A week of shocking postseason results saw ample movement within the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings, headlined by No. 1
Richardson falling 54-52 to
McKinney in the Texas Class 6A state tournament.
This week, state champions are crowned in Texas, California, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina and Arkansas as each state tournament has direct impacts on next week's rankings.
Another postseason event taking place this week is the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament, which features a quality eight team field of No. 9
St. Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.), No. 23
Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.),
Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.),
St. Frances Academy (Baltimore),
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.),
Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore),
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) and
Bishop Walsh (Cumberland, Md.).
Kaden Hansen (10) scored a team-high 18 points to lead No. 24 Auburn to the Washington Class 3A state title.
Photo by Paul Caldwell
Record: 33-1 | Last week: 2
Advanced to the UIL Class 6A state semifinals with wins over Cypress Ranch (Houston) 72-59 and Garland 61-38. The Panthers look to complete their quest for a third consecutive state championship this week beginning with a Friday semifinal showdown with Atascocita (Humble).
Record: 31-1 | Last week: 3
The Huskies blew past Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 76-55, advancing to Tuesday's CIF Open Division Southern Section Regional final against No. 11 Sierra Canyon. With a win, the Huskies will advance to Saturday's CIF Open Division state title game.
Record: 24-2 | Last week: 4
Captured the FHSAA Class 4A state championship with a 74-58 win over Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville), led by 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals from Michigan signee
Gregg Glenn. The Eagles will compete in the inaugural State Champions Invitational from April 7-9.
Record: 26-0 | Last week: 5
Paced by 15 points from Indiana commit
Gabe Cupps, the Elks beat Lakota West (West Chester) 80-53 in the second round of the OHSAA Division I state tournament. Fairmont (Kettering) on Wednesday is next with a trip to the state quarterfinals on the line.
Record: 27-2 | Last week: 6
Top-ranked junior
D.J. Wagner exploded for a game-high 33 points in the Panthers' 92-42 victory over Manchester Township (Lakehurst) to advance to Monday's NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 2 title game against Haddonfield.
Record: 27-3 | Last week: 7
The Charging Wildcats took down Central (Little Rock) 58-40 to advance to Thursday's Class 6A title game against Bentonville. They were led by Arkansas signee
Nick Smith, who finished with 24 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
Record: 24-2 | Last week: 8
The Lions shellacked Wardlaw-Hartridge (Edison) 109-56 behind North Carolina commit
Simeon Wilcher's 18 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds to advance to Monday's NJSIAA North Jersey, Non-Public B semifinal against Morris Catholic (Denville).
Record: 34-1 | Last week: 9
The Hilltoppers opened Class 4A state tournament play with a 68-41 victory over Wheaton-Warrenville South (Wheaton), led by 20 points from Gonzaga signee
Braden Huff. Monday's quarterfinal opponent is Larkin (Elgin).
Record: 29-4 | Last week: 11
The Panthers captured a pair of postseason titles, winning the WCAC tournament 43-42 over Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) and grabbing the VISAA Division I title 56-52 against St. Stephen's & St. Agnes (Alexandria). They close out the season this week at the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament.
Record: 25-3 | Last week: 12
Five-star sophomore
Boogie Fland erupted for a career-high 33 points in the Crusaders' 85-51 victory over St. Raymond (Bronx) in the CHSAA Class 2A quarterfinals. They face Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn) in Wednesday's semifinals.
Record: 26-4
| Last week: 16
The Trailblazers avenged their only in-state loss, beating Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) 72-55 in the CIF Southern Section Open Division regional semifinal. Balanced scoring led Sierra Canyon, headed by four-star junior
Mike Price (15), USC-bound
Kijani Wright (14) and UCLA signee
Amari Bailey (13). No. 3 Centennial is up Tuesday in the SoCal semifinals.
