Top-ranked Mater Dei huddles at the Hoophall Classic last week. The Monarchs will be involved in the national game of the week Saturday at the Nike Extravaganza against No. 18 Whitney Young.
Photo by Mike Braca
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 20-0The Monarchs will host the Nike Extravaganza this weekend, facing 15-3 Village Christian (Sun Valley) on Friday and No. 18 Whitney Young in Saturday's featured pairing.
2. (2) Rainier Beach (Seattle), 17-0Beach has topped the 100-point mark eight times this season and has won 11 of 12 outings in the competitive Metro League by 20 points or more.
3. (3) Curie (Chicago), 18-1Following last Monday's stunner over then-No. 1 Montverde Academy, the Condors were nearly upset themselves in a 60-58 win over league foe Hyde Park (Chicago) on Friday. National Player of the Year frontrunner
Cliff Alexander posted 23 points and 12 rebounds in that contest.
4. (4) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 19-1The Eagles bounced back from Monday's loss to No. 3 Curie with a 92-78 win over Evans (Orlando) on Saturday. One-loss Orlando Christian Prep, Columbia (Decatur, Ga.), Greensboro Day (N.C.), Math, Civics and Sciences (Philadelphia) and Shiloh (Snellville, Ga.) will be among the participants in this weekend's Montverde Academy Invitational.
5. (5) White Station (Memphis, Tenn.), 20-1Head coach Jesus Patino successfully guided his team through a four-game week that included big wins over Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) and Hamilton (Memphis). The latter came at the Penny Hardaway National Hoopfest and was broadcast nationally by ESPNU.
