Northern California Boys Basketball Rankings
(Includes results for games through March 21)
(Previous ranking in parenthesis)
1. (1) Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland 27-4
As expected, the Dragons rolled through the NorCal Open Regional and it guaranteed that this week’s CIF Open Division state title game will be a Cal-Hi Sports No. 1 versus No. 2 affair when Ivan Rabb and company try to get off a 34-year schneid and win a state championship, something they haven’t done since the 1981 Dragons won the Division I state title in 1981. That was the first year the state championships were re-instituted and came in a 70-69 win against Castlemont-Oakland, and a year before the CIF Southern Section competed. Since then O’Dowd is 0-8 in state championship games. In the regional semifinals, O’Dowd didn’t get much resistance from Folsom, as Paris Austin and Rabb combined for 44 points in the 75-57 victory. Modesto Christian was a tougher opponent in the regional final, and got to as close as four points in the third quarter before the Dragons took control. Rabb finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Will O’Dowd be able to reverse last year’s 71-61 loss to Mater Dei and stop that team from getting a record 12th state title? Frankly, this will be the best chance the Dragons have had in three decades to stem the tide.
2. (2) Modesto Christian-Modesto 30-4*
The Crusaders hold tight here and only drop one spot in the state rankings to No. 11 after playing Bishop O’Dowd tough in the NorCal Open regional final but losing 56-47. They also went on the road and beat the Serra-San Mateo team in the regional semifinals that defeated St. Francis and NorCal D2 representative Archbishop Mitty-San Jose in the CCS Open Division playoffs. University of Pacific-bound Anthony Townes had a game-high 20 points and Robinson Idehen added nine points while battling against Mr. Basketball State POY front-runner Ivan Rabb. Modesto Christian’s much-closer game against O’Dowd than Folsom had also makes it easier to rank the Crusaders as the overall top team from the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section.
3. (3) Monte Vista-Danville 27-4*
The Mustangs remain in front of D1 NorCal finalist and arch-rival San Ramon Valley for obvious reasons, although at least one local ranking amazingly had it much differently. How that is possible is mind-baffling. To us, it’s an easy call. Monte Vista won the league title and won the NCS D1 title and despite going 1-1 versus SRV they went 3-0 against a De La Salle that beat SRV three times. Plus, losing in the NorCal Open Division to Modesto Christian trumps winning the NorCal D1 title.
4. (4) Folsom 28-5*
Head coach Mike Wall’s team holds tight because it owns a head-to-head win over NorCal D2 state championship representative Archbishop Mitty -San Jose and also due to winning a game in the NorCal Open regional. The Bulldogs’ season came to an end with a 75-57 loss to No. 1 Bishop O’Dowd in the regional semifinals in a game that saw them fall behind 20-9 after the first quarter and 43-26 at halftime.
5. (12) San Ramon Valley-Danville 26-6
The Wolves make a huge move up after upsetting the apple cart by winning the Northern Regional Division I title. Wolves also come in to the state rankings at No. 15 after defeating Woodcreek-Roseville 49-45 in the NorCal D1 regional final to earn a date versus state No. 8 Chino Hills in the CIF D1 state title game. SRV also owns a split with Monte Vista during East Bay Athletic League play. The team hasn’t been closer to the State Top 20, however, due to losing three times in close games to De La Salle. The Spartans were upset in the NorCal regional by Woodcreek so in beating Woodcreek and going to the state final, it’s okay to rank SRV higher than De La Salle. If SRV doesn’t win the state title, however, having three head-to-head losses to De La Salle could become more important for the final rankings.
6. (11) Campolindo-Moraga 28-4
The Cougars are another team that makes a big move up after winning the NorCal Division III championship. Campo earned the right to play state No. 7 Damien-La Verne for the CIF D3 state title after avenging a 59-49 loss to Drake of San Anselmo back in December with a 50-44 win in the NorCal D3 regional final on Saturday at American Canyon. Six-foot-7 UC San Diego-bound senior Chris Hansen scored the game’s final six points from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 22 points and 17 rebounds. Campo and veteran head coach Matt Watson will now play in its first-ever state championship on Friday evening at Cal’s Haas Pavilion.
7. (9) El Cerrito 29-4*
The CIFNCS Division II champion Gauchos move up two spots here and back into the state rankings at No. 18 due to other teams losing and since their loss to Folsom in the NorCal Open Division was by just three points. They also have wins over both Modesto Christian and Campolindo.
8. (6) Serra-San Mateo 23-6*
The CCS Open division champions (over CIF D2 state finalist Mitty of San Jose and St. Francis of Mountain View) falls one spot this week in the state rankings but in this bunch it’s a two-spot drop after a 53-49 NorCal Open Division regional semifinal loss to Modesto Christian.
