Top 25 high school basketball rankings

Two undefeated and nationally-ranked teams went down over the weekend, but the biggest news may have come off the court.

According to the Miami Herald, last week's No. 22 Dr. Krop (Miami, Fla.) is in danger of having to forfeit the majority of its victories this season if it can't produce paperwork Monday proving that senior guard Bryan Delancy is eligible to play.

Delancy joined the Lightning from The Bahamas. According to the Herald, it is believed he is missing his I-20 form, a required student visa.

How big of an impact could the Florida High School Athletic Association's ruling make?

Huge.



Dr. Krop, which lost to Hialeah-Miami Lakes (Hialeah) last Tuesday and was headed for unranked status before the news, has played four key games involving teams in the Xcellent 25. The Lightning beat then-No. 2 Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) last weekend and also boast a victory over Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), No. 21 in this week's rankings.

Reversing those results would be dramatic, putting Miller Grove back in the national championship picture and Dwyer among the top one-loss teams in the country.

Read on to see how news on and off the court impacted this week's elite.

Xcellent 25 High School Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (No. 1 last week) St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) (14-0)
The Celtics locked up another week at No. 1 by beating Newark Tech 78-50 Saturday night at the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless Classic last week. St. Patrick also notched a 19-point win over Union last Tuesday. National Player of the Year candidate Michael Gilchrist averaged 25 points per game in the wins.

2. (2) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (12-0)
Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, N.Y.) nearly ended hopes of a No. 1 St. Patrick vs. No. 2 St. Anthony battle of unbeatens Saturday night at the SNY Invitational, building a 12-point against the Friars only to see it dissipate in the final minutes. St. Anthony went on to beat the Brooklyn program 43-38 to take the tournament title one night after topping Mt. Vernon (N.Y.) 60-47. Six-foot-eight junior Kyle Anderson was named the event's most outstanding player.



3. (3) Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) (19-0)
The Wolverines ripped apart Whitney Young (Chicago) 60-39 in a rematch of last season's Illinois Class 4A state title game Saturday night. Six-foot-seven junior Steve Taylor led Simeon with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Head coach Robert Smith's squad also added wins over Chicago foes Harlan (74-53) and Bogan (69-60).

4. (4) Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) (19-0)
The Jackrabbits have won every game in the month of January by 19 points or more, including a 25-point win over Compton last week. Sophomore Roschon Prince led Poly in that contest with 26 points and five rebounds.

5. (6) Milton (Ga.) (19-2)
Since losing to No. 1 St. Patrick at the City of Palms Classic, the Eagles have taken their game to another level. Milton is 9-0 since Dec. 22, winning by an average margin of 28.2 points per game. That span includes victories over Winter Park (Fla.), then-No. 1 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and Saturday's 77-59 thumping of Wheeler (Marietta) – Georgia's No. 2-ranked Class AAAAA team.

6. (7) Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) (16-0)
Note to teams from Wisconsin – don't play Hopkins. For the second time in as many weeks, the Royals hammered a Badger State team, this time 93-53 over Madison East (Madison, Wis.) at the Border Battle. Nick Jorgensen came off the bench to lead Hopkins in scoring with 20 points. Riverside University (Milwaukee, Wis.) was the victim last week in a 24-point beating.

7. (8) Lincoln (San Diego, Calif.) (20-1)
The Hornets should coast into the postseason with a 25-1 record. Lincoln already beat the five opponents remaining on its schedule convincingly during the month of January.

8. (9) Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) (15-0)
Future Villanova Wildcat Tyrone Johnson scored 19 points to lead Montrose Christian to a 73-47 win over Don Bosco Cristo Rey (Takoma Park) in its only action of the week.



9. (10) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) (27-1)
After playing in the upper 60s and 70s early on this season, the Marauders have seen their scores dip into the 30s, 40s and low 50s over the past two weeks, averaging just 45.7 points per game during that stretch. Marcus began last week with a 38-31 win over Plano West (Plano) and ended it with a 51-46 victory over Plano.

10. (5) Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.) (18-1)
The Greyhounds showed some grit this weekend, dropping their first game since February of last season but bouncing back and dominating DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) 71-57 Sunday night. Norcom may have been caught looking ahead Saturday against rival Booker T. Washington (Norfolk, Va.), suffering a 59-54 setback. But the team's "Big Three" of Dorian Finney-Smith (18 points, 10 rebounds), Jeremy Canty (21 points) and Decarlos Anderson (16 points) stepped up against the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference power. Head coach Leon Goolsby's bunch received a soft landing in the rankings, but earned it with wins over programs like No. 11 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.), United Faith Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.) and Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, Va.).

