A weird season may soon get weirder.
Just as some teams are celebrating their state titles and planning postseason banquets, California's 1,300 high schools may finally be ready to start playing.
Lawsuits across the state had been filed, urging the California Interscholastic Federation and state officials to allow basketball to be played despite county health department objections. The suits were based on the fact that football has been permitted – the first games will be Friday – so basketball should proceed as well.
According to one lawyer who filed a suit, state officials have agreed to allow basketball to move forward, though nothing has been signed yet. But even if the state doesn't agree, a court decision set for Friday could open the doors to gyms regardless.
Though this move might not mean every school in California will start playing but expect the top teams and bigger schools to be back in action sooner rather than later. There will be no state championships or major tournaments.
Practice could conceivably begin March 15 with the first games in early April and the schedule running through June – though all of that could easily change. Still, California coaches and players, who a few weeks ago had pretty much resigned themselves to a lost season, may be back on the court, as opposed to back in court, in a couple weeks.
And who knows? Maybe back in the national rankings before all is said and done.
NOTE: Coaches and team personnel are encouraged to update schedules and results on MaxPreps – especially those in the mix for MaxPreps Top 25 consideration. For assistance or questions, please reach out to support@maxpreps.com.
Rori Harmon and No. 7 Cypress Creek have made short work of opponents thus far in the Texas Class 6A state tournament.
Photo by Jo Ann Nowak
Record: 19-0 |
Last week: 1
As befits the No. 1 team in the country, Lake Highland Prep rolled to a Class 4A state championship, winning the title game 84-30 with a running clock in the second half. GEICO Nationals may be next for Prep.
2. Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.)Record: 17-0 |
Last week: 2
The next game in the AAAAAA state tournament will likely be against 26-0 Buford, which obviously will come into the game confident and ready to prove itself against the No. 2 team in the country.
3. Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati, Ohio)Record: 24-0 |
Last week: 3
In early January, Centerville came to Mount Notre Dame and lost by nine. Wednesday, the two teams meet again in a regional semifinal on a neutral court. Since then, Centerville avenged its only other loss with a 22-point win, so this will be far from a walkover for the No. 3 team in the country.
4. Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.)Record: 11-0 |
Last week: 4
More than a few quality teams have circled the Hopkins game on their calendars with hopes to break the Minnetonka team's stranglehold on the state. The next to try will be No. 20 Chaska on Thursday – but note that the last 74 teams that have played Hopkins have lost.
5. Edison Academy (Detroit, Mich.)Record: 6-0 |
Last week: 5
Faces another challenge when once-beaten Arbor Prep comes to Detroit on March 11. Until then, though, it should be smooth sailing.
6. Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis, Mo.)Record: 24-0 |
Last week: 6
Heavy favorite to win the District 5 and Class 6 championships. The biggest challenge should come from Kickapoo, which lost to IWA by five back in December.
7. Cypress Creek (Houston, Texas)Record: 31-0 |
Last week: 7
The Cougars have pasted their first four playoff opponents by an average margin of 42.5 points. But the state 6A semifinals, which start this weekend, will not be so easy.
8. Norman (Okla.)Record: 15-0 |
Last week: 8
Tulsa Union, which has lost just once, looks to be the biggest barrier on the way to a 6A title.
9. St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.)Record: 11-0 |
Last week: 9
A 62-55 win over a talented Trenton Catholic Academy team marks St. John-Vianney as the best in the Northeast. The season will conclude with a league tournament this weekend, but barring disaster, SJV has passed its biggest test.
10. Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)Record: 10-0 |
Last week: 10
Season complete.
11. DeSoto (Texas)Record: 25-2 |
Last week: 11
DeSoto will have a chance to justify this ranking, despite those two losses, should it find its way to a 6A playoff game against unbeaten No. 7 Cypress Creek.
12. Newark (Ohio)Record: 25-1 |
Last week: 12
Set to play 21-1 Dublin Coffman or 18-3 Reynoldsburg on Friday with the winner advancing to the Division I final four. But Reynoldsburg has lost to Newark twice already this season and coaches will tell you beating a good team three times in a row is no easy task.
13. Grandview (Aurora, Colo.)Record: 11-0 |
Last week: 13
Two relatively easy regular season games remain before the 5A playoffs begin.
14. Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.)Record: 10-0 |
Last week: 14
Season complete
15. Fremont (Plain City, Utah)Record: 23-0 |
Last week: 15
A state title run along with a spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 will likely have to go through once-beaten Herriman.
16. Ponchatoula (La.)Record: 31-0 |
Last week: 17
The Green Wave are two wins away from capturing the Class 5A state title.
17. New Hope Academy (Landover Hills, Md.)Record: 12-3 |
Last week: 22
An unforgiving schedule continues with unbeaten Westtown on the road Friday. A win there might just earn New Hope a trip to GEICO Nationals.
18. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)Record: 21-2 |
Last week: 18
Barring an unexpected GEICO Nationals invitation, the season is most likely complete.
19. Rutgers Prep (Somerset, N.J.)Record: 10-0 |
Last week: 19
Big test ahead Saturday against Saddle River Day.
20. Chaska (Minn.)Record: 12-0 |
Last week: 20
Maybe Chaska was looking ahead a little – the final score against Wayzata was just 61-59, but a win's a win. And the win sets up Thursday's home game against No. 4 Hopkins as one of the best in the country.
21. Hazel Green (Ala.)Record: 35-1 |
Last week: 21
Meets Carver Montgomery on Wednesday for the Class 6A title in a rematch of a game Hazel Green won by nine points earlier this season.
22. American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)Record: 25-2 |
Last week: 24
Became the sixth team in Florida history to win four state titles in a row, and the 5A title didn't come easily. Palm Bay, like American Heritage, has plenty of Division I talent, and the 41-36 win was a battle from tip to horn.
23. Bearden (Knoxville, Tenn.)Record: 27-1 |
Last week: 23
In the strange world of Tennessee's postseason, Bearden and Maryville will play for the AAA Region 2 District 4 title Wednesday – but both the winner and loser will still move on.
24. Pius X (Lincoln, Neb.)Record: 23-0 |
Last week: 25
After disposing of Millard North on Tuesday, Pius X moves to the Class A semifinals. Look for Fremont and Millard South to be the toughest outs.
25. Crown Point (Ind.)Record: 25-1 |
Last week: NR
Jumps into the rankings thanks to winning the Indiana Class 4A title. The only loss of the season came at the hands of Silver Creek (Sellersburg), which just won the 3A championship.
Dropped out: No. 16
Anderson County (Lawrenceburg, Ky.)
