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JUCO Basketball Monday Minutes 2/26/24

By Cody Hopkins, 02/26/24, 7:15PM EST

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**Latest Poll Released**
The NJCAA has announced that there will be one additional poll next week, which will serve as the final poll of the season.  

In this week's poll, there is a new number one. Barton Community College has claimed the top spot at #1, following South Plains' loss to Howard last Thursday. Odessa (#12) and Trinity Valley (#20) both dropped six spots after their losses to unranked NMMI & Navarro, respectively. The most significant leap was made by Moberly, following its upset victory at home against league-rival Mineral Area, which now ranks at #8. Region 8 (Florida) leads all regions with five teams in the final poll, followed by Region 6 (Kansas) with four teams.

Once the regular season concludes, an at-large outlook will be published next week, offering insights from past committee trends. With numerous head-to-head matchups on the horizon, the at-large committee will have much to consider.

**Upsets!**

Last week, unranked Howard achieved a stunning victory over #1 South Plains with a score of 76-69, marking South Plains' first loss. South Plains played without its starting point guard and JucoRecruiting.com's #3 overall prospect, Jaborri McGhee (UAB), who is expected to return after a six-game suspension.

Navarro delivered a surprise overtime victory against Trinity Valley, placing the Cardinals on the at-large bubble. The game saw four lead changes in the final minute, with Navarro eventually winning 77-72 in overtime.

**California Brackets**

The brackets for the upcoming CCCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Regional Championships have been released, starting Wednesday. Both the men's and women's competitions will feature 24 teams from the NorCal and SoCal regions, aiming to progress to the state championship tournament at Mt. San Antonio College starting March 14.

Games will be hosted by the higher-seeded team, with times announced on the schedule pages. The 3C2A does not stream regional playoff games, so viewers should beware of fraudulent streaming offers. Official school websites may provide legitimate streaming options. Click here to view the north and south brackets for the men's tournament. 

**Fab 50 Announcement**

The initial Fab 50 Freshmen list, including prospects who have played in over 50% of their team's games and have a year of junior college eligibility remaining, will be released on February 29th. Those named to the list have received automatic invitations to our prestigious All-American Top 200 camp in Atlanta in July.

**Milestones**

Missouri-West Plains Head Coach Jared Phay celebrated his 400th win last week, continuing a career marked by success, including five Scenic West Coach of the Year titles.

Northeast Mississippi's Cord Wright also celebrated, achieving his 200th win as head coach with the Tigers, who have won eight straight and remain undefeated in February.

Howard forward Joey Madimba reached 1,000 career points, maintaining an average of 21.7 ppg and standing as one of the country's top scorers. Madimba, having played at Tarleton State and Weatherford, is concluding his career at Howard this season.

Mott CC guard Mekhi Ellison became the all-time leading scorer at Mott and currently has a two-year career total of 1333 points. Ellison is averaging 27.3 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 4.5 RPG on the season. 

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