The Bryant High School basketball teams are on the road tonight and they’ll both be[more] underdogs when they get to the gym at Russellville High School.
That’s because, this year, Russellville has two of the top teams in the 7A/6A-Central Conference. In fact, while being one of the two 6A entries in the league, the Cyclones actually lead the conference with an 8-1 mark, 17-5 overall.
Meanwhile, Lady Cyclones trail only the top two teams in the league, North Little Rock and Cabot, both of which may be State championship contenders (especially considering Cabot will host the Class 7A tourney in its spanking new arena). The Russellville girls are 6-3 in the league but just a game ahead of the Lady Hornets who are 5-4. The difference? Russellville’s 55-44 win at Bryant back on Jan. 13.
The Lady Hornets are coming off a disappointing 58-54 loss to Van Buren at home on Tuesday. As of now, Bryant is fourth in the ratings points standings among Central teams including Little Rock Hall (third) and West Memphis (fifth) from the East. An upset win tonight over Russellville would go a long way towards Bryant clinching a trip to State and keeping alive hopes of finishing in the top four.
Likewise, the Hornets are 5-4 and on a three-game winning streak. They’ve moved into third place in the Central as well as the ratings points, but only a game ahead of Conway and two games above four other teams. In their previous meeting, the Hornets suffered a 53-38 loss at home.
After tonight, only two weeks (four games) will remain in the regular season.
Here are the current standings:
7A/6A-CENTRAL CONFERENCE
2011-12 standings
Girls
Conf. Overall
No. Little Rock 9-0 21-2
Cabot 8-1 19-5
Russellville 6-3 15-7
Van Buren 5-4 17-6
BRYANT 5-4 13-10
Conway 2-7 10-11
LR Central 1-8 7-14
Mount St. Mary 0-9 6-15
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Van Buren 58, Bryant 54
Cabot 67, Mount St. Mary 24
North Little Rock 70, Conway 44
Russellville 42, LR Central 30
Friday, Feb. 10
Bryant at Russellville
North Little Rock at Cabot
LR Central at Conway
Van Buren at Mount St. Mary
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Conway at Bryant
Cabot at LR Central
Mount St. Mary at North Little Rock
Russellville at Van Buren
7A/6A-CENTRAL CONFERENCE
2011-12 standings
Boys
Conf. Overall
Russellville 8-1 17-5
No. Little Rock 7-2 16-5
BRYANT 5-4 13-8
Conway 4-5 14-8
Cabot 3-6 12-6
Van Buren 3-6 10-12
LR Central 3-6 8-12
LR Catholic 3-6 4-10
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Bryant 57, Van Buren 40
LR Catholic 39, Cabot 35
North Little Rock 57, Conway 53
Russellville 64, LR Central 47
Friday, Feb. 10
Bryant at Russellville
North Little Rock at Cabot
LR Central at Conway
Van Buren at LR Catholic
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Conway at Bryant
Cabot at LR Central
LR Catholic at North Little Rock
Russellville at Van Buren
RATINGS POINTS
Girls
North Little Rock 123
Cabot 105
Little Rock Hall 100
Bryant 62
West Memphis 59
Conway 23
Little Rock Central 11
Mount St. Mary 0
Boys
Little Rock Hall 118
North Little Rock 101
Bryant 67
Conway 52
Little Rock Central 45
West Memphis 45
Cabot 43
Little Rock Catholic 13