11. (11) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) (24-2)
The Pilots swept through West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.), Orlando Christian Prep (Orlando, Fla.) and Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.) over the weekend to win the Montverde Academy Invitational. Arizona signee Nick Johnson scored 16 points and tournament MVP Myck Kabongo added 14 in a low-scoring final (48-39).

12. (12) Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) (18-1)
The Wolverines bounced back from their first loss of the season (which may turn out to be a forfeit) in dominating fashion, blasting Marist (Atlanta), Carver (Atlanta) and Redan (Stone Mountain) by an average margin of 25.6 points per game.

13. (13) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (20-2)
The Warriors capped a three-win week by thrashing Roanoke Catholic (Roanoke) 95-49 Saturday night. The dominating effort included a 28-4 first quarter and a game-high 28 points from future Duke Blue Devil Quinn Cook. OHA will be thoroughly tested over the next three weeks with games against No. 18 Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.), No. 19 Oak Ridge Military Academy (Oak Ridge, N.C.) and dangerous Christ School (Arden, N.C.).

14. (14) Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.) (13-0)
The Falcons haven't lost since December 2009, a streak now at 32 games despite being taken to overtime in an 84-75 win over East (Wichita) last week. Against East, senior guard Evan Wessel posted a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Junior star Perry Ellis added 30 points and 10 boards.

15. (15) Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) (19-0)
Florida signee Bradley Beal thrust himself into the National Player of the Year race with a 44-point performance Thursday night in an 82-77 win over O'Fallon (Ill.). The victory included a 75-foot buzzer-beater to end the first half by Flyer Luke Bumgarner.



16. (16) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) (20-2)
The Monarchs jumped on Trinity League rival Orange Lutheran (Orange) early and never looked back in an 84-61 win Saturday to avenge one of two losses this season. Junior Xavier Johnson led Mater Dei with 23 points. Mater Dei should get a tough test next weekend as it hosts hot Price (Los Angeles) – a winner in eight-straight games – at the Nike Extravaganza.

17. (17) Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) (22-0)
The final three weeks of the season are loaded with landmines for the Redwings. St. Patrick (Chicago), Marist (Chicago) and Notre Dame (Niles) have all pushed Benet already this season. Then there is No. 3 Simeon at the City-Suburban Showdown Feb. 19.

18. (18) Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.) (17-1)
Did not play last week.

19. (20) Oak Ridge Military Academy (Oak Ridge, N.C.) (27-2)
The Cadets extended their win streak to 11 games with wins over Upper Room Christian Academy (Raleigh) and High Point Christian Academy (High Point). ORMA battered junior phenom Rodney Purvis and Upper Room by 30. A showdown with Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh) is scheduled for Thursday.

20. (21) Lakeview Centennial (Garland, Texas) (26-1)
The Patriots rolled to easy wins over Boyd (McKinney) (67-49) and Naaman Forest (Garland) (73-49). Centennial has won 49 of its last 51 games dating back to last season.

21. (23) Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) (20-2)
Dwyer, which may have its loss to Dr. Krop wiped out due to the Delancy eligibility squabble, won all three games it played last week by 35 points or more. The Panthers topped the 100-point mark for the first time this season in a 101-60 job on Lake Worth.



22. (23) Northland (Columbus, Ohio) (14-0)
The Vikings won four games last week, highlighted by a 74-60 win over Logan (W.Va.) at the King Coal Classic. Michigan signee Trey Burke led the way with 25 points. Northland owns an incredible 109-4 record since the 2006-07 season.

23. (25) Linn-Mar (Marion, Iowa) (16-0)
North Carolina commitment Marcus Paige – just a junior – finished with 17 points and backcourt mate Matt Bohannon added 16 as the Lions roared past Prairie (Cedar Rapids) on Friday night 70-40. Waterloo East (Waterloo) was the victim three nights earlier in another lopsided matchup.

24. (NR) Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.) (18-2)
Since losing back-to-back games to close December, the Toreadors have been scary good. That stretch includes a 16-point win over Mount Vernon (N.Y.) and victory margins of 30 points or more in six of eight contests. Taft is getting double-figures scoring from four players this season, including C.J. Blackwell (13.2 points per game), Stephen Maxwell (12.6), 6-9, 260-pound Kevin Johnson (12.0) and Colorado signee Spencer Dinwiddie (10.4).

25. (NR) Kimball (Dallas, Texas) (25-2)
Yet another streaking team to close out this week's rankings. Kimball has won 21 games in a row with wins over fellow Texas 4A power Lincoln (Dallas), Riverside Academy (Reserve, La.) and Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.) during that stretch. The Knights averaged 104.5 points per game last week in wins over North Dallas and Carter (Dallas).

Dropped out: No. 19 Etiwanda (Calif.), No. 22 Dr. Krop (Miami, Fla.)