Xcellent 25 high school boys basketball rankings

It's not too early to get excited about this weekend's Cancer Research Classic in West Virginia.

The annual event in Wheeling will feature five of the teams in this week's Xcellent 25 High School Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. Wheeling Jesuit University will once again play host Friday and Saturday.

The Saturday lineup includes new No. 1 Simeon (Chicago) taking on a Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) squad hungry to reclaim its season, No. 3 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) facing No. 10 Neumann & Goretti (Philadelphia) and No. 5 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) squaring off against Gill St. Bernard's (Gladstone, N.J.). No. 8 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) is also in action against Whitney Young (Chicago), a program that had a major impact on this week's rankings without actually being included.

All five ranked teams in the field are coming off tournament victories – a prominent theme in this week's rankings. Read on for a look at how the holiday madness played out.

Xcellent 25 High School Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (2) Simeon (Chicago) (12-0)
After surviving a scare in the semifinals against Manual (Peoria), the Wolverines took care of Curie 44-27 to win the 81st annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament. Jabari Parker earned tournament MVP honors as Simeon captured the event for the 10th time.

2. (3) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (7-0)
After dominating their first six opponents, the Friars got a test Sunday night from St. Benedict's Prep (Newark). St. Anthony trailed by six at the end of the third quarter but rallied for a 51-50 win. Head coach Bob Hurley's bunch also notched a 57-35 win over Roman Catholic (Philadelphia) and 68-25 victory New Mission (Boston) as part of the Shooting Touch Shootout last week.

3. (4) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (9-0)
Syracuse-bound Jerami Grant earned MVP honors as the Stags handled four solid California programs to win The Holiday Classic in San Diego. A potential showdown with nationally-ranked Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) was nixed when Windward (Los Angeles) knocked off the Aaron Gordon-led squad in the quarterfinals. Windward advanced to meet DeMatha in the championship game.

4. (6) Grace Prep (Arlington, Texas) (10-2)
The Lions have not played since losing to No. 13 Prestonwood Christian (Plano) in the final of the City of Palms Classic on Dec. 21.

5. (7) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) (12-1)
The Monarchs made an impressive run through the MaxPreps Holiday Classic, beating then-No. 19 Lincoln (Brooklyn) in the final 76-69. Mater Dei won its first three games in Palm Springs by an average of 36.3 points per game, finishing a tough eight-game holiday stretch with a 7-1 record.
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6. (1) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) (19-2)
The Marauders relinquish the No. 1 high school ranking for the first time this season after an upset loss to Richland (North Richland Hills) in the quarterfinals of the Whataburger Tournament. Marcus bounced back with wins over Berkner (Richardson) and then-No. 18 DeSoto to take fourth place.

7. (8) Loyola (Los Angeles) (11-0)
The Cubs already have three tournament titles under their belt this season after capturing the Father George National Jesuit Classic in Maryland after Christmas. Loyola beat host Georgetown Prep in the final 66-53.

8. (9) Chester (Pa.) (9-0)
The Clippers ran their win streak to 34 games over the holidays, beating Big Apple powerhouse Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) at the Villa Classic on New Year's Day, 65-53. Chester actually went undefeated during the 2011 calendar year with its last loss coming Dec. 30, 2010.

9. (10) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) (9-0)
Gonzaga cruised to the tournament title at the Piggly Wiggly Roundball Classic in South Carolina, winning all three games by 20 points or more. Juniors Nate Britt and Kris Jenkins earned co-MVP honors. A big game with Whitney Young is on the schedule this weekend as part of the Cancer Research Classic in West Virginia.

10. (14) Neumann & Goretti (Philadelphia) (7-1)
Since losing to No. 9 Gonzaga on Dec. 11, the Saints might be the hottest team in the country. Neumann & Goretti blasted aforementioned Christ the King 73-41 to win the Stop DWI Classic in Binghamton, N.Y., on Friday night. A suddenly huge matchup with No. 3 DeMatha is also part of the Cancer Research Classic.

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11. (12) Westbury Christian (Houston) (11-1)
The Wildcats haven't played since beating Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) for third place at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii before Christmas.

12. (15) Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.) (14-1)
The Jaguars went 4-0 at the GoSouthern.com Classic in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., beating Dyer County (Newbern) 61-55 in the final behind 22 points from JaJuan Johnson. Southwind won its first three games at the event by an average margin of 35.6 points per game.

