Rankings are all but secure with only the National High School Invitational left.
At 42-0, Texas 5A champion Duncanville certainly made its case for the No. 1 ranking, but narrowly missed out in favor of Tennessee power Riverdale.
Photo by Jim Redman
All that's left on the schedule is the ESPN National High School Invitational April 4-6, which will have four girls teams, including two teams in the Xcellent 25 (No. 12 Archbishop Spalding and No. 23 Dr. Phillips) and two knocking at the door (Life Center Academy of New Jersey and Dillard).
View the updated list of girls basketball state championsAlso knocking on the door is St. Mary's of Stockton, which dropped out last week despite very good credentials. The Rams, who beat No. 13 Central Catholic, are the fourth-best team in California, and so the question is this: Is the fourth best team in California better than the best team in Oregon? Or the best team in Illinois?
View the girls basketball state playoff brackets
It's not an easy call, especially as the elite teams in California are very good this year, just as they are in the DMV. Maybe the NHSI results will allow St. Mary's to slide back in, or Life Center to stake a claim. Then again, maybe not ...
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Girls Basketball Rankings Presented by the Army National Guard*1. (Last week 1) Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 35-0Tennessee was very good this year too, and Riverdale did not have an easy road to the state title.
*2. (2) Duncanville (Texas) 42-0Texas will claim that Texas was the best — debatable. No debating this: no team in the land went 42-0.
3. (4) St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 33-1Night in and night out, the DMV (District of Columbia/Maryland/Virginia) was the toughest in the nation.
*4. (5) Fairmont (Kettering, Ohio) 27-1Ohio had three teams ranked for a while, despite a limited out-of-state schedule.
*5. (6) Marion County (Lebanon, Ky.) 39-0Maybe Kentucky will be better next year — but unfortunately Marion County loses most of its firepower.{PAGEBREAK}
No. 7 Bishop O'Dowd moved up a spot after winning the California Open Division title last Saturday.
Photo by David Steutel
Another dominant team in a weak state, but what keeps the Knights here is the Nike TOC win over No. 7 Bishop O'Dowd.
*7. (8) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) 30-3The Dragons dominated previous No. 3 Windward in the
first-ever California Open Division title game, avenging one of those three losses. O'Dowd is arguably the best team ever out of Northern California.
8. (3) Windward (Los Angeles) 32-1Coach Vanessa Nygaard (who played at Stanford and in the WNBA) said the Wildcats had to make shots to beat No. 7 Bishop O'Dowd — and they didn't do either.
*9. (9) Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis) 33-0A really good team that steadily crept up the rankings. Needed a signature win, though.
*10. (10) Bedford North Lawrence (Bedford, Ind.) 28-0Indiana rules make it hard to travel, or even bring elite teams into the state. Bedford North Lawrence, therefore, is a national unknown.{PAGEBREAK}
No. 11 Milbrook finished the season as state champions with a record of 29-0.
Photo by Fabian Radulescu
How about a Millford-Bedford North Lawrence game between two unbeaten state champions that really didn't play any out-of-state opposition?
12. (12) Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) 29-2The Cavaliers could move up by winning the NHSI, but they likely have more to lose than to gain.
*13. (13) Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) 26-3Clearly Oregon's best, and Oregon basketball is always good — and it was better than normal this year.
*14. (14) Mead (Spokane, Wash.) 25-1Washington added some games to the schedule a couple years ago, so we're waiting for some teams to get on a plane.
*15. (15) Hoover (Ala.) 28-4Hoover is one of those schools, like California's Long Beach Poly, that seems to be good in every sport.{PAGEBREAK}
Before some late losses, No. 18 Mater Dei was ranked No. 1 for a good part of the season.
Photo by David Hood
, daughter of former major leaguer Delino DeShields, is generally considered the best player in the country.
*17. (17) Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights, Ill.) 31-1One loss by six points — otherwise Marian Catholic is in the top ten.
18. (18) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 29-2The Monarchs were No. 1 from the Nike TOC in December until they lost by one in overtime to Etiwanda — and then No. 8 Windward took them out in the California semis.
19. (19) Centerville (Ohio) 26-2An argument could be made that Twinsburg deserves this spot, but Centerville at least beat No. 4 Fairmont once.
20. (20) North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) 30-2Georgia was strong again this season, and North Gwinnett lost only to No. 16 Norcross.{PAGEBREAK}
No. 23 Dr. Phillips is one of the few teams with games left to be played this season.
Photo by James Conrad
Another unbeaten state champion, but this time in a smaller-school division. Still, a couple good wins and no losses can carry a team a long way.
*22. (22) Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) (33-1)Shabazz has a lot coming back, and could be a top ten team next year.
*23. (23) Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.) 29-3If Dr. Phillips can beat No. 12 Archbishop Spalding, the Panthers could easily move up.
24. (24) Science Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.) 35-4A good team in a good state, Science Hill played a tough schedule and won 35 games.
*25. (25) Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) 26-2Another team that St. Mary's of Stockton might be better than — but Regis Jesuit is a state champion, and St. Mary's lost in the semifinals.
Dropped out: None.
*State champion
