MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school basketball rankings

League play continued to heat up for all ranked teams with a few nonleague games of note in the mix, including this coming Saturday with Capital Christian (Sacramento) taking on Modesto Christian in a battle of Sac-Joaquin Section powers.

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1. Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) (Last week 1) 15-3
Section: North Coast
League: West Alameda County
Update: Top ranked by the San Francisco Chronicle and No. 1 in the state, the Dragons beat Alameda 86-52 and San Leandro 74-57 in league play. A showdown with national power Oak Hill Academy looms in the Nike Extravaganza. Ivan Rabb is the top player in the state.

2. Monte Vista (Danville) (2) 18-2
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The defending Division I state champions beat San Ramon Valley (Danville) 47-40 and Granada (Livermore) 69-48 to avenge an earlier loss. Other wins include 67-62 over then-No. 2 De La Salle and 66-64 over then-No. 2 Folsom. Monte Vista is led by Stefan Mitu, Spencer LaShells and Wilson LaShells, who had 39 points against Granada.



3. Folsom (3) 20-3
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: The Sacramento Bee No. 1-ranked team beat Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 55-40 and Granite Bay 62-48 to win for the 11th time in 12 outings, last falling 66-64 to No. 2 Monte Vista. Two unsung players are Alec Andrews and Jared Wall.

4. De La Salle (Concord) (4) 18-2
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Spartans rolled in league play with three routs, downing California (San Ramon) 66-36, Livermore 91-44 and Bethel (Vallejo) 62-39. The losses were in double overtime to No. 2 Monte Vista and to defending CIF State Division IV champion Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 61-55 in the finals of the SoCal Christmas Classic championship.

5. Moreau Catholic (Hayward) (5) 15-5
Section: North Coast
League: Mission Valley
Update: The NorCal Division IV champions have an 11-game winning streak behind Oscar Frayer and Terrell Brown after beating Newark Memorial 73-54 and American (Fremont) 68-58.

6. Campolindo (Moraga) (6) 18-2
Section: North Coast
League: Diablo Foothill
Update: Behind leading player Chris Hansen, the Cougars took a 12-game winning streak into the week after three league wins, beating Dublin 78-59, Acalanes (Lafayette) 64-49 and Miramonte (Orinda) 67-51. Earlier ranked wins include Sacramento (66-65), Modesto Christian (72-63) and El Cerrito (67-63).

7. Saint Francis (Mountain View) (8) 16-2
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic
Update: The Lancers are top-ranked by the San Jose Mercury News and are alone in first in league play despite a 61-42 setback to a Mitty team they beat earlier. Saint Francis beat ranked Serra (San Mateo) 59-54.

8. Sacramento (9) 18-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metropolitan
Update: The Dragons beat rival Kennedy (Sacramento) for the third time, twice in league play, 70-56, and then rolled a solid Florin (Sacramento) team 81-41 in winning for the 11th time in 12 outings. Guard Christian Terrell is one of the best in the state.



9. Drake (San Anselmo) (7) 19-3
Section: North Coast
League: Marin County
Update: The defending NorCal Division III champions, led by Jesse Hunt, lost a thriller to rival Marin Catholic 52-51, snapping a 19-game winning streak. This is still the league favorite, and D-III favorite. An earlier win includes No. 6 Campolindo.

10. Woodcreek (Roseville) (10) 19-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: The Timberwolves, ranked second by The Sacramento Bee, last lost to Bee No. 1 Folsom 57-53, and the teams meet next week. Noah Blackwell leads Woodcreek. Another loss was to No. 2 Monte Vista, 45-44.

11. Sheldon (Sacramento) (12) 13-5
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Huskies bounced back from a close loss to rival Pleasant Grove to emerge in first place in the wildly competitive Delta League. The backcourt of Elishja Duplechan, Isaiah Brooks and Devin Greene might be the best in all of NorCal.

12. El Cerrito (13) 20-3
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Rock
Update: The Gauchos, led by Tyrell Alcorn, recovered from a 62-61 loss at No. 11 Sheldon to beat previously ranked St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo) 68-40, and beat Hercules 74-31 plus beat Grant (Sacramento) 85-60.

13. Half Moon Bay (19) 21-0
Section: Central Coast
League: Peninsula North
Update: The Cougars continue to roll, dominating in league play and beating Jefferson (Daly City) 63-28, Oceana (Pacifica) 80-43 and South San Francisco 65-35.

14. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (11) 16-6
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Eagles had a 13-game winning streak halted at Jesuit (Carmichael) but are still very much in the Delta League title race. James Fox and Johann Tate make for a quick backcourt.



15. Modesto Christian (15) 17-3
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Modesto Metro
Update: The Crusaders, top ranked by The Modesto Bee, are running through league play with routs of Davis (Modesto) 88-50 and Modesto 87-51. A showdown looms against No. 19 Capital Christian (Sacramento) on Saturday.

16. Serra (San Mateo) (16) 14-4
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic
Update: The Padres lost to No. 7 Saint Francis for the second time, 59-53, in the rough-and-tumble WCAL. An earlier big win was over then-No. 3 Mitty 46-43.

17. San Ramon Valley (Danville) (14) 16-4
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Wolves lost to No. 2 Monte Vista 47-40 in league play and have a setback to No. 4 De La Salle, too, making for quite a three-team league race.

18. Kennedy (Sacramento) (17) 17-5
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metropolitan
Update: The Cougars had a seven-game winning streak halted to rival No. 8 Sacramento. An earlier win was over No. 19 Capital Christian.

19. Capital Christian (Sacramento) (18) 13-7
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Golden Empire
Update: The Cougars are rolling in league play behind a host of players, including guard Tiegen Jones, son of coach Devon Jones. A showdown looms Saturday against No. 15 Modesto Christian. Earlier losses include No. 10 Woodcreek 58-47 and to No. 18 Kennedy 66-62.

20. Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) (20) 13-5
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Outlook: The Crusaders have bounced back strong from a 1-3 league start to win four straight, including Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 38-35 and Valley Christian (San Jose) 44-32 as defense sets the tone.



21. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (21) 11-7
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: Top-ranked by the San Jose Mercury News for much of the season, a skid included losing four of five games before belting No. 7 Saint Francis 61-42 to save face. Ben Kone leads the way.

22. Albany (22) 23-1
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Stone
Update: The Cougars take a 16-game winning streak into the week, having lost only to No. 7 Drake 56-45 in December. Albany beat Swett (Crockett) 66-50, Richmond 76-45 and Tamalpais 53-49. The regular season finish line looms.

23. Salesian College Preparatory (Richmond) (NR) 15-7
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Rock
Update: A longtime NorCal power, the Pride own a recent win over No. 24 Berkeley and last lost to ranked El Cerrito, 72-60, a game they can avenge this week.

24. Berkeley (23) 14-6
Section: North Coast
League: West Alameda County
Update: The Yellowjackets are in first in league play, last losing to No. 23 Salesian 72-69 in a thriller. Other earlier losses were to ranked El Cerrito 78-65 and Pleasant Grove 59-56.

TIE 25. Stuart Hall (San Francisco) (NR) 20-2
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Counties West
Update: The Division V power is rolling behind Armani Collins, who is averaging 19.7 points.

TIE 25. Sequoia (Redwood City) (NR) 17-3
Section: Central Coast
League: Peninsula South
Update: The Cherokees of the Bay Area are riding a nine-game winning streak, thanks to balance and defense.

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Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. He co-hosts with Mike Finnerty the weekly Bee Preps Show that airs on ComcastSportsNet California and can be found on sacbee.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and through facebook.com/sacbeepreps.