Wild week in the Windy City sends Simeon's stock falling; Lone Peak could be in stretch run of national championship chase.
Top-ranked Lone Peak begins Class 5A state tournament play this week in Utah.
Photo by David Argyle
After erupting for a season-high 90 points Friday night against Lehi, the Knights close out the regular season Tuesday against Bingham (South Jordan). Class 5A state tournament play begins next week.
2. (3) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 28-0The Knights opened Southern Section Division IV-AA tournament play with a 101-36 win over Whittier Christian (La Habra) and followed with an 86-45 throttling of Twentynine Palms. That sets up a Tuesday quarterfinal matchup with potentially dangerous Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood).
3. (4) Germantown (Wis.), 22-0Riding a 49-game win streak, the Warhawks open Division 1 state tournament play Friday against either Hartford Union or Waukesha South.
4. (5) Lake Oswego (Ore.), 23-0Winners of 35 of their last 36 games dating back to last season, the Lakers get their final playoff tune-up Tuesday against rival Lakeridge (Lake Oswego).
5. (6) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 27-1The Monarchs continue Southern Section Division I-AA tournament play Tuesday against Warren (Downey). Mater Dei dominated Roosevelt (Eastvale) 83-48 in the opening round.{PAGEBREAK}
Players like junior Devin Wyatt have stepped up to give Duke-bound guard Matt Jones plenty of help at DeSoto this season.
Photo by Alik McIntosh
The Friars have been blowing off some steam since losing to St. Benedict's Prep (Newark) two weeks ago, winning four games by an average of 36.7 points per game.
7. (8) DeSoto (Texas), 31-2The long march that is the Texas Class 5A state tournament begins Tuesday for DeSoto in bi-district play against Copperas Cove.
8. (9) Whitney Young (Chicago), 23-3After beating No. 21 Morgan Park for the Chicago Public Schools tournament crown Saturday, the Dolphins actually jump back into regular season play before the state playoffs. Whitney Young will take on powerhouse Benet Academy (Lisle) on Saturday in the annual City-Suburban Showdown.
9. (10) Long Beach Poly (Calif.), 25-2On a collision course with No. 5 Mater Dei in California's Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs, the Jackrabbits opened with an 84-39 win over Palmdale. Poly will face Mayfair (Lakewood) on Tuesday.
10. (11) Olympic (Charlotte, N.C.), 22-0The Trojans wrapped up their second unbeaten regular season in as many years with an 84-50 win over Charlotte Catholic on Friday.{PAGEBREAK}
Following a loss in the Chicago Public Schools tournament semifinals, Jabari Parker most likely won't be finishing his storied Simeon career with a national title.
Photo by Jann Hendry
In front of a big crowd on the campus of University of Detroit Mercy, Pershing pounded Cass Tech 80-61 to capture the Detroit Public School League championship Friday.
12. (12) Iowa City West (Iowa), 21-0West is battling through some adversity as star guard Dondre Alexander – who has been suspended from the team twice this season – left the team for good late last week. The Trojans shook off the bad news with a 57-37 victory over recent state power Linn-Mar (Marion) and head to the postseason unbeaten.
13. (15) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.), 23-1The Tigers take on Northeast (Oakland Park) on Tuesday in Class 7A regional semifinal play after a surprisingly easy opening-round win over St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale).
14. (2) Simeon (Chicago), 22-3It's a sticky situation in Chicago this week. Morgan Park beat Simeon in the CPS semis, avenging an earlier defeat to the Wolverines. Whitney Young beat Morgan Park in the finals but lost just two weeks ago to Simeon. It's difficult to decipher a pecking order in that love triangle, so we will just stick with our gut for now and see how this plays out in the state tournament – though Morgan Park will be in Class 3A while Simeon and Whitney Young slug it out in Class 4A.
15. (16) North Little Rock (Ark.), 25-1After beating Marion by 40 in January, things were much tougher for NLR this time around in a 67-64 Friday victory.{PAGEBREAK}
A new-look Bishop Gorman squad has a chance to finish with a better record this year than it did a year ago when Shabazz Muhammad was on the roster.
Photo by David Hood
The Gaels beat Centennial and the Stanford-bound Allen twins (Malcolm and Marcus) for the third time this season Friday night, earning a spot in the Division I state semifinals this week against either Hug (Reno) or Valley (Las Vegas).
17. (19) Chester (Pa.), 20-3The Clippers opened PIAA District 1 tournament play with an 86-57 win over Bayard Rustin (West Chester) on Friday. Chester should have no problem earning one of 10 bids from District 1 to the Class AAAA state tournament.
18. (20) Irmo (Columbia, S.C.), 25-0After a 38-point win over Clover in the opening round, Irmo faces Spartanburg on Monday in the second round of South Carolina's Class AAAA state tournament.
19. (22) Walnut Hills (Cincinnati), 21-1The Eagles take on Talawanda (Oxford) on Friday in district play. It's win-or-go home the rest of the way for Walnut Hills.
20. (23) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 25-3Wins over St. John's (Washington, D.C.), Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) and Bishop O'Connell (Alexandria, Va.) last week helped the Eagles finish Washington Catholic Athletic Conference play undefeated. Quite an achievement considering point guard Nate Britt – a future North Carolina Tar Heel – transferred to Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) over the summer. That opened the door for
Kris Jenkins to blossom as a full-fledged star. The burly Villanova-bound wing is averaging a team high 18.6 points per game on the year.{PAGEBREAK}
DePaul-bound guard Billy Garrett Jr. is having a special senior season at Morgan Park.
Photo by Jann Hendry
In a year where everybody in Chicago was talking about Simeon and Whitney Young, the Mustangs nearly snuck through the back door and stole the city title.
22. (NR) Romulus (Mich.), 16-1The Eagles have won 15 games in a row since an early December loss to No. 11 Pershing. Romulus has beaten Arthur Hill (Saginaw), Consortium College Prep (Detroit) and Detroit County Day (Beverly Hills) in a tough run of games this month – teams with a combined record of 42-8.
23. (NR) Wenonah (Birmingham, Ala.), 30-2Based on Friday's 128-42 sub-region win over Walker (Jasper), head coach Cedric Lane's squad looks ready to make a run for its third state championship in a row.
24. (NR) Hebron (Carrollton, Texas), 32-2We nearly went with South Grand Prairie here, but both the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings and the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches have Hebron rated higher. No. 7 DeSoto and Berkner (Richardson) are the only teams to beat the Hawks, who returned the favor against the latter twice. Cal Poly signee
Ridge Shipley leads Hebron in scoring at 18.4 points per game.
25. (25) Northland (Columbus, Ohio), 22-0The unbeaten Vikings open Division I district play Friday against Hilliard Darby. Regardless of what happens in the state tournament, keep an eye on Northland in 2013-14 as it returns six of its top seven scorers and 14 players who have seen action this season.
Dropped out: No. 13 last week
Midwest City (Okla.), No. 18
Theodore Roosevelt (Washington, D.C.), No. 21
Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.).
