The scoreboard doesn't lie.
That's rule No. 1 for the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, and what it means is this: It doesn't matter if a Top 10 team got upset by a halfcourt shot at the buzzer after its top three players fouled out. It doesn't matter if half the team had the flu, or if two girls had a choral concert they couldn't miss or else they'd fail the class. It doesn't matter if the officiating was awful, or the bus driver got lost.
The scoreboard doesn't lie.
It doesn't matter if everybody in the stands agrees the losing team was the better team, and would win nine out of 10 games. Hey, this isn't the NBA, and there aren't best-four-out-of-seven series to remove all doubt. There are 32 minutes, and, all else being equal, whichever team is better for those 32 minutes has proven itself the better team.
Of course that qualifying phrase "all else being equal" comes into play as well.
Overton (Memphis, Tenn.), for example, beat Potter's House Christian 56-53 Nov. 27 – but Overton isn't in the Top 10. Why? The Wolverines have lost to White Station, an unranked Tennessee team, while Potter's House has wins over Riverdale Baptist (on the fringes of the Xcellent 25) and Clackamas (one of the top teams in Oregon), to name just two, and those quality victories, plus the 16 other wins, push the Lions up to No. 10.
And the schedule is another factor. A team that goes unbeaten against in-state competition, and never plays a regional or national power, certainly deserves credit for winning all its games – but Long Beach Poly, for example, has played one of the toughest schedules in the country and lost only twice, both times to No. 1 Brea-Olinda. So the Jackrabbits are ranked higher than unbeaten Ben Davis, which has not left Indiana and doesn't face the same kind of opposition.
Which brings us to another point: The playing field isn't level. Long Beach Poly can travel as much as it wants (and can afford) while other states (such as Indiana and Minnesota, to name just two) strictly limit travel. So Potter's House and Brea can go to Hawaii or Oregon or Phoenix, but Heights and Hopkins simply can't.
What that means is that those teams that can travel, and are willing to play several national-level opponents, have more margin for error than a school with limited opportunities. An upset such as Overton over Potter's House can be overcome by a team that has a chance to play other elite teams, but if Ben Davis gets upset in Indiana, there's not much the Giants can do.
Still, in the end, it comes down to winning. In the end, the scoreboard doesn't lie.
Following are the rankings
