Video: Top 10 buzzer beaters of 2017High school basketball's most dramatic finishes of the season.MaxPreps High School Top 25 Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) Nathan Hale (Seattle), 29-0WIAA Class 3A state champions. Season complete.
2. (2) Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.), 30-3It's going to take an upset for the ages to keep the Mustangs out of the winner's circle next week at the Class AAA state tournament. East opens Wednesday against East Hamilton (Ooltewah).
3. (3) Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia), 27-2The Panthers are four wins away from a state title after crushing Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg) 72-41 on Saturday night. Second-round opponent Scranton Prep (Scranton) is 23-3 and ranked No. 3 in Pennsylvania AAAA by the MaxPreps computer.
4. (4) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 28-2Opening CIF State play, the Knights took care of business Friday against Torrey Pines with a 64-49 win. Up next is No. 7 Chino Hills on Tuesday in a rematch of last year's regional final.
5. (5) Jonesboro (Ark.), 32-0Down by a point at halftime, the Golden Hurricane dominated El Dorado in the second half Friday to win 74-57 and capture the Class 6A state title. Jonesboro beat teams from Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee this season in addition to running roughshod over in-state competition.
6. (7) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 32-2Bol Bol went for 22 points and 10 rebounds Friday as the Monarchs beat Westchester (Los Angeles) 74-60 in CIF State Open Division first round action. Up next – fresh off an upset over then-No. 6 Sierra Canyon – is St. Augustine (San Diego), who Mater Dei has already beat twice this season.
7. (8) Chino Hills (Calif.), 30-2LiAngelo Ball piled up 52 points Friday as the Huskies rolled past Birmingham (Lake Balboa) 130-110.
8. (9) Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), 27-4Minnesota signee
Jamir Harris scored 23 points and had six steals Saturday as the Celtics handled Hudson Catholic (Jersey City) 65-48 to win New Jersey's Non-Public B crown. The work isn't for Patrick School as it advances to the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions.
9. (10) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 32-5Don't be surprised if Gonzaga creeps up the list a couple more spots before final rankings are released April 2. The Eagles won a share of the WCAC regular season title, captured the conference tournament title, the DCSAA title and beat formerly-ranked Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) on Saturday to take home the Alhambra Catholic Invitational crown.
10. (11) Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), 33-3NCISAA Class 3A state champions. Dick's Nationals candidate.
Geno West scored 28 points Saturday to lead Jefferson (Portland, Ore.) to its seventh state title in the 2000s and ninth overall. The Democrats went unbeaten against in-state opponents this season.
File photo: Brian Murphy
11. (12) Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.), 30-2TSSAA Division II-AA state champions. Season complete.
12. (13) Trinity Episcopal (Richmond, Va.), 35-1VISAA Division I state champions. Dick's Nationals candidate.
13. (24) Tift County (Tifton, Ga.), 29-2Micah Johnson scored 24 points and
Rashod Bateman added 18 on Saturday as Tift County beat then-No. 21 Norcross 55-52 in Georgia's AAAAAAA title game. The Blue Devils knocked off High School Top 25-ranked teams in three consecutive playoff outings to close things out.
14. (14) Shadow Mountain (Phoenix), 27-0AIA Class 4A state champions. Dick's Nationals candidate.
15. (15) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio), 25-0Riley Voss scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds Saturday as the Crusaders beat Walnut Hills (Cincinnati) 57-44 to advance in Ohio's Division state tournament.
16. (16) Champlin Park (Champlin, Minn.), 27-0Marquette signee
Theo John led the way with 35 points and eight rebounds Wednesday in a 105-66 sectional playoff win over Irondale.
17. (19) Edwardsville (Ill.), 30-1Senior guard
Mark Smith tallied 45 points, 13 rebounds and four assists Friday in an 81-59 win over Danville. Edwardsville advances to a Tuesday showdown with Simeon (Chicago) in the Class 4A super sectionals.
18. (20) Webster Groves (Mo.), 27-2Carte'Are Gordon,
Cam Potts and
Courtney Ramey combined for 64 of Webster Groves' 76 points Saturday as the Statesmen rolled past Christian Brothers (St. Louis) in the Class 5 quarters.
19. (NR) Linden (N.J.), 26-4Khalief Crawford (17 points),
Mikey Watkins (16) and
Tavon Jones (13) led the way Sunday as the Tigers beat Shawnee (Medford) 57-41 for the Group 4 state title. Two of Linden's losses this season have come against teams not eligible for the High School Top 25 while No. 8 Patrick School delivered the other two.
20. (NR) Cypress Falls (Houston), 35-3Here's a team to put on the radar for 2017-18. Juniors
Trajan Wesley (19 points),
Nigel Hawkins (16),
Deshang Weaver (11) and
Andrew Nguyen (10) helped Cypress Falls arrive a year early by beating Wagner of San Antonio 64-57 in the Class 6A title game Saturday night. The Eagles received 62 of their 64 points from players who will be back next season.
21. (NR) Evanston (Ill.), 28-3The final eight in Illinois Class 4A features four teams that have been ranked this season, including No. 17 Edwardsville, Bolingbrook, Simeon and the Wildkits – who have rattled off 12 wins in a row. Bolingbrook and Simeon are both High School Top 25 bubble teams this week. Evanston meets Whitney Young (Chicago) on Tuesday.
22. (23) Basha (Chandler, Ariz.), 31-1AIA Class 6A state champions. Season complete.
23. (25) Grand Rapids Christian (Grand Rapids, Mich.), 23-0Xavier Tillman scored 21 points Friday to lead the Eagles to a 73-54 win over East Kentwood in a Class A district final. Quick turnaround as perennial power Muskegon stands in the way Monday.
24. (6) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 27-3The Trailblazers built one of the strongest regular season resumes we've seen going back over a decade with wins over No. 2 Memphis East, No. 9 Gonzaga and Independent Top 10 No. 2 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.), No. 5 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) and No. 6 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.). That was offset in the last two weeks by a total postseason meltdown, culminating Friday with a loss to St. Augustine (San Diego). Sierra Canyon's status as a nationally-ranked team is worthy of debate and will continue to be evaluated.
25. (NR) Jefferson (Portland, Ore.), 27-1Senior guard
Geno West scored 28 points Saturday to lead the Democrats to their seventh state title in the 2000s, beating Clackamas 70-67. Jefferson's only loss of the season came to No. 9 Gonzaga at the Les Schwab Invitational in December.
Dropped out: No. 17
Wise (Upper Marlboro, Md.), No. 18
Skyline (Dallas), No. 21
Norcross (Ga.), No. 22
Union (Tulsa, Okla.)