MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school basketball rankings

The finish line for the regular season is within reach. Every one of these ranked teams will qualify for the postseason, but each is leery of upsets or stalled momentum now.


1. (Last week 1) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) (18-4)
The Dragons roll on as the clear NorCal No. 1 team, with no NorCal losses and a close setback to national powerhouse Mater Dei (Santa Ana). Paris Austin and Ivan Rabb are the best 1-2 punch in Northern California.

2. (2) Capital Christian (Sacramento) (21-3)
The Cougars have one NorCal loss — to O'Dowd. The teams could meet again in the NorCal Open playoffs. Forward Nifae Lealao signed a football letter of intent with Vanderbilt.

3. (3) Monte Vista (Danville) (21-1)
The Mustangs take on No. 14 De La Salle tonight to decide the East Bay Athletic League championship. Monte Vista won the first meeting 41-39. Spencer Rust and Trevor John lead the way.

4. (4) El Cerrito (24-2)
The Gauchos clinched the Tri-County Athletic League title after beating St. Mary's (Berkeley) 67-55 and Pinole Valley 83-51. The losses are to NorCal-ranked St. Joseph (Alameda) and Modesto Christian.

5. (6) Folsom (22-2)
The Bulldogs have a scorer in guard Jordan Ford and a collection of superb role players, including Josiah Deguara, Colin Russell and Jared Wall, son of coach Mike Wall, who eyes his third section title since 2008. The Bulldogs are unbeaten in the Sac-Joaquin Section and take on No. 6 Jesuit in the Delta River League finale.

6. (7) Jesuit (Carmichael) (22-2)
The Marauders avoided a major upset loss to Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) with a 55-51 Delta River League triumph. Lake Lutes had 30 points. The losses are to NorCal ranked Folsom and Newark Memorial.

7. (14) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) (18-4)
Two wins over previous No. 5 Mitty place the Wildcats at the top of the West Catholic Athletic League. Star guard Trevor Dunbar is averaging close to 26 points in WCAL play as one of the great talents the league has seen in recent years.

8. (5) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (18-4)
The Monarchs owned the WCAL a year ago but have two close losses to new No. 7 St. Ignatius this season. The ranked win last week was over Serra (62-52). The SI loss snapped a 44-game home winning streak for Mitty.

9. (11) Newark Memorial (15-7)
The Cougars, once 2-7, notched another big win in edging No. 21 Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 65-64. Matthew Thomas played big with 19 points, 17 rebounds and six blocked shots. An earlier win was over Jesuit.

10. (8) Sacramento (20-4)
The Dragons start all sophomores, and their best one is out for the rest of the season in 6-7 center Solomon Young (MCL). Guards Christian Terrell and Tre Finch lead the way for the D-II Dragons.

11. (9) Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) (8-16*)
The Wolfpack had their appeal to overturn 16 forfeits denied, the result of what the Sac-Joaquin Section deemed an athletically motivated transfer. Cosumnes Oaks can still make the D-II playoffs if it runs the table in the Sierra Valley Conference. One on-court win was over No. 12 St. Mary's.

12. (10) St. Mary's (Stockton) (24-1)
The Rams and No. 19 Modesto Christian are the class of all the "209" teams — Stockton, Modesto, Merced, Turlock areas. Last loss was to No. 11 Cosumnes Oaks. Alex Smith and Devin Williams lead the way.

13. (12) St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) (21-5)
The Pilots and guru coach Don Lippi finished the regular season second to No. 4 El Cerrito in the Tri-County Rock standings. The league playoffs loom for the D-V powers.

14. (15) De La Salle (Concord) (17-5)
The Spartans take on No. 2 Monte Vista for the East Bay Athletic League title tonight. Coach Frank Allocco was picked as the coach of the West team for the April 3 McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago. Perhaps the greatest defensive coach in state history, Allocco is 621-90 in his career, including the last 17 seasons at DLS, and the fastest to reach 600 wins in state history.

15. (13) Serra (San Mateo) (16-6)
Danny Mahoney scored 21 of his 30 points in the first half in a 60-45 victory over Bellarmine in the wild WCAL.

16. (16) Rodriguez (Fairfield) (21-1)
The Mustangs of the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I field have lost only to No. 13 St. Joseph, in early December. Rodriguez has rolled through the Monticello Empire League.

17. (18) San Ramon Valley (Danville) (19-3)
The Wolves avenged an earlier loss to Granada (Livermore) with a 62-55 victory as Jerry Karczewski had 19 points and David Gunn 15. Another win includes a dramatic 59-56 effort over No. 2 Monte Vista.

18. (19) Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) (14-8)
Jiday Ugbaja and Chiefy Ugbaja scored 18 and 10 points, respectively, to beat St. Francis (Mountain View) to remain in the thick of the WCAL scramble.

19. (20) Modesto Christian (16-8)
There's no shame in losing to top-ranked Bishop O'Dowd 70-52, despite 15 points from Jeff Wu. Coaches Gary Porter and Richard Midgley expect another shot in the NorCal Open playoffs.

20. (NR) Half Moon Bay (20-2)
Not just a town for pumpkins and ocean views, the Cougars of the North Coast Section are surging under one of the best coaches in all of NorCal in Rich Forslund, whose top players include 6-foot-6, 250-pound screen mover Rico Nuno.

21. (21) Moreau Catholic (Hayward) (17-5)
The Mariners lost a crusher to No. 9 Newark Memorial 65-64 despite 18 points from Armond Simmons. Newark won both Mission Valley League meetings this season.

22. (22) Burlingame (19-3)
The winning streak is 10 for the Panthers, led by Frankie Ferrari, one of the top players in all of NorCal with a name unlike any other.

23. (23) Del Oro (Loomis) (24-1)
The Sac-Joaquin Section D-II Golden Eagles have had monster teams before, but none quite like this one. Del Oro clinched the Sierra Foothill League title with team unity the key as the players like to wear different colored socks.

24. (24) Campolindo (Moraga) (17-6)
The Cougars are in first place in the Diablo Foothill League standings under coach Matt Watson and loom as a North Coast D-III favorite.

25. (NR) Berkeley (19-2)
The Yellowjackets return to the rankings with a seven-game winning streak. First place in their league? Top-ranked Bishop O'Dowd.

The Sacramento Bee on a young football coach who takes over one of thetop programs in Northern California

The Sacramento Bee on basketball upsets shaping the season and The Bee's Top 20 rankings

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports at The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter @SacBee_JoeD and on www.sacbee.com.