MaxPreps Southern California Top 25 high school boys basketball rankings

One more week.

That's all there is for the basketball rankings, as the state finals are next weekend. By the next time you read tis weekly feature, only five teams from the SoCal area will remain.

Choosing teams takes on a certain degree of difficulty now that schools are getting eliminated. Does a team with an early Open Division exit deserve a higher ranking than a D-III school that is still alive? What about Centennial, a team that was one of the area's best but lost in an upset in the Southern Section playoffs?

Tough calls. But still plenty of quality teams alive.

MaxPreps will be at the Mater Dei vs. Long Beach Poly game tonight and also at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario for some of the regional finals.

Click here to visit our California boys basketball playoff brackets (All sections, plus state brackets)

MaxPreps Southern California Boys Basketball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Etiwanda, 27-2
State Division: Open
Freeman Rankings: 1 state, 2 national

The Eagles didn't play last week, enjoying a bye as the top seed in the Open Division. But they did find out who their Tuesday opponent is: Westchester. Could it have been Bullard instead? See below.

2. (2) Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 31-2
State Division: Open
Freeman Rankings: 2 state, 3 national

The Monarchs set up a huge Tuesday matchup against Long Beach Poly by dispatching El Camino Real, 79-54. They led by five at halftime then turned on the jets and pulled away in the second half. Stanley Johnson scored 23 and Elijah Brown netted 21 points.

3. (3) Long Beach Poly, 28-3
State Division: Open
Freeman Rankings: 3 state, 7 national

The Jackrabbits won a thriller Friday over St. John Bosco, as Jordan Bell secured a 61-59 victory with a make at the buzzer. Etiwanda ruined the chance of a Mater-Dei vs. Poly final in the Southern Section I-AA playoffs, but now we get a Tuesday battle between the two teams, at 7 p.m. at Mater Dei.

4. (4) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), 31-1
State Division: IV
Freeman Rankings: 5 state, 27 national

The good news is that the Knights won twice last week to advance in the D-IV bracket. But it's not all good. Lamond Murray and Ognjen Miljkovic were ejected after a scuffle and rules state that an ejection comes with a one-game suspension. So those two stars will sit the bench against Army-Navy for Tuesday's regional semifinal at Oceanside High. The Knights beat St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 70-44 Friday in the game that featured the fight, and they blasted Exeter (Central Section) 77-49 in the opener.

5. (5) Westchester (Los Angeles), 29-6
State Division: Open
Freeman Rankings: 7 state, 32 national

The Comets escaped Fresno with a 60-58 triumph over Bullard. A lot of misunderstanding was associated with the wild ending. Photos show that a Bullard shot went into the basket before the final buzzer, but officials waved off the shot. It wasn't waved off because of time. It was basket interference, a call the official stands behind, according to the Fresno Bee. Westchester emerged as the victor on Friday. So they move on. Now comes a Tuesday trip to Etiwanda in the regional semifinals.

6. (9) JW North (Riverside), 30-3
State Division: II
Freeman Rankings: 20 state, 114 national

North is the top seed in the D-II bracket and smashing its way through so far. The Huskies whacked Sylmar (City Section) 75-53 then obliterated Hanford West (Central Section) 61-23 in the second round. Now comes a Tuesday home game against a battle-tested Westlake squad (28-5) at home.

7. (10) Pacific Hills (Los Angeles), 26-4
State Division: IV
Freeman Rankings: 23 state, 132 national

The Bruins knocked off giant-slayer Lutheran (La Verne) on Friday with a 63-56 victory after a halftime tie and advance to a Tuesday matchup at Serra, the top Division IV seed. They also had no trouble eliminating Chowchilla of the Central Section in the regional opener, 84-50.

8. (6) St. John Bosco (Bellflower), 24-7
State Division: Open
Freeman Rankings: 9 state, 36 national

The Braves certainly had their chance to beat Long Beach Poly and came up just short. Now their season is over after the 61-59 setback.

9. (7) Bullard (Fresno), 27-3
State Division: Open
Freeman Rankings: 15 state, 74 national

The Knights had a tough pill to swallow after their loss to Westchester. See above. They racked up a lot of huge wins over NorCal teams and their losses were all to great teams, plus they just stomped the Central Section, so all in all it was a successful season in Fresno for Bullard.

10. (13) Serra (Gardena), 26-6
State Division: IV
Freeman Rankings: 18 state, 104 national

The Cavaliers are performing like the top dog in D-IV, and they certainly got the benefit of a first-round bye. Their only game was a 65-49 triumph over Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista), and Mater Dei was the team that knocked Brentwood School out, so a quality win indeed. Now comes Pacific Hills in a Tuesday tilt at LA Southwest College.

11. (14) Santa Monica, 27-6
State Division: I
Freeman Rankings: 19 state, 113 national

The Vikings gutted out a pair of tough wins over Los Angeles City Section squads in the D-I bracket and they are the top seed. Mission Hills (San Marcos) comes from the San Diego Section on Tuesday to see if it can stop Santa Monica. The Vikings eliminated Narbonne 73-68 to open the regionals (they led by 18 entering the final quarter) then bested Palisades 76-63 in overtime, unwrapping a 14-1 blitz in overtime.

12. (15) St. Augustine (San Diego), 26-4
State Division: III
Freeman Rankings: 8 state, 33 national

The Saints are forever tied to Cathedral Catholic. St. Augustine lost three times to the Dons and that kept them out of the rankings for an extended period. How's they get back in? By blasting the doors off the Dons in the San Diego Section title game. Well it should come as little surprise that on Tuesday they will face their league foe for the fifth time this season. St. Augustine is the top seed in D-III and blew out Leuzinger (Lawndale) 65-45 after a first-round bye.

