Coach Bryan Camacho and Alemany girls are up six spots in new State Top 20 while Sayeed Pridgett and El Cerrito go back in for boys. Photos: Willie Eashman & Paul Muyskens.
Bishop O’Dowd edges Mater Dei for the No. 1 ranking among boys as we continue our theme of not penalizing teams for losses to top nationally ranked out-of-state foes. For the girls, Alemany of Mission Hills gets rewarded for win over Chaminade with six-spot bump but doesn’t quite yet get into the top 10.
Check below for this week’s new list of the State Top 20 boys and girls basketball rankings.
To read our breakdowns on each Top 20 team, why some of these rankings moves were made, which teams are on the bubble and for the first CIF divisional state rankings for both boys and girls basketball (coming soon), you need to be a member of our Gold Club. Join our team today by CLICKING HERE.
It wasn’t a big surprise to see Fairfax of Los Angeles highly-ranked by various national media outlets, but we always wonder how a team like the Lions can hop other locally ranked teams they hadn’t beaten directly that began the season ranked higher.
Either way, the Mater Dei team that beat Fairfax at the Nike Extravaganza this past weekend is going to have to hop a bunch of other teams to be ranked ahead of where Fairfax should fall as a one-loss team — or those polls will have to leave the Lions ranked in front of them. It may seem odd, but some national polls will do that as puzzling as it might sound.
For the Cal-Hi Sports Top 20, there was no such decision that needed to be made since Mater Dei already was ranked ahead of Fairfax last week because the Monarchs started higher in the preseason, hadn’t lost to an in-state foe and are the four-time defending state champions.
In fact, there is no movement among the top seven teams in this week’s state rankings ratings. The main decision that had to be made was whether to continue to rank Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland in the No. 1 slot or switch to Mater Dei. O’Dowd lost to mythical national title contender Oak Hill Academy but still has key national wins over both Wheeler of Georgia and Bishop Gorman.
Other ranked teams lost as well, including No. 7 Damien of La Verne, No. 10 Etiwanda, No. 11 Cathedral of Los Angeles and No. 12 Chino Hills, but only one team that lost last week, previous No. 11 Price, didn’t have a strong enough overall resume to stay in.
An in-depth explanation on the O’Dowd-Mater Dei decision will be published in the expanded Top 20 rankings for Gold Club VIPs. So as the basketball playoffs near, now would be a great time to JOIN OUR TEAM.
NEW BOYS BASKETBALL
TOP 20 OVERALL RANKINGS
(Compiled by Ronnie Flores; updated through games played Saturday, Feb. 7; previous rating in parentheses)
Gold Medal Excellence founder and speed coach Chris Asher (far right) worked with NFL standout Antonio Cromartie (far left) during the summer and helped Cromartie get down to 4.32 in the 40. Two others Chris worked with were Cordarol Scales and Marcus Cromartie. If you think your game needs some speed, contact Coach Asher today. You can connect with him by email at Chris.Asher@goldmedalexcellence.com, follow him on Twitter @GMEChrisAsher and Instagram at @goldmedalexcellence_chrisasher.
To see pictures and training videos, CLICK HERE.
1. (1) BISHOP O’DOWD (OAKLAND) 17-4
2. (2) MATER DEI (SANTA ANA) 22-3
3. (3) BISHOP MONTGOMERY (TORRANCE) 24-1
4. (4) FAIRFAX (LOS ANGELES) 25-1
5. (5) SIERRA CANYON (CHATSWORTH) 18-3
6. (6) CENTENNIAL (CORONA) 19-4
7. (7) DAMIEN (LA VERNE) 21-3
8. (9) LONG BEACH POLY (LONG BEACH) 21-3
9. (10) REDONDO UNION (REDONDO BEACH) 19-5
10. (14) ETIWANDA 18-7
11. (8) CATHEDRAL (LOS ANGELES)
17-6
12. (12) CHINO HILLS 16-4*
13. (13) MOREAU CATHOLIC (HAYWARD) 17-5
14. (15) CAMPOLINDO (MORAGA) 20-2
15. (16) LUTHERAN (ORANGE) 20-4
16. (17) MONTE VISTA (DANVILLE) 18-2
17. (18) FOLSOM 21-3
18. (19) SACRAMENTO 20-4
19. (20) DE LA SALLE (CONCORD) 20-2
20. (NR) EL CERRITO 22-3
*Forfeit losses not included.
Dropped Out: Previous No. 11 Price (Los Angeles).
NEW GIRLS BASKETBALL
TOP 20 OVERALL RANKINGS
Alemany of Mission Hills lost a spot in last week’s rankings after suffering a close loss to No. 3 Long Beach Poly, but the Warriors had three wins last week and played in one of the state’s biggest games once again for a second straight week.
This time, however, Alemany came away with a split this season against arch-rival Chaminade after a 59-54 road win. Based on that result, the Warrior girls received a six-spot bump in this week’s rankings while the Eagles dropped from No. 4 to No. 5.
Alemany’s other in-state losses are to previously-ranked Ventura and at Gardena Serra. The win over Chaminade allows the team to move up over a seven-loss Bishop O’Dowd team and other NorCal teams with questionable losses. The Warriors also have a win over Clovis West in Fresno.
(Compiled by Harold Abend; updated through games played Saturday, Feb. 7; previous rating in parentheses)
Mylah Andrada plays defense for No. 15 Bishop O’Dowd. She and Dragons are visiting Stockton to play No. 2 St. Mary’s on Saturday. Photo: Shavon Jennings/bishopodowd.org.
1. (1) MATER DEI (SANTA ANA) 24-1
2. (2) ST. MARY’S (STOCKTON) 23-1
3. (3) LONG BEACH POLY (LONG BEACH)
23-2
4. (5) ST. IGNATIUS (SAN FRANCISCO) 17-3
5. (4) CHAMINADE (WEST HILLS) 19-3
6. (6) MIRAMONTE (ORINDA) 21-2
7. (7) PINEWOOD (LOS ALTOS HILLS) 17-2
8. (8) SIERRA CANYON (CHATSWORTH) 18-4
9. (9) OAKS CHRISTIAN (WESTLAKE VILLAGE) 19-5
10. (11) CARONDELET (CONCORD) 20-2
11. (17) ALEMANY (MISSION HILLS) 20-5
12. (12) ARCHBISHOP MITTY (SAN JOSE) 16-4
13. (13) SALESIAN (RICHMOND) 23-2
14. (14) GARCES (BAKERSFIELD) 21-1
15. (15) BISHOP O’DOWD (OAKLAND) 15-7
16. (10) VANDEN (FAIRFIELD) 21-3
17. (16) BREA OLINDA (BREA) 21-2
18. (18) NARBONNE (HARBOR CITY) 19-4*
19. (19) SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (SAN FRANCISCO) 11-10
20. (20) VISTA MURRIETA (MURRIETA) 19-6
*Forfeit wins or losses not included.
Dropped Out: None.
Mark Tennis & Paul Muyskens contributed to this report.
Ronnie Flores is the managing editor of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at ronlocc1977@yahoo.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
