No. 1 Mater Dei caps perfect season with win in California Open Division state championship game; No. 6 Arsenal Tech wins Indiana 4A crown.
Mater Dei rushes the court in celebration after defeating Bishop O'Dowd 71-61 in California's Open Division state championship game.
Photo by Ralph Thompson
MaxPreps will recognize its 2013-14 national champion in conjunction with next Monday's (April 7) final Xcellent 25 rankings.
With top-ranked Mater Dei winning its fourth-consecutive California state crown over the weekend and capping an unbeaten (35-0) season, will that announcement hold any mystery?
Stay tuned.
Eight of the nation's top 15 teams – including three unbeatens – meet in New York City this week for the Dick's Sporting Goods High School National Tournament. While the No. 1 ranking will be tough to pry away from Mater Dei, we will let the season play out to its conclusion before handing out any hardware.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 35-0With a 71-61 win over then-No. 23 Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) in California's Open Division final, the Monarchs capped their first unbeaten season since 1985 and may give legendary head coach Gary McKnight his first national title. The prevailing thought seems to be that Montverde Academy has played a significantly more challenging schedule than Mater Dei, but that's a debatable position. Mater Dei beat five state champions this season, went 9-0 against teams that played for state titles and 17-0 in tournament play.
2. (2) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 25-0 *Montverde Academy is the top seed for the Dick's Sporting Goods High School National Tournament later this week in New York City. The Eagles face No. 4 Sagemont in the opening round.
3. (3) Rainier Beach (Seattle), 29-0Also headed to Dick's Nationals, the Vikings will meet No. 15 Findlay Prep on Thursday in quarterfinal play.
4. (4) Sagemont (Weston, Fla.), 33-0Despite their unbeaten record, the Lions head to Dick's Nationals as a No. 8 seed and a heavy underdog in the first round against Montverde Academy.
5. (5) Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.), 28-1Another program headed to Dick's Nationals, the Knights will meet storied No. 10 Oak Hill Academy in opening-round action.
* Record includes forfeit victory{PAGEBREAK}
Head coach Alan Huss and La Lumiere will take on Huntington St. Joseph Prep in one of four intriguing first-round matchups at Dick's Nationals.
Photo by Nick Koza
The Titans beat Lake Central (St. John) 63-59 in front of more than 18,000 fans Saturday night for the Class 4A state title. Following a loss to Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers) on Feb. 1, Tech won 10 in a row down the stretch to become the first Indianapolis Public Schools team to win a state crown since 1980.
7. (7) La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), 23-2The Lakers earned an invite to Dick's Nationals and will meet No. 12 Huntington St. Joseph Prep in the tournament opener.
8. (8) Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross, Ga.), 32-0Season complete. Class AA state champions.
9. (9) Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), 33-1Season complete. Division I state champions.
10. (10) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 39-3The Warriors will attempt to slow down high-scoring No. 5 Northside Christian Academy in the opening round at Dick's Nationals.{PAGEBREAK}
Findlay Prep's Kelly Oubre (pictured) and Rashad Vaughn will participate in the McDonald's All-American Game on Wednesday, then head to New York City for action with the Pilots at Dick's Nationals on Thursday.
Photo by Mike Braca
Season complete. Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament, VISAA Division 1 and Alhambra Catholic Invitational champions.
12. (12) Huntington St. Joseph Prep (W.Va.), 27-4Making their first appearance at Dick's Nationals, the Fighting Irish take on No. 7 La Lumiere in opening-round play.
13. (13) Whitney Young (Chicago), 29-5 *Season complete. Class 4A state champions.
14. (14) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 30-3 *Season complete. Division I state champions.
15. (15) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 30-4Looking for their fourth Dick's Nationals crown, the Pilots open in NYC against No. 3 Rainier Beach.
* Record includes forfeit victory{PAGEBREAK}
Karl Towns Jr. and St. Joseph knocked off Newark East Side in New Jersey's Tournament of Champions final.
Photo by Richard Ta
Season complete. Class A state champions.
17. (17) Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.), 28-3Season complete.
18. (18) North Shore (Houston), 35-3Season complete. Class 5A state champions.
19. (NR) St. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.), 30-2Season complete. NJSIAA Tournament of Champions winner.
20. (19) Orlando Christian Prep (Fla.), 30-1Season complete. Class 2A state champions.{PAGEBREAK}
Neumann-Goretti won its final 17 games of the season en route to Pennsylvania's Class AAA title.
Photo by Ken Reabe Jr.
Season complete. Class 4A state champions.
22. (22) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 27-4Season complete. Class AAA state champions.
23. (24) New Castle (Pa.), 31-0Season complete. Class AAAA state champions.
24. (21) Callaway (Jackson, Miss.), 31-1Season complete. Class 5A state champions.
25. (25) Germantown (Wis.), 26-2Season complete. Division 1 state champions.
Dropped out: No. 23 last week
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.)
MaxPreps Postseason Awards ScheduleApril 7 – Final Xcellent 25
April 8 – National Player of the Year
April 9 – National Coach of the Year
April 14 – All-American Team
April 16 – Junior All-American Team
April 18 – Sophomore All-American Team
April 22 – Freshmen All-American Team
