Xcellent 25 high school boys basketball rankings

While St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) has provided a near-constant landmark at the top of the Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard over the past two seasons, Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) is proof that being a nationally-ranked high school basketball program can be a fleeting experience.

The Eagles were undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the Jan. 22 release of the Xcellent 25. But over the past 14 days, Gonzaga is just 3-4 following a pair of weekend losses to Washington Catholic Athletic Conference foes DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) and Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.).

It should be noted that Gonzaga was without the services of junior point guard Nate Britt (already committed to North Carolina) for a portion of that stretch. Even so, four losses in the span of two weeks is too many to stay in the national rankings.

Meanwhile, the beat goes on for St. Anthony. Legendary head coach Bob Hurley's Friars have won 53 games in a row, beating Academy Top 10 No. 3 Huntington Prep (W.Va.) on Saturday at the PrimeTime Shootout. While Huntington Prep is a relative newcomer to the world of big-time high school basketball, the Express – grossly underrated by most media outlets this winter – feature the nation's top sophomore in Andrew Wiggins and a handful of seniors and juniors that will play at the high-major level in college.

Read on for a complete look at this week's rankings.

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

1. (No. 1 last week) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (20-0)
The only argument against St. Anthony occupying the No. 1 spot was a somewhat light schedule – at least in comparison to some other nationally-ranked programs. After beating one of the most impressive collections of talent in the country in Huntington Prep on Saturday at the PrimeTime Shootout, that argument has been shelved.

2. (2) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) (31-2)
How are the Marauders gearing up to defend their Class 5A state title? Apparently cranking out Justin Bieber lip sync videos. Go ahead and click the link, it's a must-see.

3. (3) Milton (Ga.) (21-4)
The Eagles have defeated teams from six states outside of Georgia this season, including state title contenders in Florida, Kentucky, Nevada, New York and Utah.

4. (4) Simeon (Chicago) (23-1)
Playing without two suspended starters and its sixth man Sunday night, Simeon advanced to the semifinals of the Chicago Public League tournament with a 73-62 win over Marshall. The nation's top junior, Jabari Parker, picked up the slack with 33 points and 12 rebounds.

5. (5) Chester (Pa.) (22-0)
Senior forward Erikk Wright notched a game-high 26 points and topped the 1,000-point plateau in Saturday's 78-62 win over Neptune (N.J.) at the PrimeTime Shootout.