As we dove into our Nebraska Baseball Rankings on Tuesday, and sifted through the strength of schedule data, we discovered that the race for toughest baseball schedule was a tight one indeed, with less than two and a half points separating Nos. 1-10.
Millard North, as it turned out, went toe-to-toe with the top slate in the state. The MaxPreps 14th-ranked Mustangs edged out No. 34 Papillion-LaVista South by three-tenths of a point for the top spot. Fourth-ranked Omaha Creighton Prep and No. 26 Lincoln Southeast took over the Nos. 3 and 4 rungs, while No. 7 Omaha Westside rounded out the Top five this week.
Video: Top 25 baseball rankingsSee who lands in the rankings this week. Top-ranked Millard West, No. 4 Omaha Creighton Prep, fifth-ranked Millard South, No. 6 Lincoln Southwest and seventh-ranked Omaha Westside all landed in this week's Top 10, while also claiming high rankings in MaxPreps' latest Nebraska Baseball Rankings, which came out Tuesday.
The Mustangs also played the top schedule when it comes to combined opponent winning percentage. Millard North's opposition put together a 339-208 record combined, which calculates to a .620 winning percentage. Papillion-LaVista South (.607) and Elkhorn (.587) were the top challengers to the Mustangs in that category.
Elkhorn and Millard South actually tied for the No. 6 spot this week. But Antler opposition put together a better collective winning percentage, allowing Elkhorn to edge out the Patriots for the sixth spot.
Listed next to each team in this week's Top 10 is the team's won-loss record going into district play in parentheses, its opposition's combined won-loss record and the school's MaxPreps strength of schedule rating.
Nebraska's toughest baseball schedules1.
Millard North (Omaha) (12-11) | 339-208 | 9.0
2.
Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion) (5-17) | 321-208 | 8.7
3.
Creighton Prep (Omaha) (17-9) | 348-260 | 8.2
4.
Lincoln Southeast (Lincoln) (9-12) | 270-204 | 7.6
5.
Omaha Westside (Omaha) (15-8) | 291-247 | 7.4
6.
Elkhorn (10-10) | 274-193 | 7.1
7.
Millard South (Omaha) (18-8) | 326-266 | 7.1
8.
Millard West (Omaha) (22-3) | 335-275 | 7.0
9.
North Star (Lincoln) (9-13) | 294-237 | 6.8
10.
Lincoln Southwest (Lincoln) (15-7) | 281-238 | 6.7