13. (5) Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) (11-3)
The Lions squandered much of the momentum they built winning the City of Palms Classic by losing two of three games at the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina. After beating Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.) in the opening round, PCA was nipped by Whitney Young in the semifinals. St. Augustine (New Orleans) used a 44-21 second half to surge past the Texas private school power for a 13-point win on New Year's Eve.

14. (13) Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.) (4-0)
After an extended break, the Falcons return to the court Tuesday against Bishop Carroll (Wichita).

15. (17) Ridgeway (Memphis, Tenn.) (10-0)
The Roadrunners captured the 78th annual Normandy Holiday Invitational in St. Louis, beating hometown Soldan 49-44 in a double-overtime championship game. Ridgeway's first three victories in the event were such runaways that a mercy rule (running clock) went into action.

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16. (20) Sexton (Lansing, Mich.) (5-0)
The Big Reds notched a pair of statement wins over state powers during the holidays. The most recent was an 80-71 win over two-time defending Class A state champ Kalamazoo Central on Friday night. Iowa signee Anthony Clemmons scored 25 points in that contest. Sexton also beat preseason Class A No. 1 Romulus 70-62 prior to Christmas.

17. (11) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) (8-1)
Mitty's perfect record was ruined by Windward in the quarterfinals of The Holiday Classic in San Diego. The next big game on the schedule is Jan. 16 vs. De La Salle (Concord).



18. (NR) Milton (Ga.) (9-4)
A four-loss team in the rankings – especially this high – at this stage of the season is sure to raise some eyebrows. But the Eagles were forced to forfeit three early victories and just tore through the prestigious Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina. Milton beat Miami (Fla.) by 20 in the first round, Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) by 11 in the quarters, No. 25 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) by 21 in the semifinals and Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) by 28 in the championship game. Virginia-bound wing Evan Nolte earned tournament MVP honors.

19. (NR) Parkview (Little Rock, Ark.) (12-0)
The Patriots – winners of 19-straight dating back to last season – pulled off one of the bigger holiday shockers by going into Texas and capturing the Whataburger Tournament. The field was full of Lone Star State public school powers but it was a pair of out-of-state teams slugging it out in the final as Parkview beat King (Milwaukee, Wis.) 72-64. Junior guard Imara Ready scored 32 points in the final and earned tournament MVP honors.

20. (19) Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) (9-1)
The Railsplitters had a nice run at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., before falling to No. 5 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in the final, 76-69. Lincoln beat Washington Class 4A contender Skyline (Sammamish) and two-time defending event champion Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) in pool play to reach the championship game.

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21. (23) Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) (19-1)
The Hornets had little trouble earning the East Baton Rouge Parish/Bob Pettit/Coca-Cola Tournament, beating Southern Lab (Baton Rouge) by 12 in the championship game Dec. 30. Next up for Scotlandville is Riverside Academy (Reserve), who was ranked No. 21 last week before a disappointing showing at the Les Schwab Invitational in Oregon.

22. (24) Rainier Beach (Seattle) (8-0)
For those that follow Washington high school basketball closely, Rainier Beach's 8-0 start has been extremely impressive. The Vikings have wins over Bellevue, Gonzaga Prep (Spokane), Kentwood (Kent), O'Dea (Seattle) and Seattle Prep – all perennial state powers. Head coach Mike Bethea's squad defeated Bellevue 70-63 on Friday night to win the Bothell Holiday Classic. Another big test for Beach comes Jan. 16 vs. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) at the King Holiday Hoopfest.

23. (NR) Olympic (Charlotte, N.C.) (13-0)
The Trojans beat rival West Charlotte 71-68 on Friday to win the Upward Classic in Roebuck, S.C. Junior guard Allerik Freeman earned tournament MVP honors. Olympic has won 30 of its last 31 games.

24. (25) Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) (12-1)
The Eagles played host to a competitive 16-team field at the Converse Invitational and beat Eagle's Landing (McDonough) in the final to claim first place. Columbia has held five opponents this season to 40 points or less and is giving up just 45.1 points per game.



25. (16) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) (7-3)
The Gaels seemed primed to take the Beach Ball Classic for the second time in three years, but head coach David Boyd and No. 18 Milton got in the way with a semifinal upset. Bishop Gorman responded in impressive fashion, thumping Whitney Young 84-51 behind 32 points from Shabazz Muhammad. Several undefeated and one-loss teams were a heavy consideration here, but they simply haven't played the schedule Grant Rice's squad has. No. 1 Simeon beat Whitney Young by just seven back on Dec. 22.

Dropped out: No. 18 last week DeSoto (Texas); No. 21 last week Riverside Academy (Reserve, La.); No. 22 North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.)