Cliff Alexander and Curie shake up the high school basketball world with upset of then-No. 1 Montverde Academy on Monday at Spalding Hoophall Classic.

Stanley Johnson is the ringleader for No. 1 Mater Dei, but junior transfer Rex Pflueger (pictured) is beginning to find his groove with the Monarchs as well. Pflueger poured in 30 points Monday in a win at the Spalding Hoophall Classic over Neumann-Goretti.
File photo by Nick Koza
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 2 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 19-0Following a 79-67 win over Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) on Monday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., the Monarchs are in familiar territory: The top. A showdown in two weeks with No. 19 Whitney Young – a winner at Hoophall over then-No. 3 Oak Hill Academy – just got a lot bigger.
2. (5) Rainier Beach (Seattle), 15-0There will be readers and fans in an uproar that this spot didn't go to No. 3 Curie. But Rainier Beach and Curie have a common opponent and the results lean heavily in the Seattle school's favor. Curie beat Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 66-62 at the Chicago Elite Classic back on Dec. 7. Twenty-three days later the Vikings also faced Gorman and ran away with a 95-67 victory in the championship game of the Les Schwab Invitational. Beach received so-so reviews in a 65-60 win over Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.) at the Hoophall Classic, but the Knights came in red hot with recent wins over two nationally ranked WCAC rivals.
3. (8) Curie (Chicago), 16-1The Condors shocked the world Monday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic, taking down then-No. 1 Montverde Academy 73-69. Senior power forward
Cliff Alexander may have established himself as the frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors by taking over the game late and finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Curie is unbeaten this season with Alexander in the lineup.
4. (1) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 18-1After winning the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in impressive fashion, the Eagles may have run out of gas late in the fourth quarter against Curie. Montverde Academy's setback on Monday marks the second year in a row it has lost on "Big Monday" at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. The good news is the Eagles bounced back a year ago to win the National High School Invitational and the now-defunct Academy Top 10 national title.
5. (4) White Station (Memphis, Tenn.), 16-1The Spartans went toe-to-toe with then-No. 1 Montverde Academy for 24 minutes in the final of the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo., before falling 73-60. White Station dispatched No. 8 Paul VI impressively in the semifinals of the event.{PAGEBREAK}

Junior guard Jalen Coleman had a big night for No. 10 La Lumiere in a win at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
File photo by Nick Koza
6. (6) Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.), 18-1NCA continued its dominance over in-state opponents this season with big wins over Metrolina Christian Academy (Indian Trail) and Christ School (Arden) last week.
7. (7) Arsenal Technical (Indianapolis), 13-1Tech has been tough to slow down in recent weeks, topping the 80-point mark in seven of its last eight outings.
8. (11) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 16-3Despite a loss to No. 5 White Station in the semifinals of the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions, head coach Glenn Farello has to be happy with his young Panthers coming out of the long weekend. The Panthers blew out Willard (Mo.) and Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) at Bass Pro in Missouri, then traveled to Massachusetts for a win over storied St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
9. (13) Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.), 19-3While many of the nation's elite teams were in Missouri or Massachusetts for big showcases, the Stallions were back home in Florida making a statement. Providence blew out two of the state's best teams at the Wally Keller Classic, beating Norland (Miami) 68-44 and Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) 76-55.
10. (15) La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), 15-2Jalen Coleman came up big for the Lakers in a 65-55 win over No. 12 Our Savior New American at the Spalding Hoophall Classic, putting up 28 points to lead all scorers.{PAGEBREAK}
11. (3) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 23-2For the second year in a row at the Spalding Hoophall Classic, Oak Hill Academy fell to a team from Chicago. Last year it was Jabari Parker and Simeon. This year, Jahlil Okafor and No. 19 Whitney Young got the Warriors 53-50.
12. (9) Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.), 13-2After starting the season 11-0, the Pioneers have lost two of their last four outings including a 65-55 loss to No. 10 La Lumiere at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
13. (16) Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross, Ga.), 19-0The Spartans will be tricky to weigh in the national rankings going forward. GAC hasn't faced a team that has appeared in the Xcellent 25 this season, but is crushing opponents by an average margin of 25 points per game and has won 37 games in a row overall.
14. (18) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 21-3Looks who's back after a rough stretch in December. The Pilots beat Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) 73-44 at the Spalding Hoophall Classic and Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) 56-44 earlier in the weekend at Flyin' to the Hoop.
15. (19) Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), 18-1The Aztecs hammered three of the Top 10 teams in Arizona (according to the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings) by a combined 69 points last week.{PAGEBREAK}

Montaque Gill-Ceasar and No. 20 Huntington St. Joseph Prep got a key win over Prime Prep at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
Photo by Mike Braca
16. (20) Apple Valley (Minn.), 15-1The Eagles have won 10 in a row since an early December loss to No. 19 Whitney Young. Apple Valley is averaging 92.8 points per game in those 10 victories.
17. (22) Loyola (Los Angeles), 16-1The Cubs outscored Crespi (Encino) 30-11 in the fourth quarter on Monday en route to a 75-55 victory. Four players are averaging 10 or more points per game for Loyola this season, led by junior guard
Max Hazzard (15.9) and 6-foot-11 senior
Thomas Welsh (15.1).
18. (21) Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.), 12-2Carroll dominated action at the Burger King Classic in Erie, beating Cathedral Prep (Erie) 47-35 and thumping St. Rita (Chicago) 64-38 in the final.
19. (23) Whitney Young (Chicago), 12-4A week ago, the Dolphins re-entered the rankings with a bit of trepidation on our part due to the four losses on their resume. But Whitney Young justified the move with a big win over No. 11 Oak Hill Academy at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
20. (25) Huntington St. Joseph Prep (W.Va.), 17-4Rob Fulford's Express have key wins this month over No. 12 Our Savior New American and then-No. 24 Prime Prep on Saturday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.{PAGEBREAK}
21. (NR) St. John's (Washington, D.C.), 13-1The Cadets' only loss came against No. 8 Paul VI on Dec. 12. St. John's has been a buzzsaw since that setback, winning nine of 11 contests by double digits. A rematch with Paul VI was scheduled for Tuesday night but weather will shift that showdown to another date.
22. (NR) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 15-1The young Stags team broke through with a surprisingly lopsided 73-45 win over Karl Towns and St. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.) at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. A battle with No. 21 St. John's in WCAC play is scheduled for Thursday.
23. (NR) Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.), 6-1Perhaps we should have exercised more patience with the Huskies after a loss to No. 16 Apple Valley earlier this month. The setback came following a weather-induced 21-day layoff and the Kansas school led much much of the way in that one. Head coach Ed Fritz's squad is 54-3 over the past three seasons.
24. (NR) Cape Henry Collegiate (Virginia Beach, Va.), 12-0Transfer
Marcus Evans has been huge for the Dolphins, who have quality wins over St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) and Benedictine (Richmond, Va.). Collegiate will face No. 12 Our Savior New American in two weeks at the Battle of the Bay in Atlantic City, N.J.
25. (NR) Garfield (Seattle), 14-0Garfield loaded up on talented transfers in the offseason and has picked up steam in recent weeks – including a 72-57 win over rival Franklin (Seattle) on Monday. Washington State-bound senior guard
Tramaine Isabell – who led Lakeside to the 3A title game as a junior – leads the storied Seattle program in scoring at over 22 points per game. Federal Way transfers
Brayon Blake and
DeeShawn Tucker are also double-figure scorers.
Dropped out: No. 10 last week
Germantown (Wis.); No. 12
St. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.); No. 14
Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.); No. 17
Carmel (Ind.); No. 24
Prime Prep (Dallas)