Top 25 California high school boys basketball rankings (1/3/2024)
It's the second part of a three-part season. The first third of California's high school boys basketball season ended with loads and loads of Holiday tournaments, topped off by the Platinum Division of The Classic at Damien.
Eastvale Roosevelt's 68-65 win over previous California No. 1 St. John Bosco, vaulted the Mustangs all the way to the top. Bosco dropped two spots due to a close result to No. 5 Salesian-Richmond (68-66) and a loss on Dec. 21 to New York power Christ the King.
Roosevelt meanwile has rebound with a tough 90-76 loss in November to No. 7 JSerra Catholic with 11 straight wins.
Harvard-Westlake, which opened the preseason at No. 1, looked very good at the Les Schwabb Invitational in Portland, eventually losing in the finals 55-54 to a tough Columbus (Miami, Fla.) squad. They moved ahead of Bosco to No. 2.
The rest of the top 10 had impressive showing, but only one still has a perfect record, defending CIF Division I champion Notre Dame Sherman Oaks (15-0) is No. 4.
San Diego power Carlsbad (14-2) moved into the top 10 at No. 9 with a championship of the 33rd Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines, presented by SBLive.
Led by the all-around play of 6-9 Pepperdine-signee Jael Martin, high-scoring junior Jake Hall and the strong play of Tony Duckett, the Lancers won four straight games in the National Division including a decisive 78-69 win over two-time defending Texas UIL 4-A champion Faith Family Academy out of Dallas.
San Ramon Valley, after taking the Gold Division at Damien, moved up from honorable mention status all the way to No. 12 just ahead of St. Pius X, which it beat in the tournament, 67-62.
It's another big week of matchups as the Trinity League gets underway this week in Southern California as well as a one-day showcase at Crypto.com Arena, home of the Lakers and Clippers.
The Coastal Catholic Classic will feature six games between Catholic high school teams, including a big matchup between No. 6 Mater Dei and No. 3 St. John Bosco. at 6 p.m.
Other games will feature Fresno's San Joaquin Memorial against St. Bernard (1:30 p.m.), San Diego's St. Augustine, No. 10 in the latest state rankings, versus Loyola-Los Angeles (3 p.m.), Las Vegas power Bishop Gorman against San Francisco mainstay Riordan (4:30 p.m.) and Notre Dame Sherman Oaks vs. No. 20 De La Salle-Concord at 7:30 p.m.
Top 25 California rankings presented by SBLive Sports
1. Eastvale Roosevelt (16-1)
2. Harvard-Westlake (15-2)
3. St. John Bosco (13-2)
4. Notre Dame Sherman Oaks (15-0)
5. Salesian-Richmond (13-1)
6. Mater Dei (14-1)
7. JSerra Catholic (15-1)
8. St. Joseph-Santa Maria (12-1)
9. Carlsbad (14-2)
10. St. Augustine (13-3)
11. San Ramon Valley (12-3)
12. St. Pius-X (10-3)
13. Corona-Centennial (12-7)
14. Sierra Canyon (14-1)
15. Damien (13-3)
16. Montgomery-San Diego (13-2)
17. Windward (13-3)
18. Etiwanda (14-1)
19. Pasadena (15-1)
20. De La Salle (12-2)
21. Crespi (17-2)
22. Clovis West (15-3)
23. Monterey Trail (11-1)
24. Redondo Union (11-4)
25. Santa Margarita (13-4)
HMs (Alphabetical): La Mirada 11-7, Los Alamitos 13-3, Long Beach Poly 10-7, Menlo-Atherton 11-0, Mitty 6-4, Monte Vista 14-1, Riordan 4-3, St. Ignatius 9-1, West Ranch 8-8.
