1. Bishop O'Dowd (5-3)
Despite falling to well above-average teams at the Under Armour Holiday Classic, O'Dowd is more than deserving of keeping the number one spot in the rankings. The Dragons take on Wesleyan Christian tonight in the final round of the tournament.
2. Monte Vista (10-0)
Huge victories over Campolindo (63-55) and Serra-Gardena (38-36) and will compete with Mitty tonight for the Modesto Christian Tournament title. Big-man Spencer Rust had a strong weekend, highlighted by a 19-point, 9-rebound performance in a 68-45 win over Turlock on Thursday.
3. Sacred Heart Cathedral (6-0)
A monstrous victory over Los Angeles powerhouse Price (72-70) has helped the Fightin' Irish's cause, and a strong preseason has helped solidify the number three spot for them this week.
4. El Cerrito (12-0)
The Gauchos keep on rolling, improving to 12-0 after victories over Cleveland-Resada (80-38), Rancho Verde (52-38) and Central-Fresno (64-60). They will face Sacramento in the championship of the Hardwood Hoops Invitational. Sacramento is led by sophomore Solomon Young, who is averaging over 18 points and 9 rebounds per game. Young holds offers from Loyola Marymount, New Mexico, Sacramento State and UC Davis.
5. Campolindo (7-4)
Although the Cougars fell to Monte Vista 63-55, they bounced back defeating Freedom 66-61 in the Modesto Christian Tournament. Despite falling to a strong Monte Vista squad, they showed they can compete with anybody, and will retain the number five spot. Next up is #11 Castro Valley in the fifth place game.
6. Mitty (7-1)
Mitty is on a tear outscoring opponents 146-83 last week, and will face #2 Monte Vista in the championship of the Modesto Christian Tourney.
7. San Ramon Valley (11-1)
An uncharacteristic loss to San Leandro (66-64) on Friday made it tough for the Wolves to remain number seven, but with the quality of wins they've had thus far, they were deserving of a top 10 spot. Westmont bound Jerry Karczewski has been lighting it up, especially with the 26-point effort on Thursday in the 82-50 victory over Leigh. The Wolves placed third in the St. Francis Tourney.
8. St. Joseph Notre Dame (8-3)
Taking home the title at the Sand Dunes Classic resonated well with us, helping the Pilots jumping 3 spots, into the number 8 ranking. A 52-50 victory over Trevor Dunbar led St. Ignatius helped the cause, including a 59-54 victory against Burlingame. Long Beach state commit Temodayo Yussuf led the Pilots with 28 points in the championship game.
9. freedom (7-4)
Tough competition has been the recipe for the Falcons' preseason schedule, and the close loss (66-61) they endured to Campolindo kept Freedom in the Top 10. They take on Chavez-Stockton in the final round of the Modesto Christian Tournament today.
10. St. Ignatius (6-1)
St. Ignatius showed that they can stay close with anyone, falling to St. Joes 52-50 in a thriller on Saturday. Senior forward Julian Marcu went 8-of-9 shooting with 17 points (12 in the first half) in a 63-46 drubbing of Canby (Oregon).
11. Riordan (7-3)
A third place finish in the Rodriguez Tournament wasn't what the Crusaders were hoping for, but nonetheless their only loss in the tourney came to a strong squad in Rodriguez (68-57) in the semfinals.
12. Castro Valley (8-3)
Strong victories over Burbank-Sacramento and Chavez-Stockton have helped the Trojans remain a perennial East Bay squad, but falling to Modesto Christian, a team not nearly as strong as them, is what's keeping them out of a Top 10 ranking. They face #5 Campolindo in the fifth place game of the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoops Classic.
13. Montgomery (5-3)
Following the loss to Freedom, Monty bounced back, defeating Central Catholic 48-31 and fell to powerhouse El Camino Realy by only 9 points (52-43).
14. Moreau Catholic (8-3)
A third place finish in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic bodes well for the Mariners. Sophomores Oscar Frayer and Brandon Lawrence each put up 14 points in the 3rd place game againg Folsom, and freshman Damari Milstead finished with 13.
15. Half Moon Bay (9-0)
The Cougars 9-game winning streak remains intact after outscoring Carmel and Carlmont 117-67 last week. The Nuno brothers had strong outings in the 68-41 victory over Carlmont, with Rico scoring 16 and Tommy scoring 11 with 6 steals. Next up is Moreau Catholic on Friday.
16. Salesian (7-3)
Strong victories over Gregori and Burbank following the loss to Chavez ignited a spark into the Pride, putting them in the Consolation Championship in the Modesto Christian Holiday tourney.
17. Serra (7-2)
Taking home the Tim Cole Classic was exactly what the Padres were looking for after narrowly escaping Dougherty Valley (71-68) in the semifinals and taking down Piedmont Hills (71-61) in the championship.
18. St. Francis (8-0)
The Lancers remained undefated after coming out atop their own tournament after defeating San Leandro in the championship game 54-47.
19. De La Salle (5-3)
The Spartans had a strong showing in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic defeating Harvard-Westlake (61-52) and keeping close in losses to Columbia Christian (53-51) and American Fork (56-47). They will look to get revenge on a Bellevue (Washington) squad that ended De La Salle's famous 151-gamw win streak in football back in 2004.
20. Burlingame (8-2)
Showing how resilient of a squad they are following the 5-point loss to St. Joes, the Panthers responded right back topping Canby (Oregon) 71-69 in the third place game of the San Dunes Classic backed behind 27 points from senior Frankie Ferrari.
21. College Park (7-2)
No contests took place last week for College Park after taking down Newark Memorial (56-54). The Falcons await a might Montgomery squad on Saturday.
22. Newark Memorial (2-7)
Although nothing went right for Newark last week in the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, they did fall and compete with ever-challenging teams in Westtown-Pennsylvania (68-61), Cantwell-Sacred Heart Prep (56-55) and St. Augustine (62-45).
23. Drake (8-3)
Drake has had an impressive showing in the Bambauer Invitational thus far, with its only defeat coming to the hands of Grant-Sacramento (74-63). They face host Marin Catholic in the third place contest tonight.
24. Dougherty Valley (9-2)
A subpar loss to Arroyo (71-67) in the Tim Cole Memorial championship moved the Wildcats down a few spots, but other than that their preseason has been tremendous.
25. heritage (7-5)
A 15-point loss to Drake in the Bambauer Invitational semifinals cost the Patriots a chance at being ranked in the top 20, but the next night fell to Glendora (67-66) in a thriller. Shon Briggs has had a commanding preseason, totaling 61 points over the weekend.
25. Liberty (8-3)
The Lions didn't do anything to deserve a drop in the rankings, but with the strong outings from Drake lately, there was nothing else to do, especially with Drake deserving a spot in the Top 25. A solid showing in the Enterprise Showing, finishing in fifth place showed that Liberty is a force to be reckoned with after outscoring their last 2 opponents 128-65.
Just Outside: Las Lomas (7-3), Amador Valley (8-2), San Leandro (5-5), Granada (7-2), Concord (9-3), Miramonte (5-5), Dublin (7-4)