Most league races have been decided, though a few still hang in the balance in the final week before the playoffs jump off.

Very few teams locked it up with ease this season, though, a testament to how balanced leagues have been within the area. Oxford was the rare exception this winter, running the table in the OAA White. By the time Lutheran Northwest had gotten out of the injury waters, winning six of its last seven league games, Allen Park Inter-City Baptist had the MIAC Blue wrapped, also going unblemished.

Rochester, who just secured the OAA Blue last Friday, got the best push from Pontiac. So with plenty of teams with district championship aspirations mixed in with others who have ideas of a trip to the Breslin, these wire-to-wire chases should benefit not only the county’s best on this top-10 list, as well as some of the programs who missed but made it a close chase.

1. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (14-6, D1) — A six-loss team that 100% belongs at the top. Asterisks rarely get as big as losing the best player in the state for a month, but that’s what happened. There’s no stat or metric to measure Trey McKenney’s worth to the Eaglets, but there is a CHSL Bishop Tournament title. McKenney was ruthless in stretches, scoring 29 against Brother Rice in the semifinals, and he followed it up with 22 points — 10 more than anyone else — in the 58-57 victory over Detroit U-D Jesuit in the final Friday night. East Lansing is the only Michigan-based loss the Eaglets haven’t avenged this season. There’s always time for the defending state champs.

2. Birmingham Brother Rice (18-2, D1) — It was the Warriors who topped this list at the holidays. At the time, that could have been considered projecting. Now, it looks like an apt choice. They reeled off 15 wins in a row, including some league powerhouses in St. Mary’s, Walled Lake Central and Warren Lincoln. If Rice makes it back to the quarterfinals, they might have to reel off three straight wins over Groves, U-D Jesuit and Wayne Memorial. You won’t find a much tougher road to Calihan.

3. Birmingham Groves (15-5, D1) — Winning the OAA Red is always worth a spot high on this list, no? The league may not have any state title favorites this year, but it retains its reputation for being deep as ever, going all the way down to Ferndale, one of the more dangerous teams under .500 you’ll find. In games decided by five points or less, the Falcons have gone 5-2 (including an OT loss to King). They’ll have the advantage of playing on their home floor in districts, and with a loaded field, that could be a valuable edge.

4. Oxford (19-1, D1) — Every OAA White team wishes it could have done what Pontiac Notre Dame Prep did on Feb. 11. It took 19 games for Oxford to finally take a loss, and by then it had pretty much assuredly wrapped up the league. Wildcats head coach Joe Fedorinchik said he wasn’t concerned with how the pressure of being undefeated might weigh heading into the postseason, instead relishing just how fun this season has been. They should be in for a great test in the district final in Lapeer next week against Grand Blanc.

5. Waterford Mott (18-3, D1) — Several losses haven’t stopped Mott from climbing since the last edition of this list. That’ll happen when the only two games you drop after the turn of the calendar come by a combined four overtimes. The Corsairs only other defeat is to Warren Fitzgerald. Not bad. Despite the recent heartbreakers, Mott should get its share of the LVC title with a win at home Thursday against South Lyon. More on the Corsairs’ district coming down below.

6. Walled Lake Central (17-4, D1) — Another lead horse in what’s been an entertaining three-team race for the LVC. After losing to Novi, Brother Rice and Mott all in their first five games, the Vikings ripped off 13 consecutive wins. Defeated by three points at Walled Lake Northern on Feb. 7, Central refused to give up the conference and topped Mott in OT on Valentine’s Day to set up an exciting finish to the league race. If the Vikings beat Milford on Thursday and the Corsairs win as well, the teams will split the LVC with a 14-2 league record, a mirror image of last season.

7. Novi (17-4, D1) — Nowhere to be found in these rankings around the new year, this has to be considered one of the best stories of the season. When they were freshmen, this year’s Novi seniors finished at the bottom of the KLAA West. Now, they’re leaving on top in what’s the best year for the program since Brandon Sinawi led the Wildcats to the Final Four in 2018. They’ll take on Wayne Memorial in the KLAA Championship Friday — a game where it feels like they’re playing with house money — before hosting districts.8. Auburn Hills Avondale (14-7, D1) — The Yellow Jackets seem capable of beating about anyone but the S-tier contenders in D1. There’s some highly respectable losses outside the conference, like St. Mary’s, Warren Fitzgerald and King. They split with the league series with Groves and swept Clarkston. In fact, if North Farmington hadn’t had Avondale’s number, the race for the Red might have also come down to the final week. In one of the most fun D1 districts, the Jackets face the Wolves for the third time in their playoff opener, then could meet Mott for the title two days later. If they win both, they’ll get to celebrate on their own hardwood.

9. Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac (15-1, D3) — Don’t question whether ATAP belongs here. They absolutely do. The Lions just finally lost over the weekend against Hamtramck, but the night before they scored one of their best victories by beating Old Redford. The CSC Silver league champs, ATAP also has a quality win over River Rouge. They’ll be the favorites over Lutheran Northwest if they teams meet for the district championship in New Haven after having beaten the Crusaders by 41 back in early December, and the road sets up extremely favorably in regionals if they make it there.

10. Clarkston Everest Collegiate (19-1, D4) — So long as we’re giving flowers to league winners and contenders, it would feel like an omission not to include Everest. The Mountaineers only loss all season came to Jackson Lumen Christi, a top-10 team in D3. On Sunday, they locked up the CHSL St. Anne Tournament title by beating GPW University Liggett. All respect to the Crusaders, a better, healthier team heading into the playoffs, but Everest should be favored through the playoffs until a potential regional final against Inter-City Baptist. The Mountaineers have bowed out four years in a row in the regional semifinals, but they seem equipped to at least take at least one step further this time around.