COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The last week in the OCC provided some great games and performances. In this article, I will recap the last week around the OCC and preview the games ahead.

There are seven players who average above 19 points per game in conference play. Ajay Sheldon from Dublin Coffman tops the list with 25.4 ppg. Olentangy’s Ethan Smith is behind him at 23 ppg and Quinn Corna leads Upper Arlington with 22 ppg. Derrick James (Canal Winchester) and Jesse Burris (Deleware Hayes) both sit at fourth with 21.5 ppg. Cooper Davis from Olentangy Liberty is a new addition from last week with 19.2 ppg. Dior Conners from Pickerington North rounds out the list with 19 ppg. 

Over the weekend, all three OCC teams won a game at the Flyin to the Hoop event in Dayton. Pickerington North, Gahanna, and Pickerington Central all won against some of the best teams in Ohio. 

Westerville South is the only remaining undefeated team in central Ohio with a record of 13-0 after winning two games this past weekend. The most recent AP poll ranked them tied for second in the state with Pick Central. 

The OCC-Buckeye has three teams in the latest 270 Hoops Power Rankings with Pick Central (#1), Newark (#5), and Reynoldsburg (#8). Pick Central and Newark are tied for first place in the division as both teams hold a 4-1 divisional record. The Tigers picked up wins over Reynoldsburg and Garfield Heights this past weekend where Devin Royal had 49 points over those two games. Central is on a 10 game winning streak after their early season loss to Newark. The Wildcats beat Lancaster 51-29 on Friday in a game where Ethan Schell and Grant Somers combined for 29 points. Pick Central and Newark have really separated themselves from the rest of the Buckeye division and hope to win a divisional title this year. Reynoldsburg is third in the Buckeye with an overall record of 7-4. They are a new addition to the power rankings after beating Dublin Coffman last Tuesday. Groveport Madison is fourth with a 2-3 divisional record and Central Crossing is behind them with a 1-3 record in the division. 

Just like every week before, Westerville South tops the Capital division and has continued its dominant run this season. They are the only Capital team in the latest power rankings and have held the #3 spot for back-to-back weeks. Over the past weekend, the Wildcats beat Worthington Kilbourne and Dublin Jerome. Seven of South’s wins this year have been by single digits which shows their ability to finish games in crunch time. About 2 miles away, Westerville North holds second place in the division after wins over Dublin Scioto and DeSales. North trails South by only one game as the two teams will play once again in late January. Worthington Kilbourne has a divisional record of 4-3 which has them in third place in the Capital division. They are on a three-game skid after starting the year 5-2. Delaware Hayes is fourth in the division after beating Franklin Heights and River Valley. Big Walnut and Canal Winchester are both 3-4 in divisional play and hold a tie for fifth in the Capital. 

This division is one of two where every team has a win in divisional play. Dublin Jerome’s undefeated start in divisional play has them holding a two-game advantage at the top of the Cardinal division. Jerome lost both of its games over the weekend to Northland and Westerville South. Hilliard Darby is second in the division after beating Worthington Kilbourne 64-40 behind 18 points from Matt Sech. There is a three-way tie for third place between Olentangy, Thomas Worthington, and Marysville. Jack Huskey’s 22 points powered the Braves over Marysville, 62-45 last Friday. Worthington is on a five-game losing streak where four of those games have been decided by single digits.

All six teams in the OCC-Central have winning records which shows how tough the division is this year. After starting the year 10-0, Upper Arlington has split their last four games which has them at #6 in the power rankings. The Bears come in at 10th in the latest Divison 1 AP poll as we head into the back end of January. Hilliard Bradley is #7 in the power rankings but are third place in their division. All three of their losses this season have come against divisional foes which has given them a 2-3 record in the division. The Jaguars have rattled off eight straight wins behind Cade Norris’ strong scoring. Hilliard Davidson, Dublin Coffman and Olentangy Liberty are all tied for second place in the Central. Davidson beat Bishop Hartley on Sunday while Coffman and Liberty earned wins on Saturday. Olentangy Orange has a 7-5 record overall but are winless in divisional play which has them in last place in the OCC-Central. 

The latest power rankings feature three OCC-Ohio teams with Gahanna (#2) and Pick North (#4) retaining their spots from last week while New Albany (#10) is in for the first time this season. Gahanna took control of the division after beating Pick North 53-42 last Friday. North however did bounce back after a 52-49 win over Wayne in Dayton. New Albany is third in the division after beating Westerville Central last Friday, 45-42. Central is fourth in the division after winning only two of their last nine games. All of these teams will play each other once more this year and with only a game separating them, the divisional standings could change. 

All 32 OCC teams will be in action this Friday as each matchup has teams from the same division facing off. These games will shake up standings and rankings going into next week. Pick Central heads to Newark in a massive game that will likely decide the winner of the OCC-Buckeye division. Newark won the first matchup 47-42 and if they win again, they will hold a one game lead over Pick Central, while holding the tie breaker if they end up with the same record in division play.

Upper Arlington will face Hilliard Bradley in a huge OCC-Central game. The guard matchup of Cade Norris and Quinn Corna will be a great one to watch. Delaware Hayes and Big Walnut will play in a game between two middle of the pack OCC-Capital teams. Westerville South will look to stay undefeated as they travel to Dublin Scioto. 

Saturday also has 11 games featuring an OCC team and I will be in attendance to watch four of those games at Ohio Dominican University. Thomas Worthington will play Northland, Hilliard Bradley will play Africentric, Gahanna will battle Akron Buchtel and Pick Central will play Cincinnati Taft. Hilliard Darby will look to gain bragging rights as they travel across town to play Hilliard Davidson. Finally, Olentangy Orange will try to defend home court against a strong City League squad in Walnut Ridge. 

This weekend will provide clarity on every OCC team and we will have a lot to talk about in next week’s article.