MaxPreps Boys Basketball Xcellent 25

About the rankings: MaxPreps.com already provides the most comprehensive high school sports ratings with the MaxPreps National Rankings presented by the National Guard, a computer model developed by Ned Freeman. Now, it’s time to get the human element involved.

Each Monday, senior writer Dave Krider will run down the top 25 boys basketball teams in the country – weighing record, quality wins and losses and other factors to determine the best of the best.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25

1. Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 38-0. Last week: 1. The Warriors did not play last week.

2. Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.) (35-2) Last week: 2. The Comets gave coach Ed Azzam his fifth Division I state title in five tries with a dominating 49-31 victory over defending champion Oakland McClymonds before a crowd of 5,179. Their 2-3 zone defense held McClymonds to 10-of-49 shooting from the field. Senior guard Dominique O’Connor scored 16 points and junior Dwayne Polee pulled down 10 rebounds as the junior-dominated Comets finished the year with a 13-game winning streak.

3. St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) 29-3. Last week: 3. The Celtics rolled past Lenape, 66-40, during the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions. Junior guard Kyrie Irving set the pace with 20 points and six steals, while sophomore Michael Gilchrist grabbed 14 rebounds. Senior forward Paris Bennett suffered a broken nose. Big game: Monday vs. Newark Science Hill for the T of C championship.

4. Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 30-0. Last week: 4. The Pilots did not play last week.

5. Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) 20-2. Last week: 5. The Mustangs did not play last week.

6. Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 28-0. Last week: 6. The Royals won the Class 4A sectional with an 88-68 victory over Wayzata. Royce White scored 16 points and Trent Lockett 15 as all five starters reached double figures. Big game: Wednesday vs. Blaine in state quarterfinals.

7. South (Bloomington, Ind.) 25-0. Last week: 7. The Panthers edged Indianapolis Franklin Central, 58-55, to win the Class 4A semistate. Senior guard Jordan Hulls had 20 points and four assists, with junior center Erik Fromm adding 14 points. Big game: Saturday vs. Fort Wayne Snider (25-1) for the state championship.

8. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 31-2. Last week: 8. Season complete.

9. Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) 24-1. Last week: 9. The Yellowjackets routed the Academy of Oak Park, 83-40, to win the Class B regional. Jordan Dumars was high with 15 points, two more than Ray McCallum. Earlier Donnavan Kirk scored 20 points to spark a 73-53 victory over Crockett. Big game: Tuesday vs. Warren DeLaSalle in the state quarterfinals.

10. LeFlore (Mobile, Ala.) 29-3. Last week: 10. Season complete.

11. Northland (Columbus, Ohio) 25-1. Last week: 11. The Vikings shot 56 percent from the field to hand Dublin Scioto its second loss, 54-53, in overtime and capture the Division I regional. Junior center Jared Sullinger dominated with 17 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks. Junior forward J.D. Weatherspoon added 17 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Trey Burke had 15 points. Big game: Friday vs. Warren Harding (22-3) in the state semifinals.

12. Franklin (Seattle, Wash.) 28-1. Last week: 12. Franklin’s season is complete as the Class 3A state champion.

13. St. Benedict’s (Newark, N.J.) 23-2. Last week: 13. The Gray Bees did not play last week.

14. South Atlanta (Atlanta, Ga.) 29-3. Last week: 15. The Hornets’ season is complete as Class AAA state champion.

15. Yates (Houston, Texas) 34-1. Last week: 16. Yates’ season is complete as Class 4A state champion.

16. Rice (Manhattan, N.Y.) 24-3. Last week: 18. The Raiders did not play. Big game: Friday vs. Brooklyn Lincoln in the State Federation Class AA semifinals.

17. Pershing (Detroit, Mich.) 23-1. Last week: 19. The Doughboys defeated Detroit Southeastern – the only team to beat them this year – 92-59, to win the Class A regional. Junior guard Keith Appling fired in 30 points, while senior center Derrick Nix had nine rebounds and four blocks. Big game: Tuesday vs. Warren DeLaSalle in the Class A state quarterfinals.

18. Coral Reef (Miami, Fla.) 27-4. Last week: 20. Season complete as Class 6A state champion.

19. Ames (Iowa) 26-0. Last week: 21. The Little Cyclones have completed their season as Class 4A state champions.

20. Holmes (Covington, Ky.) 36-2. Last week: 22. The Bulldogs won four games last week, capturing their first state title with a scintillating 67-63 double-overtime victory against Louisville Central before a crowd of 15,632. Junior Elijah Pittman lit the spark with 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Jeremiah Johnson and Dominique Johnson each scored 13 points. In the semifinals, they ousted small-school favorite Sandy Hook Elliott County, 67-57, before a hostile crowd of 16,419 as Pittman had 23 points and 11 rebounds. Ricardo Johnson added 17 points.

21. Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.) 27-5. Last week: 23. The Lions’ season is complete.

22. Lake Clifton (Baltimore, Md.) 28-0. Last week: 24. Lake Clifton’s season is complete as Class 3A state champion.

23. Fayetteville (Ark.) 30-0. Last week: 25. The Bulldogs’ season is complete as Class 7A state champion.

24. Princeton (Cincinnati, Ohio). 24-1. Last week: Not ranked. The Vikings won the Division I regional with a 64-60 victory over city foe LaSalle, overcoming a five-point deficit with a 9-0 run in the final minute. Orlando Williams scored 22 points, while junior Jordan Sibert scored 13 of his 18 in the fourth quarter. Sibert scored 24 points and Marquis Home had 23 during a 78-65 semifinal victory over another city opponent, Aiken. Big game: Friday vs. Toledo St. John’s in the state semifinals.

25. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) 31-4. Last week: 17. The Stags defeated Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.), 65-61, to place third at the 49th annual Alhambra Catholic Invitational in Cumberland, Md. They made 15-of-21 free throws and committed just four turnovers. Senior Naji Hibbert scored 27 points, shooting 8-of-9 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. They were upset in the semifinals, 64-58, by Baltimore St. Frances, snapping a 15-game winning streak.

Dropped Out: No. 14 Thornton (Harvey, Ill.) (30-2), lost to eventual champion Chicago Whitney Young, 59-54, in the Class 4A state semifinals.

Previous Weeks: Jan. 5 / Jan. 20 / Jan. 26 / Feb. 9 / Feb. 16 / Feb. 23 / March 2 / March 9 / March 16