Record: 32-2 | Last week: 1
Fell from the top spot after a shocking 54-52 loss to McKinney 54-52 on a last second basket. Alabama signee
Rylan Griffen scored a game-high 25 points and Kentucky signee
Cason Wallace chipped in 20 in the 6A bracket loss.
Record: 24-4 | Last week: 13
Defeated Archbishop Ryan (Philadelphia) 66-57 to claim the District 12 top seed. The Panthers open Class 5A tournament play with a first-round matchup Tuesday against Chichester (Boothwyn).
Record: 26-3 | Last week: 18
Season complete. NCISAA Class 4A state champions.
Record: 30-0 | Last week: 25
The Warriors battled back from a 24-8 first-quarter deficit to knock off North Mecklenburg (Huntersville) 72-69 paced by seniors
Kyle Frazier (28) and
Chase Lowe (24) in the NCHSAA 4A state semifinals. The defending Class 3A state champions enter Saturday's state title game against Panther Creek (Cary) riding a 48-game winning streak.
Record: 28-0 | Last week: NR
Capped an unbeaten season with a 79-72 victory over Knoxville Catholic (Knoxville) and TSSAA Division II Class AA championship. The Purple Wave were paced by Florida State signee
Chandler Jackson, who finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Record: 24-3
| Last week: 20
Ian Jackson, the nation's No. 2 sophomore prospect, scored a game-high 24 points in an impressive 70-47 CHSAA Class 2A quarterfinals win over Christ the King (Middle Village). The Cardinals look to avenge a Feb. 6 61-56 loss against St. Francis Prep (Fresh Meadows) in Wednesday's semifinal.
Record: 29-2 | Last week: NR
Cameron Boozer
capped an incredible freshman campaign with 18 points, 16 rebounds and
five blocks in the Explorers' 69-54 victory over Lake Worth in the FHSAA
Class 7A state semifinals and followed that with 17 points, seven rebounds and five
assists in a 45-44 title game victory over previous No. 17 Dr. Phillips
(Orlando). Boozer's twin brother
Cayden hit the game-winning free throw in the championship.
Record: 29-1 | Last week: NR
Sophomore
Caleb Williams,
who finished with a game-high 20 points, grabbed his teammate's miss
and finished a layup at the buzzer to give the Quakers a 46-45 victory
over Wilson in the DCSAA title game. The win likely secured a spot in
next month's inaugural State Champions Invitational.
Record: 34-3 | Last week: 22
The
defending state champions return to the 5A semifinals after wins
over Goose Creek Memorial (Baytown) 79-78 in triple overtime, Weiss
(Pflugerville) 70-47 and Crosby 63-57 last week. The Timberwolves take on Kimball (Dallas) in a
rematch of last year's 5A state title game.
Record: 30-1 | Last week: 19
Season complete. NIAA 5A state runner-up.
Record: 31-1
| Last week: 23
The
Cardinals have an opportunity to repeat as 10th Region tournament
champions and secure a berth in the Sweet Sixteen this week, beginning Monday with a semifinal contest against Mason County
(Maysville).
Record: 18-5 | Last week: 21
Return to the court for the first time since concluding regular-season play on Feb. 19, facing Gonzaga (Washington) on Thursday in their first-round matchup at the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament. The Crusaders final ranking depends heavily on how they fare this weekend to close out the season.
Record: 27-2 | Last week: NR
Captured the program's first state title with a 58-48 victory over Rainier Beach (Seattle), led by seniors
Kaden Hansen (18) and
Tre Blassingame. The Trojans also defeated previous No. 14 Garfield (Seattle) 64-60 in overtime behind 22 points and 10 rebounds from senior
Dae'kwon Watson in the state quarterfinals.
Record: 26-4 | Last week: NR
Knocked
off previous No. 10 Pebblebrook (Mableton) 72-58 in the AAAAAAA semifinals, led by 22 points from senior
Jameel Rideout. The
Falcons return to the state title game for the second consecutive
season, facing Norcross on Saturday.
