Video: Bishop Montgomery upsets Sierra CanyonSouthern Section Open Division playoff results cause rankings shake-up.MaxPreps High School Top 25 Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) Nathan Hale (Seattle), 26-0It's down to three games for the Raiders. After an 80-71 regional win over Rainier Beach (Seattle) on Saturday, Nathan Hale begins Class 3A state tournament play Thursday against the winner of Shorecrest (Seattle) and Stanwood.
2. (5) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 31-1Avenging a pair of losses to Chino Hills over the past year, Mater Dei beat the high-scoring Huskies 83-80 in overtime Friday night in front of over 10,000 fans at the Galen Center. The Monarchs meet No. 7 Bishop Montgomery for the Southern Section Open Division title Saturday.
3. (4) Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.), 27-3Heading into Tuesday's Region 8-AAA semifinal against Ridgeway (Memphis), the Mustangs have won 12 in a row – scoring 90 or more in eight of those outings.
4. (6) McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), 28-0In a rematch of a December tournament game, McEachern meets Wheeler (Marietta) on Wednesday in the AAAAAAA quarterfinals. The Indians beat Wheeler 77-67 on its home floor the first time around.
5. (7) Jonesboro (Ark.), 29-0A 71-55 playoff win over West Memphis on Saturday gave the Golden Hurricane their 60th win in a row at home. Next up is the Class 6A state tournament beginning Friday.
6. (8) Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia), 25-2Riding a 24-game on-the-court win streak (the Panthers were forced to forfeit an early January game due to a player altercation), Imhotep meets Conwell-Egan Catholic (Fairless Hills) in the District 12 Class 4A title game on Saturday.
7. (9) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 26-2It's tempting to move the Knights even further up the ladder after a 70-63 win over then-No. 2 Sierra Canyon in the Southern Section Open Division semifinals Friday night. But keep in mind, Bishop Montgomery lost a neutral site game to Montverde Academy (Fla.) in January while No. 6 Imhotep Charter beat the same team on its home floor two weeks later.
8. (2) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 27-2Despite bitter disappointment Friday night in a loss to No. 7 Bishop Montgomery, all is not lost for the Trailblazers. A path to the state title still exists and Sierra Canyon could play its way into a rematch with the Knights.
9. (3) Chino Hills (Calif.), 29-2The Ball brothers combined for 54 points but the Huskies went home disappointed Friday against No. 2 Mater Dei. Like Sierra Canyon, the Huskies will carry on into state competition.
10. (10) Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), 22-4Kentucky-bound big man
Nick Richards scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds Saturday as the Celtics beat then-No. 19 Linden 58-44.
Pittsburgh signee Aaron Thompson and No. 13 Paul VI will meet No. 12 Gonzaga for the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament title Monday night.
File photo by John Jones
11. (11) Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), 33-3Senior forward
Solomon Smith scored 14 points Saturday and hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to give the Bengals a 63-60 win over Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point) in the NCISAA Class 3A state championship game. Greensboro Day has won five state titles in the 2000s under legendary head coach Freddy Johnson.
12. (12) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 25-5Setting up a third meeting this season, Gonzaga and No. 13 Paul VI both prevailed in the WCAC tournament semifinals Sunday. Paul VI won the first game 83-73 in mid-January while the Eagles rebounded with a 72-57 victory of their own two weeks ago.
13. (13) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 26-4With a 59-55 win over DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) in the WCAC tournament semifinals Sunday, the Panthers improved their record against teams that have appeared in the High School Top 25 this season to 7-2.
14. (14) Shadow Mountain (Phoenix), 27-0There probably won't be a more dominant state tournament run this season than the one authored by Shadow Mountain over the past two weeks. The Matadors won four games en route to the Class 4A state title by an average margin of 45.2 points per game.
15. (15) Klein Forest (Houston), 32-0Business is about to pick up for Klein Forest in the Texas Class 6A state playoffs on Monday. The Eagles face Westfield (Houston), a team that hasn't lost since Jan. 10.
16. (16) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio), 22-0Entering Division I state tournament play this week, senior
Riley Voss – headed to Cornell next year – is 89-16 in his four-year career at Moeller.
17. (17) Champlin Park (Champlin, Minn.), 24-0Look for
McKinley Wright when the MaxPreps All-American Team comes out in April. The future Dayton Flyer put up 46 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists in an 87-77 showdown victory over DeLaSalle (Minneapolis) last week.
18. (18) Newton (Covington, Ga.), 28-1The Rams survived a triple-overtime thriller against formerly-ranked Westlake (Atlanta) in the second round of Georgia's AAAAAAA playoffs. Next up is 26-2 Tift County (Tifton) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.
19. (20) Wise (Upper Marlboro, Md.), 18-0MPSSA Class 4A state tournament play begins Tuesday for Wise against Flowers (Springdale), who the Pumas beat 91-73 in early January.
20. (21) Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.), 28-2Riding a 17-game win streak, Brentwood Academy is 6-0 this season against the three teams remaining in Tennessee's Division II Class AA state tournament.
21. (22) Skyline (Dallas), 31-1Jase Townsend went for 23 points and future Kansas Jayhawk
Marcus Garrett added 16 on Saturday as the Raiders drilled Conroe 71-48 to advance in the Texas Class 6A state playoffs. Lufkin is up next on Tuesday.
22. (23) Edwardsville (Ill.), 26-1Winners of 22 in a row, the Tigers produced their best offensive total of the season Friday in a 95-72 win over Belleville East (Belleville).
23. (24) Webster Groves (Mo.), 23-2Junior standouts
Courtney Ramey and
Carte'Are Gordon combined for 57 points Friday night in a 78-65 win over Kirkwood.
24. (25) Union (Tulsa, Okla.), 25-0The Redskins dominated Ponca City and Owasso over the weekend en route to a regional title. A win Friday will put Union in the Class 6A state tournament.
25. (NR) Grand Rapids Christian (Grand Rapids, Mich.), 18-0Michigan State-bound big man
Xavier Tillman leads the Eagles, who have won 13 of their 18 games this season by 20 points or more.
Dropped out: No. 19
Linden (N.J.)