MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school basketball rankings

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Section champions have been crowned, some in dramatic fashion, in Northern California's four sections: Central Coast, North Coast, Northern and Sac-Joaquin. The top two teams here are also the pecking order for the CIF Northern California Regional Open Division, the best of the best. The NorCal Open and Division I finals will be held at Santa Clara's Leavey Center on March 18 while all other divisions will be held at home sites.


1. (last week 2) Woodcreek (Roseville), 29-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Division: Open
Coach: Paul Hayes
Upcoming: vs. No. 8 Capital Christian.

2. (1) Sheldon (Sacramento), 28-3
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Division: Open
Coach: Joey Rollings
Upcoming: vs. No. 7 Bellarmine

3. (3) St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda), 30-1
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Counties East
Division: Open
Coach: Don Lippi
Upcoming: vs. No. 6 Mitty

4. (7) De La Salle (Concord), 27-5
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Division: Open
Coach: Justin Argenal
Upcoming: vs. No. 5 Salesian

5. (5) Salesian College Preparatory (Richmond), 27-4
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Rock
Division: Open
Coach: Bill Mellis
Upcoming: at No. 4 De La Salle

6. (18) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), 17-10
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Division: Open
Coach: Tim Kennedy
Upcoming: at No. 3 St. Joseph 7. (4) Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose), 25-2
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Division: Open
Coach: Patrick Schneider
Upcoming: at No. 2 Sheldon

8. (9) Capital Christian (Sacramento), 23-7
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Golden Empire
Division: Open
Coach: Devon Jones
Upcoming: at No. 1 Woodcreek

9. (6) Dublin, 28-4
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Division: I
Coach: Tom Costello
Upcoming: vs. Lowell (San Francisco)

10. (11) Moreau Catholic (Hayward), 21-9
Section: North Coast
League: Mission Valley
Division: II
Coach: Frank Knight
Upcoming: vs. Rio Linda

11. (12) James Logan (Union City.), 24-4
Section: North Coast
League: Mission Valley
Division: I
Coach: Melvin Easley
Upcoming: vs. Modesto Christian

12. (15) Whitney (Rocklin), 27-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Capital Valley
Division: II
Coach: Nick French
Upcoming: vs. Cardinal Newman

13. (19) St. Ignatius (San Francisco), 20-6
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Division: III
Coach: Rob Marcaletti
Upcoming: vs. Rio Americano (Sacramento)

14. (13) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland), 19-10
Section: North Coast
League: West Alameda County
Division: II
Coach: Lou Richie
Upcoming: vs. Del Oro (Loomis)

15. (17) Heritage (Brentwood), 25-4
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Division: I
Coach: Pat Cruickshank
Upcoming: vs. Granite Bay

16. (16) Mission (San Francisco), 30-1
Section: San Francisco
League: Academic Lang
Division: III
Coach: Arnold Zelaya
Upcoming: vs. San Marin (Novato)

17. (NR) Lick-Wilmerding (San Francisco), 24-8
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Counties
Division: IV
Coach: Eliot Smith
Upcoming: vs. Liberty Ranch (Galt)

18. (10) St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo), 23-7
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Rock
Division: IV
Coach: Derek Walker
Upcoming: vs. Pierce (Arbuckle)

19. (NR) Vista del Lago (Folsom), 23-8
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Capital Athletic
Division: III
Coach: Tim Weir
Upcoming: vs. Saratoga

20. (8) Vanden (Fairfield), 27-3
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Solano County Athletic
Division: III
Coach: Michael Holloway
Upcoming: vs. Pleasant Valley (Chico)

The Next 5
21. (24) Sequoia (Redwood City, Calif.), 25-5
22. (20) Saint Francis (Mountain View, Calif.) (18-9)
23. (22) St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), 19-10
24. (24) Palma (Salinas, Calif.), 22-4
25. (25) Oakland Tech (Oakland, Calif.), 26-4

And 5 more
26. (25) Menlo-Atherton (Atherton, Calif.), 22-7
27. (27) Modesto Christian (Modesto, Calif.), 22-7
28. (28) West (Tracy, Calif.), 25-4
29. (29) Palo Alto (Palo Alto, Calif.), 23-4
30. (30) Corning (Corning, Calif.), 29-0

NorCal highlights
- The top two teams in Northern California met at the University of Pacific in Stockton to decide the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship, and it came down to the final second. Jordan Brown, a 6-foot-11 junior national recruit, made two free throws with 0.1 seconds left to lift Woodcreek past Sheldon 69-68. Brown battled foul trouble and was held to 13 points, 13 below his average. The teams switched seeds for the NorCal Open with Woodcreek the No. 1 draw.

- Never mind the slow start. Mitty is warming up fast. The Monarchs beat rival Bellarmine 57-54 on Kyle Peterson's 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, his only basket, to win the Central Coast Section Open title. That snapped Bellarmine's 18-game winning streak and crowned Mitty as Open winners for the third time since 2013.

- Palo Alto beat Los Gatos 66-63 on Spencer Rojahn's 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the Central Coast Section Division I championship, the first buzzer-beater of his young life. Palo Alto avenged an earlier league loss to Los Gatos. Palo Alto is the 9-seed in the NorCal Division I playoffs.

- Capital Christian of Sacramento extended its winning streak to 18 with a 74-62 win over Vista del Lago of Folsom in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III finals at Pacific. The Cougars are back in the NorCal Open for the second time in four years, opening at No. 1 Woodcreek. Junior guard Zach Chappell had 31 points for Capital Christian against Vista.

- The only unbeaten team in Northern California resides in Corning, home of the Corning Cardials of the North Section in Tehama County. Corning moved to 29-0 after beating Pierce of Arbuckle 54-34 to win the Division II banner. The leading scorer is 6-foot-2 junior guard Noah Zoppi at 17 a game.

The Sacramento Bee on how a battle of NorCal heavies went to to the final second...click here

The Sacramento Bee on a red-hot Open team.....click here

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and on Facebook: facebook.com/joe.davidson