Video: Allyah Marlett's highlights vs. Dakota Ridge
See the Grandview sophomore guard in a home blowout win.
It's never as simple as it seems.
Our first ranking rule, all things being equal, is head-to-head results. But seldom are all things equal, and that's true of this week's No. 2 Clovis West and last week's No. 2 Archbishop Mitty. Yes, Mitty beat Clovis West head-to-head, by one, in overtime, on a neutral court. So Mitty must be ahead of Clovis West, right?
Clovis West, however, won the Nike TOC, which gathered many of the top teams in the country in one place last week. In that tournament, Archbishop Mitty lost twice, including to St. John's College of Washington, D.C. by 17. Clovis West beat St. John's College handily, and given the couldn't-be-closer outcome of the game between the two California teams, we opted to move Clovis West ahead of Mitty, regardless of that head-to-head result.
Another conundrum this week was what to do with Riverdale of Tennessee. Last week's No. 3 was scheduled to play in the Nike TOC, but ran into transportation problems and opted not to come. Brentwood Academy of Tennessee, in almost the same situation when it came to cancelled plane flights, managed to arrive in Phoenix and play all four games. Mercer County of Kentucky couldn't arrange to play in the first game, but flew out to play in the last three.
Riverdale's rankings, like so many others, is greatly dependent on strength of schedule, but without the Nike TOC, Riverdale does not rank high in that category. So even though Riverdale did not lose, the Tennessee team dropped three spots in the rankings because it was unable to get to Arizona while other teams in the same situation were able to make the trip.
It may be that Riverdale will line up some other games against top teams, and if so, the strength of schedule will go up, and given wins, so will the ranking.
And with another week of intersectional tournaments on tap, look more for more confusion and more of the same kind of rankings calculations next Wednesday. The only thing we can say for sure is that it won't be as clear-cut as we'd like.
(Note: We urge all teams, not just those in the Xcellent 25, to make sure their rosters and schedules are up-to-date on MaxPreps. This allows parents, fans, media and college coaches easy access to what they need to know. Problems? Contact coachsupport@maxpreps.com.)
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (1 last week) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 8-0After a week off for finals, Paul VI travels to Destin, Fla., where it likely will face Male of Kentucky (granted, an odd name for a girls' basketball team). Male is unbeaten, and knocked off Butler, a team many felt was Kentucky's best. It's not the TOC, but it is a test.
2. (13) Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.), 11-1Want to make an impression? Win the Nike TOC – and that's exactly what Clovis West did. The central California team rolled through four games in impressive fashion, controlling No. 4 Miami Country Day in the final, thus offsetting that one-point overtime loss to Archbishop Mitty, which was discussed above.
3. (4) Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.), 12-0Hamilton Heights hasn't really been tested as yet, but this week's visit to the Title IX tournament in Washington, D.C. will offer some resistance. Forest Trails, a school we don't rank because they reclassify entering students into a younger grade, will be the biggest obstacle if both reach the finals.
4. (6) Miami Country Day (Miami), 13-1Though Miami Country Day's biggest margin of victory at the Nike TOC was just five points, it advanced to the finals and gave No. 2 Clovis West all it could handle before finally wearing down. This week, Miami Country Day is at the Naples Holiday Shootout, which might not be as strong as it has been, but is still going to supply the Spartans with plenty of competition.
5. (3) Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 7-0Though Riverdale missed out on four quality games by not getting to the Nike TOC, Tennessee's best will face one-loss Velma Davis on Wednesday and Georgia's 12-0 Collins Hill (alma mater of Maya Moore) Friday. And there's talk that Riverdale will fill the blanks on its schedule with some quality competition down the road.
6. (7) Monacan (Richmond, Va.), 8-0Monacan won a tough tournament this past week, knocking off No. 8 Norcross and Winder-Barrow of Georgia (featuring USA Basketball's Olivia Nelson-Ododa) 54-49 in the finals of the Crestcom Bank Holiday Invitational. Now, unlike most teams in the Xcellent 25, Monacan will take the rest of the Christmas break off.
7. (21) Grandview (Aurora, Colo.), 7-1The biggest surprise of the Nike TOC was the impressive performance of Grandview, which relied on UCLA-bound
Michaela Onyenwere and sophomore
Alisha Davis. The two anchored Grandview's sticky man-to-man and also controlled the boards at both ends of the floor. Only an overtime loss to No. 4 Miami Country Day marred Grandview's entrance onto the big stage
8. (8) Norcross (Ga.), 15-1Wins over No. 17 Homewood-Flossmoor and No. 20 White Station offset a one-point defeat to No. 6 Monacan, which is why this one-loss team retained its No. 8 ranking even without a trip to the Nike TOC.
9. (9) Montini (Lombard, Ill.), 12-0Montini hosts its eighth annual tournament after Christmas, and though teams such as Benet Academy, Fremd, Hersey and Rolling Meadows are reasonably strong, they don't play at Montini's level. In short, an upset would be a shocker.
