Althoff moves up to No. 20 on MaxPreps national rankings

Three weeks on a national poll of high school basketball teams with a sectional championship added in, the Althoff Crusaders have slid up four spots on the MaxPreps XCellent 25 rankings to No. 20.

The Crusaders debuted on the poll at no. 25 -- the first Belleville school to make the list -- and moved up one space on last week's rankings. Since blowing through the Highland Class 3A Sectional last week, with a 101-63 win over Mount Vernon and a 67-53 win over Centralia, Althoff has cracked the top 20.

The Crusaders haven’t lost since an 81-66 defeat against 19th ranked Chaminade (26-3) and Duke recruit Jayson Tatum at the Highland Optimist Shootout.

Althoff defeated Springfield Southeast in the super-sectional round Tuesday at the Prairie Capital Convention Center and is headed to its second straight trip to the IHSA tournament.

The only other Illinois team in the MaxPreps national rankings is No. 19 Chicago Simeon (28-3). Chaminade is ranked No. 17. Chino Hills (31-0) from California is the top-ranked team again this week.

Althoff’s top scorers is junior Division I prospect Jordan Goodwin at 18.4 points per game. The Crusaders also boast Southern Illinois University Carbondale recruit Brendon Gooch (13.8 ppg), Illinois-Chicago recruit Tarkus Ferguson (13.1 ppg) and junior Division I prospect Marvin Bateman (11.4 ppg) along with junior guard C.J. Coldon (11.1 ppg) and senior guard and Jackson State football recruit Keenen Young (8.3 ppg).

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Althoff moves up to No. 20 on MaxPreps national rankings."