Boys BB: NEW Division State Ranks

After the CIF pairings from last Sunday plus first round games on Tuesday is when we can begin to look at expected favorites in each division of the CIF state championships. We can’t do it any earlier since there’s no way to know which divisions these teams are going to be in. These also will be the same divisions used for upcoming divisional all-state teams. First No. 1 teams are Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth (Open), St. John Bosco of Bellflower (D1), Bakersfield Christian (D2), Willow Glen of San Jose (D3), Tulare (D4) and Mission San Jose of Fremont (D5).

FOR THE FIRST GIRLS HOOPS DIVISION RANKINGS, CLICK HERE.

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NOTE: All results from regional first-round games played on Tuesday, March 3 are included.
*Indicates season complete.
**Indicates forfeit wins/losses not included in record.
***Indicates forfeits plus season complete.

OPEN DIVISION
(All 12 teams in order)

1. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 27-1
2. St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 30-2
3. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) 26-6
4. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 22-7
5. Salesian (Richmond) 27-3
6. Redondo (Redondo Beach) 27-4
7. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 27-5
8. Archbishop Riordan (SF) 25-1**
9. Modesto Christian 26-6
10. St. Ignatius (SF) 27-4
11. Sheldon (Sacramento) 27-5
12. De La Salle (Concord) 23-7**
Comments: In Wednesday’s CIF Open Division regional games, there are two games in both the north and south with top seeds Sierra Canyon, Harvard-Westlake, Riordan and Salesian all getting byes. The schedule had Notre Dame at St. Joseph of Santa Maria and Santa Margarita at Redondo in the south while in the north it was set up for it to be De La Salle at Modesto Christian and Sheldon at St. Ignatius. St. Joseph, the CIF Central Section top team overall, was sent to the south for the second straight season, which has become much more common in recent years for all teams going to the regional playoffs from the Central Section from Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo counties.

DIVISION I
(Counting Tuesday results)

1. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 22-9
2. Centennial (Corona) 27-7
3. Crespi (Encino) 21-13
4. Crean Lutheran (Irvine) 27-7
5. JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 24-13
6. Damien (La Verne) 28-7
7. La Mirada 24-9*
8. Inglewood 28-7*
9. Clayton Valley (Concord) 27-4
10. Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) 27-4*
11. Etiwanda 26-5*
12. Victory Christian (Chula Vista) 28-4
13. Folsom 26-6
14. Parker (San Diego) 21-11*
15. Franklin (Elk Grove) 28-4
16. Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) 26-5*
17. Bishop Amat (La Puente) 28-6*
18. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 21-15
19. Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 22-10
20. Fairmont Prep (Anaheim) 18-12*
Next: Buchanan (Clovis) 27-5*, Clovis North (Fresno) 20-13, Destiny Christian (Sacramento) 24-9*, Jesuit (Carmichael) 22-10, King’s Academy (Sunnyvale) 24-4, Moreau (Hayward) 23-6*, Oakland 24-7, Rancho Christian (Temecula) 22-11.
Comments: Both of the top seeds in the north and south went down to No. 16 seeds in Tuesday’s first round of the state/regional playoffs. The upset by Mater Dei over La Mirada in the south was bigger since the Mats were a CIF Southern Section Open Division semifinalist team that wasn’t placed in the Open Division for the regionals. The Monarchs have been a team capable of getting a big win if they get hot from outside and they were in their 88-79 win. Luke Barnett made six 3-pointers and finished with 26 points. La Mirada also gave up a 16-point lead. We did not jump MD all the way in front of La Mirada based on overall season results, but have dropped the Mats down behind Damien in our rankings with its season over. Damien had perhaps the one win in the state on Tuesday with the most attention since it beat Inglewood, 84-65, and ended the fabulous career of Inglewood senior Jason Crowe Jr. Jason had 34 points for the Sentinels and closed his career with 4,718 points, which is more than 1,000 points higher than any other player in California history (according to our own exclusive state records). Buchanan of Clovis losing as a top seed in the north wasn’t as much of an upset. The Bears were obviously over-seeded in their CIF Central Section playoffs, which led to them being over-seeded by the CIF. We had both Clayton Valley and Folsom higher beforehand. Jesuit of Carmichael pulled off the big win over Buchanan, 60-54.

DIVISION II

1. Bakersfield Christian 21-11
2. San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno) 24-7
3. Roosevelt (Eastvale) 20-14
4. University (San Francisco) 28-5
5. Sacramento 23-9
6. Palisades (Pacific Palisades) 24-11
7. Clovis West (Fresno) 19-12
8. Clovis 25-9
9. Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 20-12
10. Oakland Tech (Oakland) 21-10
Next: Carlsbad 16-16, Granada (Livermore) 21-9*, La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 21-8, Menlo-Atherton (Atherton) 22-6*, Milpitas 26-2*, Mission Bay (San Diego) 20-8*, Olympian (Chula Vista) 22-8*, Placer (Auburn) 29-4*, Torrey Pines (San diego) 19-13, Woodcreek (Roseville) 24-8.
Comments: We were surprised both Bakersfield Christian and San Joaquin Memorial were placed in D2 by the CIF since we actually have had both teams ranked higher in our State TOP 30 ahead of NorCal D1 No. 1 seed Buchanan for most of the season. Bakersfield Christian also has two head-to-head wins over SJM so we also have the No. 3 seed in the SoCal D1 bracket higher than SJM (No. 1 in north) and higher than SoCal No. 1 seed Roosevelt (the CIF Open Division champs from last season). Bakersfield Christian rolled on Tuesday, 78-44, over San Pedro while SJM topped St. Mary’s of Berkeley, 54-40. The two Central Section teams could indeed play each other for a state title (one from the north, the other from the south). We also were planning to have NorCal No. 3 seed Granada of Livermore at No. 5 in this division, but the Matadors lost on Tuesday to Clovis. The Cougars have a split with Clovis West (beat No. 4 NorCal seed Menlo-Atherton on Tuesday) but we plut the Golden Eagles just one spot higher in these rankings since they won the second of those games. This also could be a good spot for L.A. City Open champion Palisades, which has been playing well since juniors O.J. and and E.J. Popoola became eligible after a transfer. The Dolphins won their game on Tuesday, 80-67, over Mira Mesa of San Diego, the CIF San Diego Section D1 champion. The game of the night in the north had to be University of S.F. outlasting Placer, 106-89, as Placer couldn’t get to 30-3 after winning a Sac-Joaquin Section title. Lucas Lau matched his career high with 40 points and the Red Devils set a school record for scoring points in the years that Randy Bessolo has been their head coach.