10. (10) National Christian Academy (Fort Washington, Md.), 5-1After handling New Jersey's St. John Vianney by four, National Christian now moves into the Title IX Classic in Washington, D.C., where Long Beach Poly, Our Lady of Good Counsel and Ribault all await. Much will be revealed.
11. (11) St. Rose (Belmar, N.J.), 3-0St. Rose will get its first test in the Diamond State Classic against unbeaten Cumberland Valley, a perennial Pennsylvania power. Also in the bracket is Roland Park, which has lost only to No. 1 Paul VI and Southern California's Ventura, which is 9-1.
12. (12) Duncanville (Texas), 18-1Duncanville's annual Sandra Meadows Classic will bring in its usual bevy of Texas teams, plus McEachern of Georgia and Conway of Arkansas. Both are title contenders in their home states, but Duncanville is a heavy favorite in the friendly confines.
13. (NR) St. John's (Washington, D.C.), 9-1St. John's jumps into the rankings after going 3-1 at the Nike TOC, losing only to No. 2 Clovis West, and one of those three wins was against previous No. 2 Archbishop Mitty. Wins over McEachern, previously No. 14 Cardinal O'Hara and Mercer County definitely add to the luster of that 9-1 record.
14. (2) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 6-2The last-second loss to Grandview might be excused, but the 17-point pasting at the hands of St. John's College made it clear that Mitty wasn't quite up to that previous No. 2 ranking. But one of those six wins is against new No. 2 Clovis West, and Mitty will have a chance to prove itself more than once as its demanding schedule plays out.
15. (15) Manasquan (Manasquan, N.J.), 3-0Manasquan, like many Northeast teams, joins the snowbirds in Florida after Christmas to catch a little sun and play a little basketball. It's unfortunate that Manasquan isn't in Destin, where it might play No. 1 Paul VI, or in Naples, where No. 4 Miami Country Day is in the bracket, but New Jersey is a tough state, and Manasquan will be tested as the season goes along.
16. (5) Centennial (Las Vegas, Nev.), 8-2No one can accuse Centennial of ducking anyone – the losses are to No. 1 Paul VI and No. 2 Clovis West. And don't forget the wins over No. 21 Seton Catholic and previously ranked Riverdale Baptist. The defending Nevada champion will also travel to California over the Martin Luther King Day weekend to take on a few more regional powers
17. (16) Homewood-Flossmoor (Flossmoor, Ill.), 7-1Homewood-Flossmoor is yet another Xcellent 25 team heading to Florida, and is playing in yet another tournament. The Illinois team is in the Junior Orange Bowl Classic, and will likely run into Florida power South Broward and always tough Long Island Lutheran.
18. (17) Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas), 16-1Though the MaxPreps computer, which put puts a lot of weight on total wins, has Mansfield Timberview No. 1 in the country, this ranking is much more realistic – as the overtime win over Red Oak last week showed. Over time, it's likely that the strength of schedule will knock Mansfield out of the computer's top spot, but this is still a very good team.
19. (18) Millbrook (Raleigh, N.C.), 11-1Northwood Temple Academy is 12-2, and is Tuesday's opponent, but Millbrook doesn't face many challenges the rest of the way. And with Riverdale Baptist no longer ranked, that four-point win for Millbrook isn't as impressive as it once was.
No. 19 Millbrook faces a tough test in Northwood Temple Academy this week.
Photo by Steven Worthy
White Station jumps into the rankings on the basis of wins over Mississippi powers Olive Branch and Murrah, while its only two losses are to No. 3 Hamilton Heights and No. 8 Norcross. The stay may be brief, however, as one of Ohio's best, Wayne, is next on the schedule.
21. (NR) Seton Catholic (Chandler, Ariz.), 13-2Like a couple of teams already mentioned, Seton Catholic used the Nike TOC to enhance its national status. The hometown team (well, Chandler, right next to the city where the TOC was played) knocked off previously ranked Long Beach Poly and St. Francis in the TOC, and also has a win over Mesquite, which won the second strongest bracket at the TOC.
22. (NR) Mason (Ohio), 9-0Wins over Forest Trail and Lakota West are the highlights of that 9-0 record – and a mid-January matchup with Homestead, one of Indiana's best, could add to the reputation.
23. (23) Central Valley (Spokane Valley, Wash.), 7-0Once again, the MaxPreps computer and these rankings disagree – the computer says 9-0 Kentlake should be the favorite when these two meet, but human observers think otherwise. We'll find out Thursday.
24. (24) Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.), 6-0Midland Dow gave Detroit Country Day a battle, but that's not surprising, as Midland Dow has been one of Michigan's stronger teams over the past few years. Detroit Country Day, however, has consistently been the strongest.
25. (25) North Central (Indianapolis), 13-0Indiana is known for its basketball, and for good reason. North Central appears to be the best of several strong teams, and will be tested by Ben Davis (once a national champion) during league play.
Dropped out: No. 14 Cardinal O'Hara, No. 19 St. Francis, No. 20 Riverdale Baptist, No. 22 Long Beach Poly, No. 24 North Little Rock
