Video: Top 10 Plays of the Week // Week 9
All the buzzer-beating, viral action from the past week.
Even if you know history, sometimes it repeats itself.
Two years ago, undefeated and national No. 1 St. Mary's of Stockton played Pinewood at Delta College in the Northern California Open Division semifinals — and suffered a shocking upset at the hands of the 3-point shooting school of 300 students.
Tuesday night, No. 5 in the nation St. Mary's of Stockton played Pinewood at Delta College in the Northern California Open Division semifinals — and suffered a shocking upset at the hands of the 3-point shooting school of 300 students.
That derailed a highly anticipated rematch Saturday between St. Mary's and No. 1 Archbishop Mitty at Santa Clara University, and sets up a rematch of the March 2 Central Coast Section championship, which Mitty won at Santa Clara, 76-62.
That very recent history suggests that Archbishop Mitty should advance to the California Open Division title game March 24, but don't forget Pinewood's history of big-time upsets.
St. Mary's remembers all too well.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
Northwest Guilford jumps into the Xcellent 25 after beating previous No. 8 Southeast Raleigh in the North Carolina 4A state title game.
Photo by Alik McIntosh
Despite losing its starting center to an ACL in the last regular season game, Archbishop Mitty has not missed a beat in postseason — and with No. 5 St. Mary's out of the picture, the path to a No. 1 ranking and unbeaten season just got a little easier.
2. (2) Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), 28-0After winning the New York State Catholic Championship last weekend, Christ the King must now wait until March 23 for the other New York associations to finish up. Then the titlists will gather in Glens Falls to determine the overall champ.
3. (3) Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 36-1Riverdale finished its season by coasting through the 4A playoffs, winning by 27, 18 and 27. Bradley Central, unbeaten starting the state tournament, was upset by Houston in the semifinals.
4. (4) St. John's (Washington, D.C.), 32-2Season complete.
5. (6) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 30-4Season complete.
6. (7) Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.), 24-2Hamilton Heights hasn't played a game since Feb. 23, and hasn't played a game with a single-digit margin since 2017, so adjusting to the level of competition at the GEICO High School Basketball Nationals March 30-31 might be a challenge.
7. (9) Centennial (Las Vegas), 29-3Centennial's impressive body of work includes lots of travel, wins over quality opponents from a variety of states (and Okinawa), and a fourth straight state championship. Which is why Centennial continues to move up in the rankings without playing a game.
8. (11) Mercer County (Harrodsburg, Ky.), 36-3Mercer County jumps into the Top 10 after winning the Kentucky championship — and remember every team in Kentucky, including two that were in the Xcellent 25 at one time and a couple more that could have been, is in the same bracket.
9. (14) Central Valley (Spokane Valley, Wash.), 27-0Central Valley dominated the state of Washington, but with three other teams in the Xcellent 25 in the GEICO High School Basketball Nationals, the Evergreen State's best will have a chance to show just how good it really is.
10. (10) Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.), 26-1That one loss was to Long Island Lutheran, the team that also beat No. 5 St. Mary's. But Princess Anne has a good win over No. 16 St. Frances, and easily handled Edison (61-45) to win Virginia's Class 5.
11. (12) Baldwin (N.Y.), 22-1Baldwin hasn't played a lot of quality teams, and though Bishop Kearney, Ossining and West Genesee are a step up, they're still not at the level of the teams Princess Anne has played.
12. (5) St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), 27-3The win over Riverdale Baptist at the Nike TOC keeps St. Mary's in the top 15, but the loss to Pinewood was not the way the Stockton school's talented seniors hoped to end their impressive careers.
13. (13) Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.), 23-5Riverdale Baptist did not receive an invitation from the GEICO gecko, so the final record will be 23-5.
14. (15) Winter Haven (Fla.), 32-1The GEICO High School Basketball Nationals are a chance to for Winter Haven to move up the ladder, but, on the other hand, they are also a chance to drop behind No. 15 Westlake.
15. (16) Westlake (Atlanta), 30-1Westlake earned every one of the As in the Georgia AAAAAAA bracket after recognizing the gravity of the situation and downing Newton 60-45 in the title game. Next up will be the GEICO High School Basketball Nationals and a shot at finishing in the Top 10.
16. (17) St. Frances Academy (Baltimore), 24-4Season complete.
17. (22) Manasquan (N.J.), 30-2Manasquan gets a bye until Friday in the New Jersey Tournament of Champions, but transfer-heavy Saddle River Day should not be overlooked if it advances. And the likely final would be a rematch with once-ranked St. Rose.
18. (18) Amarillo (Texas), 40-2Season complete.
19. (19) Duncanville (Texas), 39-2Season complete.
20. (20) Southridge (Beaverton, Ore.), 29-1That one loss was to No. 7 Centennial. In the 6A playoffs, Southridge's closest game was a 15-point win.
21. (24) Windward (Los Angeles), 25-3After hammering Etiwanda 75-49 in the Southern California Open Division Regional semifinal, Windward draws the defending Open champion, Clovis West on Saturday.
22. (NR) Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.), 29-2Brentwood Academy jumps into the Xcellent 25 thanks in great part to a win over new No. 25 North Guilford. One of the losses came to No. 3 Riverdale, and the other to a strong AAAAA team from Georgia, Harris County.
23. (23) Eastview (Apple Valley, Minn.), 29-0Since Eastview beat Prior Lake, Wednesday's playoff opponent, by a combined 52 points in two games, it's reasonable to look ahead to Friday's challenging semifinals and a likely rematch with spoiler Hopkins in the state title game Saturday.
24. (25) Dimond (Anchorage, Alaska), 27-0Dimond has had little trouble in Alaska, but it's the state tournament, so you never know. The finals are Saturday, and still, it would be a major upset if Dimond's perfect season were to be spoiled.
25. (NR) Northwest Guilford (Greensboro, N.C.), 29-2Northwest Guilford knocked previous No. 8 Southeast Raleigh out of the rankings in the North Carolina 4A title game, with losses only to No. 22 Brentwood Academy and a strong Georgia team, St. Francis, a home was found in the Xcellent 25.
Dropped out: No. 8 Southeast Raleigh (N.C.), No. 21 Holy Innocents Episcopal (Atlanta)
