MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school basketball rankings

With the midway point of league action approaching, teams are locking down positions while also squeezing in rigorous nonleague games.

1. Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) (Last week 1) 12-3
Section: North Coast
League: West Alameda County
Update: Top ranked by the San Francisco Chronicle, the defending NorCal Open Division champion Dragons have big wins over No. 9 Sacramento (82-54) and beat powerhouse programs in the Bass Pro Tournament event in Springfield, Mo., and the Spalding HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass. Ivan Rabb has dominated, including some
stretches at guard.

2. Monte Vista (Danville) (7) 16-2
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The defending Division I state champions beat rival No. 4 De La Salle 67-62 in double overtime to highlight league play. The Mustangs also own a 66-64 victory over then-No. 2 Folsom. Monte Vista is led by Stefan Mitu, Spencer LaShells and Wilson LaShells.

3. Folsom (3) 18-3
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: The Sacramento Bee No. 1-ranked Bulldogs beat Bee No. 2 and NorCal No. 10 Woodcreek 57-53 in league play, as Jordan Ford scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. Colin Russell, Josiah Deguara and Lukas Hendricks were physical.

4. De La Salle (Concord) (2) 11-1
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Spartans beat defending CIF State Division III champion Chaminade (West Hills) 57-44 at the MaxPreps Martin Luther King Classic at Cal, then lost to new No. 2 Monte Vista, 67-62. They recovered by belting No. 14 San Ramon Valley 53-32. The team's loss was to defending CIF State Division IV champion Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 61-55 in the finals of the SoCal Christmas Classic championship.

5. Moreau Catholic (Hayward) (5) 13-5
Section: North Coast
League: Mission Valley
Update: The NorCal Division IV champions have a nine-game winning streak entering the week, including a 68-67 victory over then-No. 3 Mitty in the MaxPreps Martin Luther King Jr. Classic at Cal.

6. Campolindo (Moraga) (6) 15-2
Section: North Coast
League: Diablo Foothill
Update: The Cougars took a 10-game winning streak into the week, which includes wins over NorCal-ranked Sacramento (66-65), Modesto Christian (72-63), El Cerrito (67-63), Salesian (66-51) and St. Mary's 78-72.

7. Drake (San Anselmo) (9) 18-2
Section: North Coast
League: Marin County
Update: The defending NorCal Division III champions, led by Jesse Hunt, have a 65-64 loss to No. 5 Moreau Catholic and a 58-53 setback to No. 7 El Cerrito, with a win over No. 6 Campolindo 59-49. Marin County League play starts this week.

8. Saint Francis (Mountain View) (10) 14-1
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic
Update: The Lancers beat Riordan (San Francisco) 52-43 and Serra (San Mateo) 62-50 in league play and have a three-game slate this week. An earlier win was 60-53 over ranked San Ramon Valley (Danville).

9. Sacramento (11) 16-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metropolitan
Update: The Dragons recovered from a loss to top-ranked Bishop O'Dowd to win five consecutive games, including previously ranked Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 82-56 at the MaxPreps Martin Luther King Jr. Classic at Cal in what star Solomon Young deemed, "an A-plus game."

10. Woodcreek (Roseville) (14) 17-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: The Timberwolves lost to No. 3 Folsom 57-53 in a big league showdown after setting a defensive tone early. The leader is four-year starting guard Noah Blackwell, headed to Long Beach State. Another loss was to No. 2 Monte Vista 45-44.

11. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (21) 15-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Eagles bring an 11-game winning streak into the week after beating ranked Berkeley 59-56 in nonleague play and ranked rival Sheldon 65-61 in league action, plus rolling past previous No. 25 Liberty Ranch (Galt) 76-58. Marquese Chriss, Johann Tate and James Fox have led the charge.

12. Sheldon (Sacramento) (14) 10-5
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Huskies lost their first league game of the season to rival No. 11 Pleasant Grove 65-61 after a slow start, then recovered the next night by downing previous No. 8 El Cerrito 62-61 in a thriller behind quick, play-making guards Isaiah Brooks and Devin Greene.

