Texas Class 6A state champion Plano East is the latest addition after capping 40-0 campaign earlier this month.
When
Plano East (Plano) defeated
Stony Point (Round Rock) 53-41 in the
Class 6A state championship game earlier this month, it became the first Texas large
school team in 20 years to finish a season undefeated with at least 40
wins. The Panthers also joined a rather exclusive list of teams that
have finished a season with a record of 35-0 or better.
Lincoln (Dallas, Texas) went 40-0 in 2001-02 behind the play of future NBA
All-Star Chris Bosh. Lincoln and Plano East are part of a list of almost 60 teams
MaxPreps has compiled that have posted a 35-0 record or better.
It should be noted that between regular season scheduling limitations and playoff formats, not many states have teams that play 35 or more games in a year. Texas in addition to Arkansas, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri are some that do.
Louisiana Class B and C teams often played over 60 games in a
season during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Rules permitting those expansive schedules have since
changed.
Following is a closer look at the top 10 teams on the
list along with the remainder of the teams listed by record and in
chronological order.
Plano East lifts the Class 6A state championship trophy after beating Stony Point at the Alamodome in San Antonio earlier this month. (Photo: Robbie Rakestraw)
1. 58-0, Sibley (La.), 1980
Sibley,
now known as
Lakeside, went 58-0 en route to the Class B state
championship. The 58 wins was part of a 100-game win streak that spanned
the 1978-79, 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons. Located in Webster Parish in
the northwestern part of the state, Sibley landed Willie Jackson (22.2
points per game) as the most valuable player on the all-state team while coach Don
Stahl was named state coach of the year. Ironically, Sibley does not
have the national record for most consecutive wins within a single
season.
Converse (La.) set that record with 59 straight wins during the
1944-45 season.
2. 52-0, Snook (Texas), 1965-66
No team has had
more success at the Texas state tournament. Tied for the most
appearances with 19, Snook has won a state record 10 state
championships. The 1966 team won the school's second straight title and
ended up with a 90-game win streak — the longest in state history. The
school was tiny. With only 30 boys in the entire school, Snook played in
the Class B tournament. Coach Jim Horn reportedly was also the school
principal, history and science teacher and drove the school bus. The town
of Snook also had just 140 residents. Calvin Gerke, a 6-foot-5 center,
earned unanimous all-state honors and averaged 29 points per game for a
single season point total of 1,509 points, which still ranks as the
single season record in Texas.
3. 49-0, Zwolle (La.), 2006-07
Depending on how a game with Peabody is
counted, Zwolle
either went 49-0 or 49-1. According to the late Jerry Byrd, a longtime prep sportswriter
in the state, the Peabody matchup was considered a "Hall of Fame" game.
According to the LHSA guidelines, "Hall of Fame" games are extra games
played during a season where the proceeds went to the LHSA coaches
association Hall of Fame fund. The games were not supposed to count on
the season record. Peabody, a 4A team, won easily, 87-41, over Zwolle,
but the game did not count against the Hawks' record. Zwolle won its
second straight state championship in 2007 with an 83-54 win over
Quitman.
4. 48-0, Atlanta (La.), 1995-96
Atlanta won three
straight Class C championships between 1995 and 1997 with the middle
year being the best with a 48-0 mark. The streak eventually went to 58-0
before ending. Derek Smith earned all-state honors that year while
scoring 1,536 points.
5. 46-0, Kashmere (Houston, Texas), 1974-75
Considered
one of the greatest teams in Texas high school basketball history,
Kashmere scored over 100 points 16 times and ended up with an 83-game
win streak. Kashmere nearly missed out on an undefeated season in the
Class 4A semifinals as it needed a triple-overtime win to beat Midland
Lee (Now Midland Legacy). The Rams then beat Paschal (Fort Worth) 60-58
in the final.
T6. 45-0, Taylorville (Ill.), 1943-44
Speculation
that Taylorville would win the state championship and finish the season
undefeated played out for over a month in statewide newspapers, and for
good reason. The Tornadoes became the first team in the 36-year history
of the state tournament to finish the season with an undefeated record.
Johnny Orr was the top player on the team and he went on to a long
coaching career at Michigan and Iowa State.