DIVISION III

1. Willow Glen (San Jose) 25-2
2. Priory (Portola Valley) 21-6
3. Gahr (Cerritos) 22-10
4. Natomas (Sacramento) 24-9
5. Cornerstone Christian (Antioch) 25-8
6. Fairfax (Los Angeles) 21-10
7. Birmingham (Lake Balboa) 18-7
8. Branson (Ross) 19-15
9. Colony (Ontario) 21-12
10. Palma (Salinas) 25-3
Next: Atascadero 21-10, Poway 22-11, San Lorenzo 20-11, Shalhevet (Los Angeles) 21-8**, Trabuco Hills (Mission Viejo) 21-13, Warren (Downey) 24-8*.
Comments: We went with Willow Glen in the top spot due to its win over St. Francis of Mountain View (from the West Catholic Athletic League) to win the CCS D2 title. The Rams also would be higher entering the regionals than CCS D4 champion Priory of Portola Valley. Priory won the CIF D4 state title last season and has almost everyone back for what looks like a legit run to the D3 crown this season. Willow Glen won its first round game on Tuesday 65-59 over East Union of Manteca. Priory topped Christian Brothers of Sacramento, 85-63. SoCal top seed Gahr of Cerritos rolled to a first round win of 65-51 over Narbonne of Harbor City. NorCal top seed Natomas of Sacramento looked good as well with a 64-55 victory vs Carlmont of Belmont.

DIVISION IV

1. Tulare 29-4
2. Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton) 17-11
3. Granada Hills Charter (GH) 21-11
4. Chico 19-10
5. Half Moon Bay 17-11
6. Bret Harte (Altaville) 31-1
7. San Juan Hills (SJ Capistrano) 18-14
8. Vasquez (Acton) 27-6
9. Soquel 24-6
10. University Prep (Redding) 28-5*
Next: Army-Navy (Carlsbad) 24-9, Burlingame 19-9, Central Valley Christian (Visalia) 27-6*, Enterprise (Redding) 22-7*, Marysville 25-7, McLane (Fresno) 23-9*, Moreno Valley 22-9, Sanger West (Sanger) 30-4, Venice 17-15, Valencia (Placentia) 18-15.
Comments: Call us suckers for liking great Grid-Hoopers, but that’s one of the reasons that we have Tulare on top in this division after Tuesday’s regional games. The Tribe, led by former Nevada football commit and still looking Brayden Stevenson (a senior) and UCLA committed Demaje Riley (a junior), won on Tuesday, 60-51, over Salesian of Los Angeles. They also are the top seed for the south. The north top seed, Chico, won on Tuesday, 66-60, over Colfax, but we have Sacred Heart Prep one spot higher. The Gators won their first-round game, 67-63, vs Lowell of San Francisco. One of the most intriguing teams anywhere is Bret Harte of Altaville. The Bullfrogs really are 31-1 (not a typo) and probably should have gotten more credit than a No. 14 seed in NorCal D4. They hit the road on Tuesday and proved the seedings were wrong with a 57-47 win at No. 3 seed Enterprise of Redding. Bret Harte will now take a 29-game win streak to play at Burlingame on Thursday. No one gets credit anymore for having a 29-game win streak in this era of competitive equity seedings.

DIVISION V

1. Mission San Jose (Fremont) 21-10
2. San Marin (Novato) 18-13
3. Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park) 24-8
4. Sylmar 21-12
5. Coalinga 27-5
6. Canyon (Canyon Country) 18-14
7. Eureka 19-12
8. Victor Valley (Victorville) 16-14
9. Rowland (Rowland Heights) 18-14
10. Orosi 26-7
Next: Argonaut (Jackson) 24-9*, Oroville 23-8, Preuss UCSD (La Jolla) 24-8, Santa Maria 26-6*, Sonoma Academy 24-6, Verdugo Hills (Tujunga) 17-16, Weed 20-11, Woodland Christian 25-7.
Comments: Both Mission San Jose and Coalinga, the top seeds for the north and south, had first-round byes on Tuesday. We like San Marin ahead of Rancho Cotate since it has a head-to-head win over the Cougars. Both teams lost in the CIF North Coast Section playoffs to Mission San Jose in similar games in the semifinals and finals. Both also won on Tuesday. Sylmar would be a very popular SoCal winner and CIF state finalist. The Spartans have been coached for 33 seasons by Bort Escoto, whose team won the coach’s fourth LA City Section title last week. They rolled past Canoga Park, 104-65, in their first round game.

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