Schedule strength breaks the tie, and Riverdale's is the best.
Windward awaits a showdown with Bishop O'Dowd for the California state title, and each team's national ranking will be affected by the result.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Here's the situation: There are eight unbeaten teams in the Xcellent 25, ranging from No. 1 Riverdale of Tennsee to No. 21 Notre Dame of Illinois. So why is Riverdale No. 1 and not, say, Bedford North Lawrence of Indiana?
The biggest difference is strength of schedule and, unlike the computer, we give more credit to a few wins over elite teams than a lot of wins over pretty good teams. Riverdale does have quality wins against teams outside Tennessee, and wins over Tennessee teams that have are quality wins. Duncanville does not, having stuck pretty much to Texas teams, but the eye test gives Duncanville a strong boost. The Panthers are tall, quick, deep, relentless and talented.
View the updated list of girls basketball state championsAnd then there's Windward, which has also played a pretty tough schedule, but mostly against California teams — though this year California teams are very strong. How about Marion County? A couple nice wins, but Kentucky is down. Incarnate Word? Beat No. 15 Hoover early, but went to Kentucky and didn't play Marion County.
View the girls basketball state playoff bracketsIn the end, a case could probably be made for any of the unbeaten teams, but we don't do eight-way ties, so it's Riverdale, which has finished its season, that will wind up as the top team in the 2012-13 Xcellent 25.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Girls Basketball Rankings Presented by the Army National Guard*1. (Last week 1) Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 35-0It's a very tough call for No. 1, and reasonable people can disagree, but Riverdale played a more adventurous schedule than Duncanville — and that's just enough of an edge to earn the top spot.
*2. (2) Duncanville (Texas) 42-0Texas basketball is good, no doubt, but for a variety of reasons. There doesn't appear to be as much recruiting at the high school level in the Lone Star state, and thus not as many elite teams. There are very good teams, but not star-studded collections of talent ...
3. (3) Windward (Los Angeles) 32-0Windward handled No. 18 Mater Dei as its five starters played almost every minute of the game. Saturday night, it's
Windward vs. No. 8 Bishop O'Dowd for the first-ever California Open Division title -- and you can stream it by going to
http://www.cifstate.org.
4. (4) St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 33-1If not for that one stumble against Our Lady of Good Counsel — a team the Cadets beat twice — St. John's would also be in the No. 1-in-the-nation discussion.
*5. (5) Fairmont (Kettering, Ohio) 27-1Makayla Waterman had 24 points and a clutch late free throw as Fairmont snapped Twinsburg's 73-game winning streak with a 52-48 win in the Ohio title game.{PAGEBREAK}
No. 8 Bishop O'Dowd won the Northern California title, now it awaits Windward in Saturday's state championship game.
Photo by Gary Jones
It's not Marion County's fault that Kentucky overall was down this year, but it still made it hard for the Knights to prove themselves on the national scene.
*7. (7) St. Mary's (Phoenix) 29-1Season complete. State champions.
8. (8) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) 29-3Bishop O'Dowd did not play well in a 58-50 win over previously ranked St. Mary's of Stockton, but coach Malik McCord says the team played one of its worst games of the year in an earlier loss to No. 3 Windward. The Dragons will need to play better Saturday night in the Windward rematch.
*9. (9) Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis) 33-0Can you say "in-state dominance?" Incarnate Word won the Class 4 semis and the Class 4 finals by 41 points — and no, not 41 points total, but 41 points in each game.
*10. (11) Bedford North Lawrence (Bedford, Ind.) 28-0Bedford North Lawrence just keeps climbing as teams above it lose. Like Duncanville, the record is impressive, but the out-of-state competition was lacking.{PAGEBREAK}
Millbrook moved all the way up to No. 11 after winning the North Carolina state title.
Photo by Fabian Radulescu
Make it 43 straight wins and two consecutive North Carolina championships for senior-dominated Millbrook. The Wildcats also beat Mauldin, S.C., North Cobb, Ga., and Bradley Central, Tenn., on three consecutive days in late December en route to their undefeated season.
12. (13) Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) 29-2The Cavaliers lost only to No. 4 St. John's and by one to young and talented McDonogh, a team they beat by 19 and nine the other two times they played.
*13. (16) Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) 26-3Central Catholic lost three of its first six, but then kicked into gear to win its last 23 — and an Oregon state title.
*14. (14) Mead (Spokane, Wash.) 25-1Another team that didn't venture far from home, Mead is very tough to gauge.
*15. (18) Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 28-4It's tough call between Hoover and Norcross, as Hoover has the worse loss on the two schedules. But Hoover beat Norcross by 12, so that tipped the scales.{PAGEBREAK}
Sierra Butler and No. 16 Norcoss beat No. 20 North Gwinnett for the Georgia state championship.
Photo by Larry Lawson
Norcross lost only to good teams, but did lose five times — and that's a lot for a nationally-ranked team.
*17. (19) Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights, Ill.) 31-1Illinois basketball was down a little this year, but Marian Catholic was clearly the class of the state.
18. (12) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 29-2The Monarchs stumbled late, against Etiwanda and No. 3 Windward, but they do have that win over No. 7 St. Mary's and another over Ossining, which has played well lately. That keeps them in the Xcellent 25.
19. (24) Centerville (Ohio) 26-2Centerville beat Princeton with Kelsey Mitchell, and also knocked off Seton LaSalle, which is slightly more impressive than Twinsburg's win over Goodrich. A close call, but Centerville gets the slot in the Xcellent 25.
20. (20) North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) 30-2North Gwinnett beat No. 17 Norcross once (but lost twice), beat No. 24 Science Hill and knocked off perennial Ohio small-school power Hathaway Brown.{PAGEBREAK}
No. 22 Shabazz made its way back into the rankings after winning the New Jersey TOC.
Photo by Richard Ta
Notre Dame didn't play No. 17 Marian Catholic, but the smaller school did beat the team that beat Marian Catholic. Still, Notre Dame didn't have the same challenges night in and night out.
22. (NR) Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) (33-1)After four years of frustration, Shabazz finally won the New Jersey TOC, beating Rancocas Valley 66-54 and jumping back into the Xcellent 25.
*23. (22) Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.) 29-3Florida has a bunch of champions (there are eight divisions in the state), and the consensus is that Dr. Phillips was the best. But Dillard was pretty good too.
24. (25) Science Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.) 35-4Science Hill had only good losses, but no signature wins.
*25. (NR) Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) 26-2Regis Jesuit returns to the rankings after winning the Colorado state title. Regis traveled to New York and Ohio to prove itself, losing only to No. 5 Fairmont on those two road trips.
Dropped out: No. 10 Twinsburg, No. 15 St. Mary's (Stockton).
*State champion
