MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school basketball rankings

The finals are here, and everyone's cramming to catch up.

Rematches are the theme for the top four Divisions with No. 1 Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) looking to back up its emphatic victory over No. 2 Capital Christian (Sacramento) from the January MaxPreps Martin Luther King Jr. showcase at Cal, this time in the CIF Northern California Open Division finals at Sleep Train Arena.

In Division I, No. 3 Monte Vista (Danville) prepares again for upstart Freedom (Oakley) after beating it twice earlier, including for the North Coast Section D-I title. And in D-II play, No. 4 Folsom and No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) meet two weeks after Folsom prevailed over the Wolfpack in the Sac-Joaquin Section finals.

In D-IV, Moreau Catholic (Hayward) faces Salesian (Richmond), having beaten the Pride 73-68 in the North Coast Section finals.



See the Northern California boys basketball playoff brackets and CIF state tournament brackets


*Season Complete

1. (Last week 1) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) (27-4)
The Dragons continue to play like the top-ranked team in the North, including beating No. 7 Modesto Christian in an Open Division semifinal 74-51 behind anchor Ivan Rabb, a 6-foot-10 marvel of versatility and dominance, and Paris Austin, a blur in the open court, to set up rematch showdown with No. 2 Capital Christian for the Open title at 8 p.m. Saturday night at Sleep Train Arena. O'Dowd is unbeaten in NorCal play and has a close loss to national No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana).

2. (2) Capital Christian (Sacramento) (28-4)
The Cougars, top-ranked by The Sacramento Bee all season, pulled away from defending Open Division champion Mitty for a 74-51 win in the Open semifinals, the program's greatest NorCal achievement. D.J. Wilson had 13 points, 14 rebound, five blocked shots and some emphatic dunks, and guards Marcelas Perry, Uchenna Iroegbu and Justice Shelton-Mosely keyed the effort. Next is O'Dowd, the last team to beat Capital, 13 games ago.

3. (3) Monte Vista (Danville) (30-1)
Top-seeded in D-I, the Mustangs have looked the part, including a 72-47 rout of longtime power McClymonds (Oakland) in a semifinal. Trevor John and Spencer Rust lead Monte Vista against upstart and new No. 12 Freedom on Saturday night at 4 p.m. at Sleep Train Arena. Monte Vista last reached the finals in 2009, falling to McClymonds, which three-peated.

4. (4) Folsom (31-2)
The top-seeded D-II Bulldogs beat West Catholic Athletic League members St. Ignatius (66-40) and Serra (San Mateo) (58-57) to extend their winning streak to 21. They return to Sleep Train Arena, two weeks after they beat No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks for the Sac-Joaquin Section title. Jordan Ford scored 17 of his 25 in the fourth against Serra in a semifinal, including the game-winner down the lane. Role players include Alec Andrews, Gavin Smith, Lukas Hendricks and Josiah Deguara.



5. (12) Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) (16-17, 16 losses by forfeit)
The Wolfpack are 32-2 on the floor but have 16 official wins because they played an ineligible player. This is a scary, cohesive team that, after losing to Folsom in the D-II Sac-Joaquin Section finals, recovered to beat Leigh (San Jose) 82-63 and Grant (Sacramento) 87-67 with hot late surges. Alex Van Dyke, L.J. Reed, Eric Toles, Jr., Jaaron Stallworth and Matt Muldavin face Folsom again, this time at noon on Saturday at Sleep Train Arena.

6. (7) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (27-5)
The defending NorCal Open champion Monarchs beat El Cerrito 67-58 in an Open opener before falling at No. 2 Capital Christian 70-57 in a semifinal. The future is bright for the longtime Central Coast Section and West Catholic Athletic League powers with 6-8 sophomore Ben Kone returning.

*7. (9) Modesto Christian (23-9)
The three-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section champion beat No. 8 Newark Memorial 56-55 in an Open Division opener before bowing to top-ranked Bishop O'Dowd 74-51 in a semifinal. This closes out the remarkable career for coach Gary Porter, who took over a winless program in 1997 and promptly won 16 Sac-Joaquin Section titles in various divisions and had a 37-0 state title team. Co-coach Richard Midley, one of the program's all-time great players, takes over next season with a lot of returning talent.

*8. (5) Newark Memorial (Newark) (23-8)
The Cougars won the North Coast Section D-II title and then lost an Open Division opener to No. 7 Modesto Christian 56-55, snapping a 21-game winning streak. Newark won three successive section titles with Joey Frenchwood as anchor.

9. (8) St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) (29-5)
Winners of back-to-back NorCal D-I and state titles with Jason Kidd in the early 1990's, the Pilots now seek a four-peat in D-V on Saturday when they play Central Catholic at American Canyon. Don Lippi is one of the great NorCal coaches over the decades. His current team is led by Temidayo Yussuf, Marcus Harris, Lamont Banks and Jade' Smith.

*10. (10) El Cerrito (28-5)
The North Coast Section D-III runners-up to No. 1 Bishop O'Dowd, the Gauchos lost to No. 7 Mitty in the Open Division 67-58. Sayeed Pridgett and Tyrell Alcorn will return.



