Last week's National Signing Day certainly dominated the sports landscape, and it ended up preventing a set of rankings for last week. That means there are some major changes.
And it all starts at the top, as Mater Dei is now the top team in Southern California thanks to a victory over Fairfax, which the week before had knocked off previous No. 1 Sierra Canyon. So a serious reshuffling is in order.
Playoff hoops are just around the corner - be sure to stick with MaxPreps the entire way to see which teams will be crowned state champions this year in Berkeley.
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MaxPreps Southern California Top 25 Basketball Rankings
1. (3 two weeks ago) Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 22-3Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 2 state, 11 national
The Monarchs went 4-0 since the last rankings, taking out three ranked teams: Orange Lutheran (64-50), Colony (62-40), Fairfax (47-34) and St. John Bosco (72-58). It seems likely we will see them in the next edition of the Xcellent 25. They close the regular season Thursday night against Servite.
2. (4) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), 26-1Section and Division: Southern 4AA
Rankings: 3 state, 12 national, 23 Xcellent 25
There's a little discord between the Xcellent 25 and computer rankings, and that makes for great conversation. The Knights are in the X25 but trail Mater Dei in the computers. They went 5-0 over the last two weeks, winning against Serra of Gardena (73-53), St. Bernard (67-27), Loyola (94-34), Cathedral (76-69), Cantwell-Sacred Heart (64-53) and Serra again (85-70). Their regular season is over.
3. (2) Fairfax (Los Angeles), 26-2Section and Division: Los Angeles City I
Rankings: 5 state, 26 national, 7 Xcellent 25
What a busy two weeks with seven games. Fairfax was looking great, beating Hamilton of LA 91-38 and whacking Sierra Canyon 64-47 at the Fairfax State Preview. They kept it up with wins over LACES (83-50) and University of LA (100-52). Then their first loss of the year, to Mater Dei, by a 47-34 count. They rebounded to beat Venice 92-50 but lost in league play to Westchester 50-49. They finish at Palisades on Friday.
4. (1) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), 20-3 Section and Division: Southern 5AA
Rankings: 1 state, 8 national, 9 Xcellent 25
Another team that went 5-2, the Trailblazers don't have much to hang their heads about. They blasted McAuliffe 80-57 before losing 64-47 to Fairfax. They then defeated Viewpoint (60-51) and Windward (64-52) before dropping a Nike Extravaganza contest to national power Oak Hill Academy, 64-60. Back in league play, they beat McAuliffe again (69-59) and Campbell Hall (70-44). They'll finish the schedule Thursday versus Windward.
5. (6) Centennial (Corona), 20-4Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 4 state, 16 national
Xavier Gunter, Long Beach Poly
Photo by Nicholas Koza
The Huskies won all five of their games: King (72-31), Roosevelt (76-54), Santiago of Corona (90-52), St. John Bosco (69-66) and Corona (83-51). They wrap up Thursday against Norco.
6. (9) Long Beach Poly, 21-3Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 7 state, 36 national
The Jackrabbits breezed to four wins in Moore League play: Millikan (91-73), Jordan (71-57), Cabrillo (82-54) and Compton (54-39). They finish the season Thursday against Lakewood.
7. (8) Damien (La Verne), 22-3Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 8
state, 38 national
The Spartans went 4-1, registering a 76-36 win over Upland and a 63-49 triumph over Cantwell-Sacred Heart before losing 86-69 to Etiwanda in league play. They rebounded to win 69-64 over Chino Hills and 78-45 over Los Osos. Rancho Cucamonga is the final opponent, on Thursday.
8. (12) Etiwanda, 19-7Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 20
state, 134 national
The Eagles are a force to be reckoned with, as they are each year, but they've been a tiny bit under the radar. They went 5-1, with the 72-51 loss coming to national power Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas). They won over Los Osos (69-39), Gahr (63-62), Damien (86-69), Rancho Cucamonga (74-45) and Chino Hills (79-61). They should have little trouble with Upland on Thursday to close the regular season.
9. (5) Redondo Union (Redondo Beach), 20-5Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 9 state, 47 national
The Sea Hawks were humbled at Inglewood in a 57-54 loss. They immediately got back on the right track with blowout wins over Morningside (72-52), Palos Verdes Peninsula (63-38) and Palos Verdes (64-37). They host Mira Costa Thursday.
10. (7) Cathedral (Los Angeles), 19-6Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 14 state, 94 national
The Phantoms didn't exactly have the greatest two weeks, going 2-3. But the losses definitely came against great competition. Morgan Park of Chicago got them 68-59, then Bishop Montgomery won 76-69 and then Cantwell-Sacred Heart beat Cathedral 72-66. They won their last two to get some momentum heading into the postseason, winning 72-62 over Serra and 77-44 over St. Bernard.
11. (11) Orange Lutheran, 21-4Section and Division: Southern 4AA
Rankings: 11
state, 88 national
The Lancers have proven they can beat everyone in the Trinity League except Mater Dei, and that's OK. They downed JSerra Catholic 75-63 before losing 64-50 to the Monarchs. But they came right back with a good 75-72 win over Sonora and followed that up with a 59-56 victory over Santa Margarita. They'll face St. John Bosco Thursday in the regular season finale.
