MaxPreps Top 25 high school girls basketball rankings

Here's the situation: There are eight unbeaten teams in the Xcellent 25, ranging from No. 1 Riverdale of Tennsee to No. 21 Notre Dame of Illinois. So why is Riverdale No. 1 and not, say, Bedford North Lawrence of Indiana?

The biggest difference is strength of schedule and, unlike the computer, we give more credit to a few wins over elite teams than a lot of wins over pretty good teams. Riverdale does have quality wins against teams outside Tennessee, and wins over Tennessee teams that have are quality wins. Duncanville does not, having stuck pretty much to Texas teams, but the eye test gives Duncanville a strong boost. The Panthers are tall, quick, deep, relentless and talented.

View the updated list of girls basketball state champions

And then there's Windward, which has also played a pretty tough schedule, but mostly against California teams — though this year California teams are very strong. How about Marion County? A couple nice wins, but Kentucky is down. Incarnate Word? Beat No. 15 Hoover early, but went to Kentucky and didn't play Marion County.

View the girls basketball state playoff brackets

In the end, a case could probably be made for any of the unbeaten teams, but we don't do eight-way ties, so it's Riverdale, which has finished its season, that will wind up as the top team in the 2012-13 Xcellent 25.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Girls Basketball Rankings Presented by the Army National Guard

*1. (Last week 1) Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 35-0
It's a very tough call for No. 1, and reasonable people can disagree, but Riverdale played a more adventurous schedule than Duncanville — and that's just enough of an edge to earn the top spot.

*2. (2) Duncanville (Texas) 42-0
Texas basketball is good, no doubt, but for a variety of reasons. There doesn't appear to be as much recruiting at the high school level in the Lone Star state, and thus not as many elite teams. There are very good teams, but not star-studded collections of talent ...

3. (3) Windward (Los Angeles) 32-0
Windward handled No. 18 Mater Dei as its five starters played almost every minute of the game. Saturday night, it's Windward vs. No. 8 Bishop O'Dowd for the first-ever California Open Division title -- and you can stream it by going to http://www.cifstate.org.

4. (4) St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 33-1
If not for that one stumble against Our Lady of Good Counsel — a team the Cadets beat twice — St. John's would also be in the No. 1-in-the-nation discussion.

*5. (5) Fairmont (Kettering, Ohio) 27-1
Makayla Waterman had 24 points and a clutch late free throw as Fairmont snapped Twinsburg's 73-game winning streak with a 52-48 win in the Ohio title game.