HELENA — There are few things better than the high school basketball postseason and in Montana, for some classifications, that starts this week with district tournaments.

Over the next three weeks, district and divisional tournaments will be held in Classes B and C to qualify teams for the state tournament. Class A has divisional tournaments while Class AA is using play-in games this season.

That means this will be the final edition of the 406 MT Sports boys high school basketball rankings for the 2024-25 season. At this point, there are three undefeated teams left and only one of them is ranked No. 1 in their classification (Box Elder).

Fairfield and Scobey each finished the season unblemished but the Spartans are behind Box Elder, the defending state champs, in the Class C rankings.

It’s a similar story in Class B as the unbeaten Eagles are behind only Missoula Loyola (17-1). The defending Class B state champion's only loss came against the defending Class A state champion, and No. 1 team in that class, Dillon.

Dillon (Class A), Missoula Loyola (Class B), and Box Elder (Class C) each went wire-to-wire holding the No. 1 spots in their classes throughout the 406 MT Sports rankings.

Class AA was a different story. There have been four different teams to take the No. 1 spot and for the third time in four weeks, Class AA has a new No. 1.

Once again, we find ourselves asking if anyone wants to be ranked No. 1 in Class AA? After getting the top spot for the first time last week, Billings West lost by 15 against Bozeman Gallatin on the road, their second loss by at least 15 points in the last four games.

Helena High also dropped in the rankings for the second week in a row after an overtime loss to Missoula Hellagte. The Bengals have three losses in Western AA conference play by a combined six points. That includes one-point road losses to Butte and Hellgate.

That bumped Hellgate up two spots in the rankings to No. 3. Bozeman Gallatin would have moved up after its win over Billings West, but turned around and lost to Billings Senior, a team that also beat West recently.

Which brings us to Billings Skyview. The Falcons have the fewest losses in Class AA and all three of them were by single-digit margins to Missoula Big Sky, Gallatin, and West.

However, the Falcons have won six straight games. The second-longest winning streak in Class AA is three games and only two teams besides Skyview (Big Sky and Hellgate) have won multiple games in a row.

That’s how tough it’s been. Skyview has proven the most consistent but we’ll see if that holds up for the next two weeks and into the postseason, which should be just as entertaining and potentially unpredictable as the regular season.

The defending state champs still look like the team to beat in Class A boys basketball. Dillon eased past Frenchtown 69-53 in a top-ranked matchup last week, which was the second time that the Beavers have beaten the Broncs by double digits.

Frenchtown also lost to Butte Central, which knocked the Broncs completely out of the rankings. They were replaced by Columbia Falls. The Wildcats boast a nine-game winning streak and also avenged one of their two losses this season which was to Ronan not long ago.

Lockwood jumped up to the No. 2 spot that was vacated by Frenchtown. The Lions have won 11 games in a row. The Wildcats also took over the No. 3 spot. They don’t have as many quality wins as the Red Devils, however, with Frenchtown falling out of the top five, Glendive has two defeats to unranked teams, causing their drop to No. 4.

There were minimal changes in the Class B rankings this week. Nine of the top 10 teams remained the same and there weren’t any changes among the top eight teams. Lodge Grass lost a tight game to Lame Deer but it was just the second loss of the season for the Indians and both were by single digits.

Three Forks lost a battle of ranked teams in different classes, dropping a 67-59 game to Manhattan Christian. The Wolves also drubbed Manhattan and like Lodge Grass, have just two defeats on the season.

Malta and Thompson Falls are each on 10-game winning streaks. Columbus and Red Lodge have also won a combined seven games in a row. Glasgow dropped to 10th after a 64-40 loss to Harlem, on the road, allowing Huntley Project to re-emerge as the No. 9 team thanks in part to their marquee win over Lodge Grass a few weeks ago.

Speaking of consistency, the Terry Terriers have been rewarded for winning 14 games in a row by taking over the No. 10 spot, which was vacated after two losses by Belt last week. Manhattan Christian jumped back to No. 3 thanks to its win over Three Forks and the Scobey win over Lustre Christian.

Cascade also fell back after a loss to Power-Dutton-Brady, allowing St. Regis to jump into the top five followed by Plentywood, a team that has beaten everyone on its schedule but Scobey.

The same Harlem team that upset a ranked Glasgow team in Class B, lost to Box Elder by 23 points at home. The Bears also scored 94 points in a 45-point win over Big Sandy. Tracen Jilot is averaging 27 points per game over his last five in his return for Box Elder including a 32-point effort against Harlem, his third 30-point effort in the last five games.

Here are the complete 406 MT Sports high school basketball rankings:

1. Billings Skyview 12-4

2. Billings West 12-3

3. Missoula Hellgate 11-4

4. Bozeman Gallatin 10-4

5. Helena High 10-4

1. Dillon 14-1

2. Lockwood 15-2

3. Columbia Falls 14-2

4. Glendive 15-3

5. Billings Central 13-4

1. Missoula Loyola 17-1

2. Fairfield 18-0

3. Lodge Grass 15-2

4. Three Forks 16-2

5. Malta 15-3

6. Columbus 15-3

7. Thompson Falls 15-3

8. Red Lodge 14-4

9. Huntley Project 13-5

10. Glasgow 13-5

Class C

1. Box Elder 18-0

2. Scobey 18-0

3. Manhattan Christian 15-2

4. Lustre Christian 15-3

5. St. Regis 17-1

6. Plentywood 16-2

7. Cascade 16-2

8. Circle 14-3

9. Lincoln 16-2

10. Terry 16-2