MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard 1. (No. 1 last week) Chino Hills (Calif.), 14-0In a rematch of an early December game, Chino Hills held off Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) 85-83 on Saturday night at the Sierra Canyon Super Showcase. The Huskies have another rematch lined up over the blockbuster holiday weekend at the Spalding Hoophall Classic against High Point Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.).
2. (2) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 22-1The Warriors didn't mess around with giant killer Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) on Saturday night, taking a 20-point lead in the first half and cruising to an 81-57 win. Oak Hill Academy will defend its title this week at the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in Missouri and meet Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
3. (3) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 23-0With an 82-35 win over Oak Ridge (Conroe) on Friday, the Eagles extended their regular season win streak to 36 games.
4. (4) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 16-1The defending national champions will have a chance to make a statement on the big stage at the Spalding Hoophall Classic with games against Roman Catholic (Philadelphia) and No. 6 Sierra Canyon.
5. (6) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 13-2In a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference showdown Saturday night, the Stags came from behind to notch a 59-57 win over No. 16 St. John's. DeMatha faces No. 19 Chaminade at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
6. (5) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 11-1Another program with a huge opportunity ahead of it this week. The Trailblazers will tackle the vaunted "Springfield Two-Step" by participating in the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions (Springfield, Mo.) and the Spalding Hoophall Classic (Springfield, Mass.) against No. 4 Montverde Academy.
7. (7) The Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), 7-1There's been no letdown for the Celtics since an eye-opening performance at the City of Palms Classic. The Patrick School beat Linden 65-46 on Saturday night in a tune up for a huge weekend ahead that features games against No. 8 St. Anthony and La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.).
8. (8) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 8-0 In addition to the showdown with The Patrick School, St. Anthony will meet Malik Monk and Bentonville (Ark.) at the Spalding Hoophall Classic over the holiday weekend.
9. (9) St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.), 14-0Expect Blake Arena to heat up around 2:15 p.m. Sunday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic when St. Benedict's Prep takes on No. 10 Findlay Prep. The game could be pivotal for both teams in terms of Dick's Nationals qualification and seeding.
10. (10) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 16-0Along with the St. Benedict's Prep showdown, the Pilots will take on Thon Maker and Canada's Athlete Institute at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
11. (11) Garfield (Seattle, Wash.), 10-1The Bulldogs have won all six games against in-state opponents this season by 20 points or more, including an 84-62 win over Lakeside (Seattle) on Friday night.
12. (12) Hammond School (Columbia, S.C.), 14-0Despite his mixtape notoriety, senior guard
Seventh Woods doesn't get enough credit for being a big time winner at the high school level. Hammond is 83-14 since he entered the program in 2012.
13. (14) Greenforest (Decatur, Ga.), 15-1The Eagles are going to be tough to beat the rest of the way. South Atlanta (12-4), who Greenforest meets Jan. 18 at the Blue Collar Basketball MLK Classic, may be the biggest roadblock remaining.
14. (17) U-D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.), 8-0Tricky test for the Cubs next Monday against Bogan – a Top 10 team in the Chicago area that features Buffalo signee James Jones.
15. (18) Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.), 15-0Even taking into account Minnesota's 18-minute halves, the Royals are piling up points at a prodigious rate. Hopkins is averaging 92.4 points per game and has five players averaging double figures.
16. (15) St. John's (Washington, D.C.), 14-2Losses to No. 4 Montverde Academy and No. 5 DeMatha have come by a total of six points.
17. (19) Stevens Point (Wis.), 10-0Champlin Park (Minn.) will provide a test of strength for Stevens Point on Saturday at the Midwest Players Challenge in La Crosse. Champlin Park met No. 15 Hopkins back on Dec. 19 and lost by 19.
18. (20) North Central (Indianapolis), 10-0The Panthers host 12-3 Lawrence Central (Indianapolis) in the opening round of the Marion County Tournament on Tuesday.
19. (24) Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.), 13-3Coming off a big win over Althoff Catholic (Belleville, Ill.), the Red Devils are another team taking on the Springfield Two-Step. Chaminade opens at Bass Pro against Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) and faces No. 5 DeMatha at Hoophall.
20. (25) Morgan Park (Chicago), 12-1Rematch with Chicago rival Simeon this week. The Mustangs took round one 70-65 back on Dec. 11.
21. (NR) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 16-0This marks the third time in the last four seasons that the Knights have played their way into the national rankings. Though Bishop Montgomery lacks a signature win from a national perspective, it holds a No. 4 MaxPreps computer ranking and has won 10 of the last 11 outings by 20 points or more.
22. (NR) Sacred Heart (Waterbury, Conn.), 7-0Mustapha Heron and the Hearts are hurting feelings in Connecticut, winning by an average of 37 points per game. We get to see if it translates out-of-state this week against Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) and Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.).
23. (NR) Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.), 17-3The Chargers have wins over NCISAA rivals Greensboro Day and High Point Christian Academy, who were both just outside of the Top 25 bubble this week. Providence Day also owns victories over three of Georgia's best teams in Norcross (Ga.), Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) and Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.).
24. (NR) DeSoto (Texas), 20-1Highly-coveted senior big man
Marques Bolden and the Eagles have won 15 in a row since a Nov. 24 loss to Mesquite.
25. (NR) Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.), 11-1Back for a second stint in the rankings this season, Memphis East beat Bentonville (Ark.) over the weekend at the Penny Hardaway Hoopfest.
Dropped out: No. 13 last week
Overland (Aurora, Colo.), No. 16
La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), No. 20
Roman Catholic (Philadelphia), No. 22
High Point Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), No. 23
Prolific Prep Academy (Napa, Calif.)