Jason Hickman
Updated
Photo by Richard Ta
Chris Clarke and No. 4 Cape Henry Collegiate will close out one postseason tournament Monday and begin another Wednesday.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 41-0 *
Polar conditions wiped out three contests for the nation's top-ranked team last week.
2. (2) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 28-1
Regular season complete. Expect the Eagles to join No. 1 Oak Hill Academy in the field at Dick's Sporting Goods High School Nationals in early April.
3. (3) St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio), 20-0
It’s time to embrace the Fighting Irish as a legitimate national championship contender. SVSM controlled things start to finish Sunday in an 89-76 win at then-No. 9 Villa Angela-St. Joseph. For comparison's sake, No. 1 Oak Hill Academy met Villa Angela-St. Joseph in January at the Spalding Hoophall Classic and trailed by 14 in the third quarter before rallying for a 76-72 win.
4. (4) Cape Henry Collegiate (Virginia Beach, Va.), 27-2
The Dolphins meet Norfolk Collegiate on Monday night for the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools tournament title. From there, Collegiate will jump immediately into the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association Division I tourney.
5. (5) Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), 27-2
Jaylen Brown powered an 87-68 win over Douglas County in the second round of Georgia’s AAAAAA state tournament with 32 points and 17 rebounds. Wheeler will meet Newton (Covington) in the quarterfinal round Wednesday.
* Record includes forfeit victory
Photo by Mike Braca
Freshman phenom Marvin Bagley III garners many of the national headlines for No. 9 Corona del Sol, but it was sophom*ore guard Alex Barcello (pictured) who was named Arizona's Division I player of the year.
6. (7) Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), 27-4
Three of Wesleyan’s four losses came against teams ranked in the top five. The Trojans are aiming for their third-consecutive NCISAA Class 3A state title this week.
7. (8) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 22-3
Cody Riley put up 21 points to lead the Trailblazers past St. John Bosco (Bellflower) in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs last week. In a rematch of a December game at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic, Sierra Canyon meets Etiwanda in quarterfinal play Wednesday.
8. (10) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.), 26-0
Head coach Melvin Randall is taking the Tigers to Lakeland once again for Florida’s 7A final four after a 79-65 win over Miami Central on Saturday. Ely meets Northport Friday in the semifinals.
9. (11) Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), 29-1
Bidding for its fourth state crown in a row, Corona del Sol hooks up with Phoenix Central on Wednesday in Division I quarterfinal action.
10. (12) Jonesboro (Ga.), 29-1
Unbeaten Gainesville Johnson comes calling for Jonesboro in the quarterfinal round of Georgia’s AAAA state tourney.
Photo by Jann Hendry
First-year head coach Andy Johnson looks to have No. 14 Findlay Prep headed to another Dick's Nationals invite.
11. (13) Huntington St. Joseph Prep (W.Va.), 28-2
Weather wiped out a Friday game with Genesis Academy (Lynchburg, Va.). The two teams are scheduled to make up the date Monday.
12. (14) Plano West (Texas), 26-2
West will carry a 12-game winning streak into Monday’s Class 6A state tournament opener against Timber Creek (Fort Worth).
13. (15) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 31-1
Like No. 12 Plano West, Atascocita begins Class 6A state tournament play Monday.
14. (16) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 25-2
First-year head coach Andy Johnson has helped build upon Findlay Prep’s all-time win percentage of .913 (263-25).
15. (17) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), 21-4
The Dragons wrapped up the regular season with an 84-48 win over San Leandro.
Photo by Richard Ta
Star point guard Isaiah Briscoe will go from one national power to another next fall as he leaves No. 20 Roselle Catholic for the unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats.
16. (19) Mustang (Okla.), 22-0
Head coach Terry Long won three state titles at Douglass of Oklahoma City before arriving at Mustang. Winning a fourth is far from a slam dunk with Putnam City West and Edmond Memorial in the Class 6A picture.
17. (20) Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 31-1
The Chiefs punched their ticket to Lakeland for Florida’s Class 5A final four with a 49-38 win over Eustis.
18. (21) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 27-1
In California’s rugged Southern Section Open Division playoffs, the Knights struck the most impressive first round blow with an 81-55 win over J.W. North (Riverside).
19. (6) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 26-3
Back-to-back losses were not the way DeMatha wanted to wrap up the regular season. The Stags got back on track Sunday with a 74-57 win over Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) in the opening round of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament.
20. (22) Roselle Catholic (N.J.), 20-3
The Lions rolled to a 63-39 win over Union on Saturday in a county tournament opening round game.
Photo by Richard Ta
Legendary head coach Bob Hurley didn't have much to be anguished about Saturday in a 71-30 win over Holy Spirit. The Friars led 45-2 at one point in the lopsided contest.
21. (9) Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland), 17-3
The Vikings’ losses have come against No. 1 Oak Hill Academy, No. 3 St. Vincent-St. Mary and NEPSAC post-graduate program MacDuffie (Granby, Mass.), which is not eligible for Xcellent 25 consideration.
22. (23) Chaminade (St. Louis), 20-3
District play for the Red Devils begins Marchs 3 after closing out the regular season with an 84-78 win over St. Louis University.
23. (24) Callaway (Jackson, Miss.), 27-3
Seeking their fourth-straight state title, the Chargers open the Class 5A tournament Saturday against the winner of Tuesday’s contest between Neshoba Central and West Point.
24. (NR) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 21-1
Every media source used to determine our composite rankings had St. Anthony in the Top 25 last week – except this one. The MaxPreps Freeman Rankings even had the Friars at No. 3. The lack of quality wins is still a bit troubling from a national rankings perspective but it's tough to keep saying no when everyone else is saying yes.
25. (NR) La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), 23-2
The Lakers – a preseason Top 10 team – closed out the regular season with three wins over the weekend. Included in that sweep was a 61-53 win over Thon Maker and Canadian powerhouse Orangeville Prep.
Dropped out: No. 18 Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Ill.); No. 25 Garfield (Seattle)