12. (10) Chino Hills, 12-12 (6 forfeit losses)Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 38
state, 306 national
We're still not confident that we have the correct number of forfeits. With Chino Hills, we're following with other media outlets in terms of how the forfeits affect their spot. They beat Maranatha 76-62 and Upland 97-45 then lost 69-64 to Damien. They defeated Westchester 58-52 before falling to Etiwanda 79-61. A trip to Los Osos Thursday closes things out.
13. (14) JW North (Riverside), 24-1Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 33 state, 269 national
The Huskies finished with an amazing regular season record just like last year, but didn't take on a ton of great opponents. They beat Canyon Springs 71-52, Arlington 66-24, Valley View 81-55, Rancho Verde 65-49 and Riverside Poly 74-62 to finish the regular season. The LA Times has JW North ranked seventh.
14. (15) Torrey Pines (San Diego), 24-2Section and Division: San Diego I
Rankings: 24
state, 203 national
The Falcons have cemented their spot atop the San Diego Section, as they keep on rolling. They won four games, beating Canyon Crest Academy (81-63), Rancho Bernardo (60-54), Westview (72-29) and Mt. Carmel (66-36). The SDS has another week after this, so Torrey Pines will face Poway Friday and Rancho Bernardo Wednesday.
15. (16) Foothills Christian (El Cajon), 18-7 (2 forfeit losses)Section and Division: San Diego II
Rankings: 15
state, 99 national
Nobody came close to beating the Knights over the past two weeks. They won 82-49 over Santa Fe Christian, 77-44 over Parker, 75-39 over Bishop's and 74-35 over La Jolla Country Day. They face Horizon Christian Academy on Saturday and close out their schedule Wednesday versus Army-Navy.
16. (22) Alemany (Mission Hills), 21-6Section and Division: Southern 3A
Rankings: 13
state, 92 national
The Warriors went 5-0 and have some serious buzz surrounding them. Thus the big climb. They are 15th by the LA Times and 13th in the state in the computer rankings. They beat Harvard-Westlake 89-58, Loyola 75-65, Notre Dame 65-43, St. Francis 65-42 and Chaminade 71-52 to wrap up their regular season.
17. (17) St. John Bosco (Bellflower), 16-9Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 23 state, 183 national
The Braves just kept doing what they do: beating teams they are supposed to beat and losing to great teams. They felled Servite 88-65, San Bernardino 62-53 and JSerra Catholic 67-54 before losing to Centennial 69-66 and Mater Dei 72-58. They wrap up Thursday with Orange Lutheran.
18. (13) Price (Los Angeles), 20-5Section and Division: Southern 6
Rankings: 21 state, 140 national
The Knights have been slipping recently and that is evidenced in local rankings. They beat Lawndale 68-62 but dropped a 64-61 contest to Renaissance Academy as a big hit. They got back on track with a 75-69 win at Buckley. They finish up with St. Anthony on Friday.
19. (19) Sonora (La Habra), 22-4Section and Division: Southern 3AA
Rankings: 40
state, 321 national
The Raiders performed admirably against Orange Lutheran but lost 75-72. They beat Sunny Hills 58-51, Troy 61-50, Fullerton 68-53 and Buena Park 84-62. They wrap things up with La Habra on Thursday.
20. (18) Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita), 16-7Section and Division: Southern 1AA
Rankings: 65
state, 600 national
The Eagles, a lot like St. John Bosco, lost to tough teams and lost quite a bit. But the 67-59 setback to Village Christian was a bit worse just because Village Christian is not quite a Top 25 team (a very good squad though). They also lost 52-44 to Mater Dei and 59-56 to Orange Lutheran. They beat Firebaugh 76-50, Servite 63-53 and Capistrano Valley Christian 81-55. They go to JSerra Catholic on Thursday.
21. (20) Foothill (Santa Ana), 22-3Section and Division: Southern 1A
Rankings: 25
state, 205 national
The Knights won all four of their contests with wins over Esperanza (61-57), Villa Park (64-37), Canyon (73-57) and Esperanza again (63-58). They go to Villa Park Thursday to wrap up the regular season.
22. (21) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad), 18-6Section and Division: San Diego 1
Rankings: 30
state, 237 national
The Mavericks also went 4-0 over two weeks. They felled Carlsbad 62-24, Vista 55-36, San Ysidro 76-68 and El Camino 61-52. This week they will battle Rancho Buena Vista on Friday and Vista on Tuesday.
23. (23) Loyola (Los Angeles), 17-9Section and Division: Southern 1A
Rankings: 26
state, 222 national
The
Cubs went 4-2 over two weeks. After taking down Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks 58-50 they lost 94-34 to Bishop Montgomery and then lost to Alemany 75-65. They regrouped and finished their season with wins over St. Francis (53-46), Crespi (59-56) and Harvard-Westlake (79-71).
24. (25) Cantwell-Sacred Heart (Montebello), 15-11
Section and Division: Southern 3A
Rankings: 35 state, 277 national
The Cardinals beat Serra 58-48, St. Bernard 64-49 and Cathedral 72-66. Their two losses were to Damien 63-49 and Bishop Montgomery 64-53.
25. (NR) Thousand Oaks, 23-3Section and Division: Southern 2AA
Rankings: 28
state, 228 national
We welcome the Lancers, who have been solid all season. Their strength of schedule is a bit weak compared with other squads, but there is no doubt that Thousand Oaks is the top team in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Dropped out: 24. Campbell Hall
