This week's single-school rankings have been enormously difficult. Sure the #1 team won, so Gonzaga remains #1, but very little else is set. At the bottom of the top 50, we had so many teams vying for just a little bit of a look, that we expanded to 55. We just had to. We might retract to 50 again later, but we're at 55 now.

But nearer the top we have problems. Basically, it's this: Penn beat Xavier in overtime, and Xavier beat Brownsburg, but Brownsburg beat Penn earlier this month, and Penn lost to St. Edwards while Brownsburg lost to St. Ignatius. Herriman lost to Gonzaga, but it was really close, and don't forget that Kahuku almost beat club #1 Danville. What do we do? Do we put Xavier behind Penn and Brownsburg and also St. Edward and St. Ignatius? Maybe, but I have my doubts. First off, the St. Edward win over Penn, while real enough, was a shortened game. That matters. Likewise the St. Ignatius win over Brownsburg. In addition, the Brownsburg win over Penn was a 3rd/4th game - not something that we worry about too much until we get to the national championship level. 

And since at Nationals Penn beat Xavier (albeit in overtime), and Xavier beat Penn, I am inclined to drop Brownsburg below them. I do this with enormous reservations, because Brownsburg almost beat #2 Jesuit. Had Jesuit missed a penalty kick or dropped one more ball, we'd be talking about Brownsburg's big upset. 

Also complicating matters are Greenwich and Herriman. Greenwich lost to Herriman 36-15.  Penn lost to Herriman 48-31 - there's not much difference between them.   

In the end I have decided to say that Penn and Brownsburg have improved since the Midwest playoff losses to the Saints from Ohio. And I have also, somewhat arbitrarily, said that Penn's overtime win over Xavier means they're probably better than Xavier, but Brownsburg losing to Jesuit on penalty kicks is not proof they are equal with Jesuit.

Moving up also is Herriman, which almost overhauled Gonzaga, and also beat Greenwich and Penn, and because Herriman moves up, Snow Canyon, the team that beat Herriman for the Utah single-school title, moves up as well.

There aren't a lot of other major moves. Some teams get moved up and Westlake out of Texas drops as a result. The Harvey School makes an appearance. Charlotte Catholic moves up 10 places after a solid NIT Tier II effort. West Allegheny also moves up after a close loss in the Rugby Pa. playoffs. But it remains a confused place near the top, with several teams able to beat each other on any given day.