Putting together a talent-heavy roster generally goes a long way toward producing deep postseason runs and claiming the hardware that goes along with winning high school basketball state championships. However, there are no guarantees.
Sometimes the hardware is attained simply because the champion gets hot at the right time, sneaks up on the rest of the field and steals the show.
While the usual hombres are once again favorites to win it all in Nebraska, so long as they survive the chaos that is the Nebraska boys state basketball tournament, MaxPreps is taking a look at those Cornhusker State teams that are hot at the moment. Some of the names on our Nebraska Top 10 boys basketball winning streaks post won't surprise our readers — but some may.
Class C1 power Ogallala is currently riding the state's longest winning streak of 26 games. But not by much. Bellevue West and Shelton have strung together 25 and 22 straight contests going into next week's Class A and Class D2 State Basketball Tournaments.
State qualifier Ashland-Greenwood was the last team to knock off Ogallala, claiming a 56-43 triumph in last year's Class C1 state tournament quarterfinals March 8.
Millard North and Elm Creek upended Bellevue West – 67-57 in last year's Class A state finals – and Shelton in the season-opener December 1 respectively. Wahoo and Amherst round out the Top 5 respectively with 20 and 16-game winning streaks.
All six classifications are represented in this week's Top 10.
Ten boys basketball programs have won eight straight games, or more, to find a spot in our latest Nebraska Top 10 — and they are ready for the rip-roaring postseason basketball fun coming their way at the Nebraska State Basketball Tournament which tips off Wednesday, Mar. 8 and runs through Saturday's state championship contests.
On the first line we have provided the school with its won-loss record and the winning streak the school is on heading into the state tournament. The second line lists each school's MaxPreps Rankings as of Tuesday and the third line and beyond informs the reader which school handed the hot team its last loss and when.
Nebraska's Top 10 boys basketball winning streaks1. Ogallala (26-0) – 26 Straight WinsClass C1 No. 2 | Nebraska No. 7
Fell to Class C1 No. 1 Ashland-Greenwood 56-43 in the 2022 Nebraska Class C1 State Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals March 8.
2. Bellevue West (Bellevue) (25-0) – 25 Straight WinsClass A No. 1 | Nebraska No. 1 | No. 19 Nationally
Fell to Class A No. 1 Millard North 67-57 in the 2022 Nebraska Class A State Basketball Tournament title game March 12.
3. Shelton (22-1) – 22 Straight WinsClass D2 No. 1 | Nebraska No. 55
Fell to Class D1 No. 4 Elm Creek 65-57 in the season-opener December 1.
4. Wahoo (24-1) – 20 Straight WinsClass C1 No. 1 | Nebraska No. 2
Fell to Class C1 No. 4 Ashland-Greenwood 52-49 December 20.
5. Amherst (24-1) – 16 Straight WinsClass C2 No. 3 | Nebraska No. 18
Fell to Class B No. 7 York 58-50 at the Amherst Holiday Tournament December 30.
6. Freeman (Adams) (26-1) – 14 Straight WinsClass C2 No. 1 | Nebraska No. 11
Fell to Class C2 No. 7 Tri County 43-35 at the MUDECAS Tournament January 12.
7. St. Patrick's (North Platte) (23-2) – 13 Straight WinsClass D1 No. 1 | Nebraska No. 23
Fell to Class C1 No. 20 Cozad 61-55 January 7.
8. Parkview Christian (Lincoln) (23-3) – 11 Straight WinsClass D2 No. 3 | Nebraska No. 71
Fell to Iowa Class 2A No. 13 Underwood 64-43 January 20.
9. (tie) Elkhorn (18-7) – 8 straight Wins
Class B No. 3 | Nebraska No. 12
Fell to Class B No. 5 Bennington 58-41 January 24.
9. (tie) Sacred Heart (Falls City) (18-8) – 8 Straight WinsClass D2 No. 6 | Nebraska No. 95
Fell to Class D1 No. 3 Johnson-Brock 60-46 February 2.