13. (16) Army-Navy (Carlsbad), 29-4
State Division: IV
Freeman Rankings: 24 state, 134 national

The Warriors get a shot at Bishop Montgomery on Tuesday, where a victory could catapult them even higher. They were a fringe team most of the season, and now they are making a solid run in D-IV. How did they get here? They won 62-49 over Cantwell Sacred Heart and then eliminated Crespi, 78-71. Crespi was in the rankings at one point earlier this season. A loss against Bishop Montgomery will hurt Army-Navy's rankings. Enough so to fall out of the rankings? We shall see.

14. (20) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 29-4
State Division: III
Freeman Rankings: 22 state, 124 national

If you need info on why it's familiar to see Cathedral Catholic take on St. Augustine, see St. Augustine above. Tuesday will be the teams' fifth meeting this season. After gutting out a 68-65 win over a mystery Santa Margarita squad, the Dons ended Tustin's season with a 57-45 triumph. Tustin was No. 8 in the rankings coming in.

15. (18) Redondo Union (Redondo Beach), 25-8
State Division: II
Freeman Rankings: 27 state, 162 national

The Sea Hawks had it easy in a 64-48 triumph over Garces (Bakersfield), then had to fight to get past Thousand Oaks, 63-56 in overtime. They held Thousand Oaks to two points in the extra period and got 21 points from Ian Fox. Now comes a home game against Hoover (San Diego), another new entrant to the rankings.

16. (24) Loyola (Los Angeles), 24-7
State Division: I
Freeman Rankings: 11 state, 54 national

Loyola has plenty of losses. And most are to the greatest teams around. So it's little surprise that the Cubs are still alive in the Division I bracket. They dispatched Taft 76-68 to open the regional playoffs, then picked up a great 81-70 triumph over El Toro to advance to a Tuesday date with Crenshaw, a favorable draw. Loyola trailed by 11 at halftime against El Toro, then went crazy in the second half. Parker Jackson-Cartwright scored 25 points in the win.

17. (21) Westlake (Westlake Village), 28-5
State Division: II
Freeman Rankings: 36 state, 233 national

The Warriors are behind Redondo Union because of a Southern Section playoff loss to them, but they are still making waves. They won 72-45 over Arroyo Grande to open the regional playoffs, then picked up a clutch 66-64 verdict over La Costa Canyon, which spent plenty of time in the rankings this season. Now comes a major test: A Tuesday trip to JW North in the regional semifinals.

18. (22) Hoover (San Diego), 29-5
State Division: II
Freeman Rankings: 32 state, 197 national

The Cardinals knocked Tesoro around 84-60 to easily win in the first round, and then outlasted fellow SDS foe San Marcos 59-56 to set up Tuesday's trip to Redondo Union. They were down 10 at halftime and down seven entering the fourth quarter to San Marcos before pulling off the comeback victory.

19. (25) Mission Hills (San Marcos), 29-4
State Division: I
Freeman Rankings: 21 state, 121 national

The Grizzlies edged Inglewood, 49-47, to advance to Tuesday's semifinal at Santa Monica. They are used to close games, as it took a 56-55 win over Dana Hills to get to the Inglewood contest. Kameron Rooks nailed the winning free throws in the Dana Hills win.

20. (23) Centennial (Corona), 26-3
State Division: I
Freeman Rankings: 13 state, 65 national

The Huskies are done. Still, it was a very successful season and they are one of the better teams around. Centennial lost 77-75 to Silverado of Victorville to end its season. How does an eliminated team move up? Other teams lost, and we can't deny the great regular-season wins Centennial picked up.

21. (11) Brentwood School (Los Angeles), 27-5
State Division: IV
Freeman Rankings: 58 state, 431 national

Brentwood School fell victim to Mater Dei Catholic of Chula Vista, 62-58 in the opening round, and its season is over. The Eagles beat El Camino Real earlier this season, so they get the edge over the Conquistadors in the rankings.

22. (12) El Camino Real (Woodland Hills), 28-4
State Division: Open
Freeman Rankings: 17 state, 98 national

The Conquistadors were third at one point this season, but now that they lost two in a row (granted, to great teams) they fall. The knock was always that their schedule didn't feature enough top-notch opponents, and now that they are eliminated, that schedule is hurting them. Still, a very successful season over in the San Fernando Valley.

23. (8) Tustin, 31-3
State Division: III
Freeman Rankings: 25 state, 156 national

The Tillers' season ended with a 57-45 defeat against Cathedral Catholic in the SoCal quarterfinals.They beat Ocean View 65-48 to advance out of the first round. Their record is great, but there is an alarming lack of wins against quality ranked teams, thus the 15-spot drop.

24. (NR) Chaminade (West Hills), 26-7
State Division: III
Freeman Rankings:  39 state, 251 national

The Eagles are back, and their Tuesday contest is what determines how long they stay in the rankings. They face Royal in the SoCal semifinals and whichever team loses will likely drop from the rankings. Why Chaminade over Royal right now? A 4-0 record against common opponents with Royal, whereas the Highlanders are 3-3. Chaminade waxed Mt. Whitney of Visalia 83-41 to open the regionals, then advanced with a 59-48 triumph over a quality Damien team.

25. (NR) Royal (Simi Valley), 25-8
State Division: III
Freeman Rankings: 50 state, 346 national

The Highlanders face Chaminade in a huge game Tuesday night. How did they get here? They beat Polytechnic (Sun Valley) 62-52 to open the regionals, then knocked out one-loss team Independence (Bakersfield) by a 60-52 count.