MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school basketball rankings

It's playoff time, and that means extra anxiety and fun. Section champions will be crowned this weekend with the CIF Northern California Regional playoffs starting next week.

1. Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) (Last week 1) 22-4
Section: North Coast
League: West Alameda County
Update: Top ranked by the San Francisco Chronicle and No. 1 in the state, the Dragons are unbeaten in state play, losing only to national powerhouse programs. The Dragons are the heavy favorite in the NCS Division III playoffs, seeking a return to the finals for the fourth-successive season. Next is No. 5 Campolindo on Wednesday.

2. Moreau Catholic (Hayward) (3) 22-5
Section: North Coast
League: Mission Valley
Update: The defending NorCal Division IV champions have an 18-game winning streak behind leading scorers Oscar Frayer, Damari Milstead and Terrell Brown. MC next plays No. 17 Drake in an NCS D-IV contest.

3. Monte Vista (Danville) (2) 25-3
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The defending Division I state champions slipped past Antioch and Castro Valley in the NCS Division I field as Stefan Mitu went for 40 and 20 points, respectively. A fun showdown vs. Berkeley looms. An earlier win includes 66-64 over then-No. 2 Folsom.

4. El Cerrito (12) 27-3
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Rock
Update: The Gauchos have rolled in NCS Division II play behind Carlos Johnson and Sayeed Pridgett. An earlier loss was to No. 11 Sheldon with a 55-50 win over No. 5 Campolindo.

5. Campolindo (Moraga) (11) 25-3
Section: North Coast
League: Diablo Foothill
Update: The Cougars beat previous No. 21 Albany 65-50 in a NCS Division III meeting and now face top-seeded Bishop O'Dowd. Campolindo has won 20 of its last 21, losing only to No. 4 El Cerrito 55-50 in that stretch. Earlier ranked wins include Sacramento (66-65) and Modesto Christian (72-63).

6. Sacramento (4) 25-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metropolitan
Update: Top-ranked by The Sacramento Bee entering the playoffs, the Dragons face Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) in a SJS D-II semifinal with No. 10 Modesto Christian looming in the other half of the bracket.

7. Woodcreek (Roseville) (5) 25-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: The Timberwolves, ranked second by The Sacramento Bee, next face No. 11 Sheldon in a SJS semifinal at Sleep Train Arena. Freshman center Jordan Brown is averaging 23 points. An earlier loss was 45-42 to No. 3 Monte Vista with a league split against No. 8 Folsom.

8. Folsom (3) 25-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: The Bulldogs won the SJS and NorCal Division II titles last season and inched into the D-I field, where they face No. 16 Pleasant Grove in a semifinal. Colin Russell has been strong inside.

9. De La Salle (Concord) (7) 25-3
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Spartans had two spirited, close losses to rival No. 3 Monte Vista with the other loss to defending CIF State Division IV champion Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 61-55 in the finals of the SoCal Christmas Classic. DLS opened with big wins in the NCS Division I race, beating Liberty (Brentwood) 61-26 and Heritage (Brentwood) 62-32 behind Jordan Ratinho.

10. Modesto Christian (8) 26-3
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Modesto Metro
Update: The Crusaders, top ranked by The Modesto Bee, rolled to a 2-0 start in the SJS Division II field, setting up a semifinal meeting with St. Mary's (Stockton) on Wednesday at Sleep Train Arena. Robinson Idehen has played big inside.

11. Sheldon (Sacramento) (9) 20-6
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Huskies are 2-0 in the SJS Division I field and take on No. 7 Woodcreek in a semifinal. Sheldon has two frontcourt players of note in Matthew Manning and Blake Mason. A section title would be the program's fifth in six years and seventh since 2006.

12. Saint Francis (Mountain View) (12) 21-4
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic
Update: The Lancers are the No. 1 seed in the CCS Open Division and have a 57-34 rout of Fremont (Sunnyvale) as a warmup. Saint Francis and No. 13 Serra tied for the league title.

13. Serra (San Mateo) (15) 20-5
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic
Update: The Padres are a major contender in the CCS Open Division playoffs after crushing previous No. 14 Half Moon Bay 66-29 to set up a showdown with league rival No. 14 Mitty. Jake Killingsworth has played big.

14. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (17) 16-9
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic
Update: Revenge time is here as the Monarchs now face No. 13 Serra, which beat Mitty twice this season, including a 72-46 beatdown. Ben Kone has had a strong season.

15. San Ramon Valley (Danville) (18) 23-5
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Wolves are battle tested from a great league race with rivals Monte Vista and De La Salle and opened up strong in the NCS Division I race. Next is De La Salle, which beat San Ramon Valley twice this season.

16. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (15) 21-8
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Eagles split with league rival Sheldon, are 2-0 in SJS Division I play and now face No. 8 Folsom in a semifinal at Sleep Train Arena. Johann Tate is a skilled, quick guard.

17. Drake (San Anselmo) (19) 26-4
Section: North Coast
League: Marin County
Update: The defending NorCal Division III champions are off to a fast start in NCS Division III play behind Jesse Hunt to set up a showdown with No. 2 Moreau Catholic, which beat the Pirates 65-64 earlier this season.

18. Capital Christian (Sacramento) (19) 21-8
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Golden Empire
Update: The Cougars have won SJS Division V titles and now seek one in D-IV as the top seed. The guard play has been strong with Tiegen Jones, Justice Shelton-Mosely and Zachary Chappell.

19. Sierra (Manteca) (22) 27-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Valley Oak
Update: The Timberwolves are rolling in SJS Division III play and now take on No. 20 Vanden in a semifinal.

20. Vanden (Fairfield) (24) 22-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Solano County Athletic
Update: The quick and athletic Vikings are the No. 1 seed in the SJS D-III playoffs behind DeMarre Walker. Next is a semifinal against No. 19 Sierra.

21. Half Moon Bay (14) 24-3
Section: Central Coast
League: Peninsula North
Update: The Cougars, not too long ago ranked No. 1 by the San Jose Mercury News, were humbled by Serra in a 66-29 loss in CCS Open play. How do they respond? They face No. 22 Palma next.

22. Palma (Salinas) (NR) 21-4
Section: Central Coast
League: Monterey Bay
Update: The Chieftains face No. 21 Half Moon Bay in a CCS Open Division game after racing through league play unbeaten. Wyatt Maker leads the team in scoring.

23. Stuart Hall (San Francisco) (23) 27-3
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Counties West
Update: The small-school powers behind standout Armani Collins are off to a fast start in the NCS Division V field and now play Urban (San Francisco).

24. Oroville (25) 24-3
Section: Northern
League: Butte View
Update: The Tigers have won 12 consecutive games and target a Northern Section D-III title behind Kahliel Wyatt, Jabari Jenkins and James Jones. Oroville next plays Foothill (Palo Cedro) in a semifinal.

25. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) (NR) 28-2
Section: North Coast
League: North Bay
Update: The Cardinals stormed through the first two rounds of the NCS D-IV playoffs with routs of Roseland University Prep (Santa Rosa) and Cloverdale.

Click here to see The Sacramento Bee Preps Show previewing the playoffs

Click here to see The Sacramento Bee on bigs in the playoffs

Click here to see The Sacramento Bee on how a Sac-Joaquin Section power uses a three point-guard set

Click here to see The Sacramento Bee sizing up the playoffs

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. He co-hosts with Mike Finnerty the weekly Bee Preps Show that airs on ComcastSportsNet California and can be found on sacbee.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and through facebook.com/sacbeepreps.