9. (15) Archbishop Mitty-San Jose 20-10
The Monarchs are the third team in the rankings to get a huge bump and also break into the state rankings by snagging the No. 20 and final spot after knocking off previously state-ranked and NorCal No. 7 Sacramento 54-40 in the NorCal D2 regional final. Mitty is obviously a better team with 6-foot-7 sophomore Sebastian Much in the lineup. He just returned after missing two months with a hip injury. The Monarchs will be a favorite in their CIF D2 state title tilt with La Mirada on Saturday afternoon in Berkeley.
10. (13) Woodcreek-Roseville 27-6*
With the performance the Timberwolves this season they also get a big bump and would have broken into the state rankings had they been able to pull off a EBAL double by beating both De La Salle and San Ramon Valley and win a NorCal title. Instead, they fall in next to the last state-ranked team in theses rankings and deservedly so. They came up short against SRV in the 49-45 D1 title-game loss but despite losing a lot of seniors look out for this team next year when 6-foot-9 freshman Jordan Brown (22.7 ppg, 10.5 rpg) returns as possibly one of the top 1-2 players in Northern California and maybe the best sophomore prospect in the state.
11. (5) De La Salle-Concord 27-5*
Even though the NorCal D1 top seed didn’t get to the state title game the Spartans nonetheless had a pretty decent season, but at De La Salle where the football team wins state titles its had to live up to that goal each year. Still, head coach Frank Allocco had his team in every game with the biggest margin of defeat by six points to state No. 3 Bishop Montgomery-Torrance.
12. (7) Sacramento 28-6*
Things were looking promising after the Dragons only lost 49-46 to Modesto Christian in the CIFSJS D2 title game, and then took out St. Mary’s-Stockton by 25-points in the NorCal D2 semifinals. Unfortunately for the Sac faithful their top-seeded boys were soundly beaten 54-40 by Mitty in the NorCal title game. The result is a pretty big drop.
13. (8) Moreau Catholic-Hayward 23-7*
Not only were the Mariners favored against Serra in the NorCal Open Division few expected the margin to be so big should they be upset, but the season ended in a 79-51 loss in the first round. Still, it was a very solid season for head coach Frank Knight who returns all his top players.
14T. (10) Drake-San Anselmo 28-6*
The Pirates were leading Campolindo in the NorCal D3 title game 44-42 with 2:40 left but failed to score the rest of the way in a 50-44 loss. Drake didn’t get any officiating breaks but to win a NorCal title you cant blank at that stage of the game whether or not you get any calls. All-in-all the defending D3 NorCal champions had a very good season that included a previous win over Campo and a 1-point loss to open the season to the Moreau team they fall in behind.
14T. (14) Saint Francis-Mountain View 22-6*
No one gave the CIFCCS Open Division runner-up a chance against O’Dowd in the opening round of the NorCal Open Division and their season ended in a 76-55 loss. The overall resume of the Lancers, including a split with Mitty and two wins over Serra, allows them to fall into a tie with Drake for the final expanded write-up spot.
The next 10
16. (19) Capital Christian-Sacramento 27-8
17. (16) Marin Catholic-Kentfield 23-11*
18. (24) St. Mary’s-Berkeley 20-12*
19. (20) Berkeley 21-11*
20. (18) Sheldon-Sacramento 21-8*
21. (17) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 30-4*
22. (NR) Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton 24-5*
23. (23) Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove 22-10*
24. (21) St. Mary’s-Stockton 23-9*
25T. (25T) Cosumnes Oaks-Elk Grove 23-9*
25T. (25T) McClymonds-Oakland 21-9*
25T. (22) Sierra-Manteca 30-3*
Dropped out: None
On the Bubble
(NorCal playoff teams only)
Albany 28-3*, Anderson 23-7*, Aptos 24-8*, Archbishop Riordan-San Francisco 18-11*, Bellarmine-San Jose 17-11*, Brookside Christian-Stockton 26-5*, Dublin 18-12*, Foothill-Palo Cedro 22-9*, Freedom-Oakley 19-11*, Half Moon Bay 25-5*, Las Lomas-Walnut Creek 20-11*, Liberty Ranch-Galt 27-6*, Mission-San Francisco 27-7*, Montgomery-Santa Rosa 21-12*, Palma-Salinas 23-6*, Sacred Heart Cathedral-San Francisco 17-12*, St. Patrick-St. Vincent-Vallejo 22-10*, Salesian-Richmond 19-11*, Salinas 20-7*, San Marin-Novato 22-10*, Santa Cruz 23-7*, Stuart Hall-San Francisco 30-4*, University-San Francisco 28-7, Vanden-Fairfield 24-7*, Washington-San Francisco 26-8*, Weston Ranch-Stockton 20-12*