T6. 45-0, Cayuga (Texas), 1953-54
The
Wildcats were a small town Texas powerhouse in the early 1950s. Over
the course of five seasons from 1950 to 1954, Cayuga went 230-9. The
Wildcats went 49-1 in 1950, 48-1 in 1951, 44-5 in 1952, 44-2 in 1953 and
undefeated at 45-0 in 1954. The Wildcats were led by all-state guard
Ned Duncan, who eventually played at SMU and played against Wilt
Chamberlain in the NCAA Tournament.
T6. 45-0, County Line (Branch, Ark.), 2022-23
Captured the Class 1A state championship on a layup by Cooper
Watson with one second left in the game to beat Marked Tree, 46-44.
T9. 44-0, Humboldt (Tenn.), 1948-49
The
Rams won their first state championship behind the
play of one of the greatest football players to come out of the state of
Tennessee. Doug Atkins, a 6-8 center, scored 19 points in the
championship game against DuPont for the 44th win of the season. Atkins
went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears.
T9. 44-0, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 2011-12
The
Warriors make the list four times with the 2012 team posting the most
wins. According to the school's basketball website, Oak Hill Academy
posted 44 wins during the season.
43-0
Buna (Texas), 1960-61
Kennard (Texas), 1969-70
42-0
LaPoynor (LaRue, Texas), 1974-75
41-0
Branson (Mo.), 1954-55
Lakeview (Campti, La.), 2002-03
40-0
Puxico (Mo.), 1950-51
Buna (Texas), 1956-57
Gulfport (Miss.), 1974-75
Madison (Houston, Texas), 1984-85
La Porte (Texas), 1986-87
Lincoln, 2001-02
Mumford (Texas), 2012-13
Plano East, 2023-24
39-0
Wheatley (Houston, Texas), 1969-70
Blossom (Texas) now
Prairiland (Pattonville, Texas), 1957-58
Fort Bend Willowridge (Houston, Texas), 2000-01
Woodlawn-B.R. (Baton Rouge, La.), 2002-03
Milby (Houston, Texas), 2003-04
Hamilton (Memphis, Tenn.), 2005-06
Duncanville (Texas), 2006-07
38-0
Delight (Ark.), 1954-55
Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.), 1979-80
Dimmitt (Texas), 1982-83
Oak Hill Academy, 2003-04
37-0
Blazer (Ashland, Ky.), 1927-28
Pottsboro (Texas), 1971-72
Jackson Prep, 1991-92
Krum (Texas), 1993-94
Perry County (Linden, Tenn.), 1996-97
Union City (Tenn.), 2007-08
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), 2017-18
36-0
Brewers (Ky.) consolidated to become South Marshall then
Marshall County (Benton, Ky.), 1947-48
Happy Valley (Elizabethton, Tenn.), 1949-50
Wheatley, 1967-68
Glenn (Ala.), 1973-74, closed in 1985
Oak Hill Academy, 1979-80
Dixon (Mo.), 1968-69
Cole (San Antonio, Texas), 1988-89
Oak Hill Academy, 1992-93
Ozen (Beaumont, Texas), 2000-01
John Carroll Catholic (Birmingham, Ala.), 2002-03
35-0
Exeter (Mo.), 1962-63
McLeansboro (Ill.) now
Hamilton County (McLeansboro, Ill.), 1983-84
East Central (San Antonio, Texas), 1988-89
Navasota (Texas), 1989-90
Southeast (Bradenton, Fla.), 1994-95
Seneca (Ill.), 2005-06
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 2013-14
Chino Hills (Calif.), 2015-16
Note: Huckabay (Stephenville, Texas) is cited in the UIL Almanac as finishing 47-0 in 1973-74. However, newspaper reports just prior to the state tournament mention a "recently discovered" loss to Hutto early in the season that had not been reported. College Grove (Tenn.), which consolidated to become
Page (Franklin, Tenn.), is listed by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association as finishing 45-0 in winning the state championship in 1928-29. However, College Grove went on to play in the national tournament in Chicago and lost to eventual national champion Athens (Texas).
Additions or corrections? Email kevinaskeland65@gmail.com
