21 For once the Golden Warriors came into the postseason fully healthy, and they turned that into a deep postseason run, falling to archrival Central Catholic in the D1 North semifinals -- a record fourth loss of the season to the Raiders.
11. St. John's Prep (19-3) 2 Considering the way the D1 North quarterfinal with Andover ended, we felt this spot for Prep was justifiable. We're excited to see the return of sophomore marksman Ben Judson next season.
12. St. John's (Shrewsbury) (16-7) 20 The Pioneers fell short in the D1 Central title game to upstart Milford, but will return a boatload of talent next season, including guards Davon Jones and Adham Floyd. With re-alignment next season, D1 Central will be very interesting.
13. Springfield Central (18-5) 22 For all the faults of the Golden Eagles, they were still clearly the second-best team in Western Mass. Promising 6-foot-8 sophomore Chris Baldwin showed signs of brilliance this season, and cousins Cody and Ju'uan Williams return to lead the backcourt next season, but consistency is a stigma for the Eagles going forward.
14. Wareham (22-2) 15 The Vikings lost center Jeff Houde right before the D3 South tournament began, but still managed to make it back to the UMass-Boston floor behind the play of Darien Fernandez. The Vikings have now gone two years without a loss in the South Coast Conference.
15. Scituate (21-4) NR It probably shouldn't be a surprise the Sailors came out of a wide-open D2 South -- they were the top seed, after all -- but it was surprising to see them take the lead on Brighton for 31 minutes and 58 seconds.
16. West Springfield (19-3) 17 The Terriers fell to Putnam for the second time this season in the D1 West semifinals, and will have to find replacements for Chris Lipscomb and Riyadh Asad going forward.
17. Melrose (22-1) 5 The Red Raiders were one of several teams to fall to the Brighton buzzsaw in dramatic fashion, falling late in the D2 North semifinals. A returning nucleus of Frantdzy Pierrot and Sherron Harris makes this a favorite in D2 again.
18. North Quincy (18-6) NR The Red Raiders return to the poll for the first time since December, after making a surprise run to the D1 South Finals. Sharp-shooting twins Dan and Pat Gould were the catalyst for this run, but watch out of 6-foot-7 shot blocker Anthony Green next season.
19. Algonquin (20-2) 18 The dramatic finish to the D1 Central semifinal with St. John's is going to sting in Northborough for a while. But if promising 6-foot-8 sophomore center A.J. Brodeur returns next season, the Tomahawks could be even bigger and better for 2013-14.
20. Everett (16-7) NR Fitting for a team that commits to a press as much as the Crimson Tide to lose in the D1 North semifinals in an epic track meet with Lynn English. Keep an eye on sophomore Gary Clark for next season.
21. Newton North (20-4) 7 The Tigers reached the D1 South semifinals for the eighth straight season, once again overachieving in spite of their lack of depth. As ridiculous a season this was for sophomore Tommy Mobley, the Bay State Conference MVP, his best days are still to come.
22. Lowell (18-4) 8 One of several favorites in D1 North, the Red Raiders took an early exit, falling to Everett in the quarterfinals. There are lots of bodies to replace here, but sophomore point guard Kareem Davis is an excellent piece to rebuild around.
23. Brookline (14-9) NR The Warriors blew out New Bedford and Marshfield in surprising fashion in the D1 South tournament before falling in the semifinals to state runner-up Mansfield. It was the first time the Warriors made it this far since the Jeff Adrien era nearly a decade ago, and if all goes as planned they could be right back here next season.
24. Wachusett (18-4) 13 The Mountaineers came up on the wrong end of one of the biggest comeback victories of the playoffs, surrendering an 18-point lead to Milford in the D1 Central semifinals. They'll lose talented players like Zack Berman and Alex Cooper, but a few pieces are in place among the underclasses to keep them a contender for years.
25. Rockland (19-4) NR The Bulldogs return to the poll for the first time in a month. They went down swinging to Wareham in the D3 South semifinals, and in UMass-Lowell signee Tyler Gibson's final high school game he went for 25 points and 21 rebounds. Not a bad end for a kid who averaged 21 and 16 despite being double-teamed all season.
Last 10 out: Bishop Connolly (19-6), Haverhill (12-10), Holyoke (15-7), Milton (15-9), Sharon (15-8), Smith Academy (22-4), South Hadley (17-8), St. Bernard's (19-5), Wakefield (17-6), Wayland (19-5), New Mission (15-7)

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