Some Nebraska high school boys basketball teams have taken to heart the cliché, "You've got to beat the best to be the best." And while some programs have met that theory with plenty of success, most have not.
As we dove into our Nebraska high school boys basketball rankings and sifted through the strength of schedule data, we discovered that some of the Cornhusker State's premier basketball programs play schedules that match their own level of play.
Omaha Roncalli Catholic, the top team in this week's Top 10, just happens to be ranked No. 1 in both Class B and in the entire state of Nebraska in the latest MaxPreps boys basketball rankings, which came out Tuesday.
The Crimson Pride has gone 8-2 against a schedule that features seven teams with winning records, including a 68-46 triumph over Class B seventh-ranked Platteview. J.J. Stoffel's squad has also knocked off Class C2 No. 6 Hartington Cedar Catholic and Class C1 No. 1 Ashland-Greenwood so far this season. Roncalli Catholic has competed against Class C1 No. 6 Omaha Concordia and Class B No. 2 Omaha Skutt Catholic as well.
Sitting second in this week's Top 10 is Boys Town who is 2-6 on the year. Just one Cowboy foe has lost more than it has won. Boys Town did knock off Douglas County West (9-3) 75-49 and played Platteview, Blair (6-5) and Class B No. 9 Elkhorn all under five points.
Omaha Gross Catholic and Platteview weigh in at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. Eight of Gross Catholic's 11 foes are on their way to winning seasons while seven of Platteview's opponents have put together above average winning percentages. Class B No. 5 Bennington rounds out the Top 5. The Badgers have taken the court against six winning programs, including five opponents ranked in their classification's Top 10.
Bellevue West has faced the sixth toughest schedule in the state this season.
Photo by Nathanial George
Four of the school's represented this week have played their way into the Top 5 of their respective classes while all but four of this week's Top 10 programs are ranked in their respective classes' Top 10 in MaxPreps' Nebraska boys basketball rankings.
Because the larger schools do play stiffer competition on a regular basis, schools competing in Classes C2, D1 and D2 did not make this week's cut. But, we're going to go ahead and look at the top schedule in those classifications as well.
Class C2's fourth-ranked Grand Island Central Catholic has put together a solid campaign despite playing the most difficult schedule among the Cornhusker State's smaller classifications. Class D1's No. 3 Loomis gets credit for banging with Class D1's most brutal slate while top-ranked Falls City Sacred Heart has gone 10-1 against Class D2's toughest schedule.
MaxPreps' strength of schedule rating was used as the basis for this week's Top 10. In the case of a tie, the team with the highest opponent winning percentage earned the higher ranking.
Check out Nebraska's Top 10 toughest boys basketball schedules below. We have listed the school, the school's record through Tuesday, the opponent's combined won-loss record and winning percentage and MaxPrep's strength of schedule rating as of Tuesday.
Nebraska's Top 10 toughest boys basketball schedule
7. Elkhorn — 7-4 | 70-52 | .574 | 10.7