13. El Cerrito (8) 17-3
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Rock
Update: The Gauchos had a 10-game winning streak halted by No. 12 Sheldon 62-61 in the Sheldon Adidas Challenge after big league wins over Salesian (72-60) and St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) 60-54.

14. San Ramon Valley (Danville) (12) 15-3
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Wolves have quality losses, falling to ranked St. Francis 60-52, winning five in a row, then falling to previous No. 2 De La Salle 53-32. No. 2 Monte Vista looms.

15. Modesto Christian (15) 15-3
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Modesto Metro
Update: The Crusaders have won five straight after losing to ranked El Cerrito 63-61 in the Father Kelly Tribute at Jesuit, with Anthony Townes and Christian Ellis leading the way.

16. Serra (San Mateo) (24) 13-3
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic
Update: The Padres recovered from a 62-50 loss to No. 8 St. Francis in league play with wins over No. 20 Riordan 33-32, Sacred Heart Cathedral 72-63, previous No. 3 Mitty 46-43 and Bellarmine (San Jose) 71-42.

17. Kennedy (Sacramento) (18) 15-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metropolitan
Update: The Cougars take a seven-game winning streak into the week and their showdown against Metropolitan Conference rival No. 9 Sacramento. Colin Uda and Austin Alexander lead the way. Two losses are to Sacramento, with a win over No. 18 Capital Christian.

18. Capital Christian (Sacramento) (19) 11-7
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Golden Empire
Update: The Cougars are catching fire again, winners of four straight in seizing early control of the Golden Empire League, including an 88-69 victory over a Marysville team that came in 18-0. An earlier loss was to No. 10 Woodcreek 58-47 and to No. 17 Kennedy 66-62.

19. Half Moon Bay (22) 18-0
Section: Central Coast
League: Peninsula North
Update: The Cougars continue to roll, dominating in league play and beating St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo) 51-45 in a Martin Luther King event behind leader Austin Hilton.

20. Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) (17) 11-5
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic
Outlook: The Crusaders can speak of the difficulty of the WCAL, losing a tight one to No. 8 St. Francis 52-43, an even tighter one to No. 16 Serra 33-32 and bouncing back to beat previous No. 3 Mitty 53-40.

21. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (4) 9-7
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic
Update: Top-ranked by the San Jose Mercury News for the entire season until the recent skid, the Monarchs are trying to find themselves. Plenty of time to do so.

22. Albany (NR) 20-1
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Stone
Update: The Cougars take a 14-game winning streak into the week, having lost only to No. 7 Drake 56-45 in a December.

23. Berkeley (21) 12-5
Section: North Coast
League: West Alameda County
Update: The Yellowjackets lost to previous No. 8 El Cerrito 78-65 at the MaxPreps Martin Luther King Jr. Classic at Cal and responded with wins over Arroyo (San Leandro) 68-52 and San Leandro 77-69.

24. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) (23) 16-1
Section: North Coast
League: North Bay
Update: The Cardinals are in a tight league race with Casa Grande (Petaluma) and Windsor, the only team to beat them.

25. St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo) (NR) 16-3
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Rock
Update: The Bruins, led by sophomore Tavian Henderson, are in the league title race with El Cerrito. One loss was to El Cerrito and another, in nonleague play, was to No. 19 Half Moon Bay.

The Sacramento Bee Preps Show reviews and previews top basketball teams: Click here

The Sacramento Bee on how and why Cal's Haas Pavilion will work for the CIF State basketball championships: Click here

The Sacramento Bee on Sac-Joaquin Section powerhouse programs meeting in a game attended by Kings star DeMarcus Cousins: Click here

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. He co-hosts with Mike Finnerty the weekly Bee Preps Show that airs on ComcastSportsNet California and can be found on sacbee.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and through facebook.com/sacbeepreps.