11. (11) Moreau Catholic (Hayward) (26-6)
Relative newcomers to this sort of thing, the Mariners look the part of seasoned veterans as the top seeds in the D-IV field, beating St. Patrick/St. Vincent's (Vallejo) 91-78 in a semifinal. And this is one of the youngest teams in the state. The last team to beat Folsom, MC plays longtime power Salesian (Richmond) on Saturday at 4 p.m. for the title at American Canyon. The Mariners beat Salesian 73-68 in the North Coast Section D-IV finals. Key players are Oscar Frayer, Damari Milstead, Armond Simmons and Brandon Lawrence.

12. (18) Freedom (Oakley) (26-6)
Newcomers to all of this, the Falcons showed that they belong, beating previous No. 6 Jesuit on the road 78-65 in a D-I semifinal. Elliot Smith, Rodney Pope and national football recruit Joe Mixon will lead Freedom against No. 3 Monte Vista for the title Saturday at 4 p.m. at Sleep Train Arena.

*13. (6) Jesuit (Carmichael) (29-4)
The Marauders started the season 18-0, lost to No. 8 Newark Memorial, and didn't lose again except two close Delta River League losses to No. 4 Folsom. Jesuit won the program's ninth Sac-Joaquin Section title, then rolled Lincoln (San Francisco) in a D-I game 76-47 before falling to new No. 12 Freedom 78-65, closing out the careers of Lake Lutes, Nick Hilton, Josh Soriano and Brady Anderson. Leading scorer Isaiah Bailey returns.

*14. (16) Serra (San Mateo) (22-9)
The Padres beat No. 18 Montgomery of Santa Rosa 53-51 in a D-II opener before falling to Folsom in a semifinal 58-57. Danny Mahoney, Sean Watkins and Trevor Brown had strong seasons for Serra, a longtime power under coach Chuck Rapp.

15. (21) Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) (21-9)
The Crusaders were well prepared for the postseason grind after enduring the West Catholic Athletic League that includes Mitty, Serra, St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral. Riordan beat Campolindo 72-68 in overtime in the D-III semifinals and will take on new No. 16 Drake on Saturday at 8 p.m. at American Canyon. Key players include cousins
Jiday Ugbaja and Chiefy Ugbaja.

16. (NR) Drake (San Anselmo) (25-7)
Roaring into the rankings for the first time, Drake bounced two-time defending D-III champion Sacred Heart Cathedral 69-60 and now prepares for No. 15 Riordan in the finals Saturday at 8 p.m. at American Canyon. Jesse Hunt is among the key players. Drake won NorCal titles in 1981 and '82 in D-II, won it in D-IV in 1994 and played for it in '95. Hunt's father played on the '81 and '82 teams.



17. (NR) Salesian (Richmond) (23-14)
Look who's back in the thick of things. A young team coming of age after mass graduation losses for an Open team last season, the Pride beat Half Moon Bay 60-43 in a D-IV semifinal to set up a showdown with top-seeded and No. 11 Moreau Catholic, which beat Salesian 73-68 in the North Coast Section finals. The Pride seeks its fourth D-IV title in six seasons.

*18. (17) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) (23-7)
The Wildcats lost at No. 4 Folsom in a D-II quarterfinal, closing the career of standout guard Trevor Dunbar, an all-time program great. Members of the West Catholic Athletic League, SI had two wins against Open entry Mitty and won the Central Coast Section D-II title.

*19. (25) Montgomery (Santa Rosa) (24-7)
After beating previous No. 13 Del Oro in a D-II opener, the Vikings fell to No. 14 Serra in a second-round game. Montgomery was the No. 1 seed in the North Coast Section D-II playoffs.

*20. (13) Del Oro (Loomis) 28-2)
The Golden Eagles had their 24-game winning streak snapped to No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-II semifinal, a game that went to the wire. Del Oro lost in D-II NorCal opener to No. 13 Serra 53-51. Danny Becker and Connor Drake had big seasons.

*21. (14) St. Mary's (Stockton) (27-2)
The season ended in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II quarterfinals to No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks 76-74. Gabe Vincent had 40 in his final outing.

*22. (22) Campolindo (Moraga) (23-7)
The Cougars lost leading scorer Matt O'Reilly with a broken arm but still rolled Vanden 96-64 in a D-III quarterfinal before falling to No. 14 Riordan 72-68 in overtime. Andrew Zolintakis and Justin Dunn had big playoff runs.



*23. (NR) McClymonds (Oakland) (21-9)
Mack was back, recovering from the sudden departure of its coach for unspecified reasons to charge into the playoffs, highlighted by a 57-48 win over No. 24 San Ramon Valley in the D-I quarterfinals behind Deion Ellis. The season ended to No. 3 Monte Vista 72-47 in the semifinals.

*24. (19) San Ramon Valley (Danville) (24-6)
The Wolves are the only team to beat No. 3 Monte Vista, and they beat Kennedy (Sacramento) 56-55 in a D-I opener before falling to No. 23 McClymonds 57-48. This ends the remarkable career of longtime coach John Raynor, who won titles with class and spirit.

*25. (23) Grant (Sacramento) (27-8)
The Pacers beat Chico 65-46 and Concord 66-58 on the road in D-II play before falling to No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks in the semifinals, 87-67, after it was 66-62 at one point. Cameron Oliver bows out but guard Donovan Brown returns.

The Sacramento Bee on Capital Christian's victory over defending Open Division champion Mitty

The Sacramento Bee on Cosumnes Oaks' win over Grant and Folsom's late rally to beat Serra in Division II semifinals

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