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    CIF-SS boys basketball playoffs: JSerra, Santa Margarita to meet again in Open Division
    • February 8, 2025

    Not only were JSerra and Santa Margarita placed into the Open Division for the boys basketball playoffs, they also were placed in the same pool.

    That means a JSerra-Santa Margarita playoff game Friday at Santa Margarita High.

    Santa Margarita is No. 1 and JSerra is No. 2 in the Orange County Top 25.

    The CIF Southern boys basketball playoffs brackets were released Saturday. The Open Division includes 10 teams. In recent seasons it was an eight-team group.

    Santa Margarita won both of its Trinity League games against JSerra. The Eagles won at home 70-49 on Jan. 10 and at JSerra 65-60 on Jan. 31.

    The 10 teams in the Open Division, seeded in order: 1. Harvard-Westlake; 2. Roosevelt; 3. St. John Bosco; 4. Santa Margarita; 5. Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks; 6. Sierra Canyon; 7. Redondo; 8. JSerra; 9. La Mirada; 10. Heritage Christian.

    The teams are split into two pools. Pool A: Harvard-Westlake; Santa Margarita; Notre Dame; JSerra; La Mirada. Pool B: Roosevelt; St. John Bosco; Sierra Canyon; Redondo; Heritage Christian.

    Santa Margarita has a first-round bye Wednesday while JSerra plays at Notre Dame.

    Playoff games in all 10 divisions begin Wednesday. Second-round games are Friday, quarterfinals Feb. 18, semifinals Feb. 21 and championship games Feb. 28 and March 1.

    Championship games will be played at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Azusa Pacific University and Edison High. Which division finals play on which day and at which venues will be announced after the semifinals.

    For the first time, CIF-SS used computer rankings to place teams into the basketball playoff divisions and to seed the teams. First-round matchups were done strictly by the seedings – a division’s No. 1-seeded team plays a No. 32 team in the first round, the No. 2 team plays the No. 31 team and so on. The higher-seeded team is the home team in the first round.

    Teams are automatic qualifiers when they finish among the top three teams in five- and six-team leagues, and among the top four in seven- and eight team leagues. Other teams can get into the playoffs as at-large teams if there is room in the divisions’ brackets for them.

    Mater Dei's Blake Davidson is tightly guarded under the basket by St. John Bosco's Brandon McCoy Jr. on Saturday, Feb.1, 2025, in Trinity League basketball action at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
    Mater Dei’s Blake Davidson is tightly guarded under the basket by St. John Bosco’s Brandon McCoy Jr. on Saturday, Feb.1, 2025, in Trinity League basketball action at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

    Mater Dei, the fourth-place finisher in the six-team Trinity League, is in the Division 1 bracket as an at-large team. The Monarchs are home against Fountain Valley on Wednesday.

    Several Orange County teams that had high-quality seasons did not make the playoffs.

    Cypress is No. 32 in the rankings of 516 CIF-SS boys basketball teams, but did not make the playoffs. Cypress (18-11) is grouped into the Division 1 teams. With 29 automatic qualifiers in Division 1, that left only three at-large berths. One went to Mater Dei, which is seeded third in the division, with the other two going to Chaminade and Alemany of the Mission League.

    Cypress' head coach Derek Mitchell during a boys basketball game between La Habra High and Cypress High in a Crestview League contest onTuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, at Cypress High School.(Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
    Cypress’ head coach Derek Mitchell during a boys basketball game between La Habra High and Cypress High in a Crestview League contest onTuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, at Cypress High School.(Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)

    The Crestview League ended with a three-way tie for second place, with Canyon, Cypress and La Habra all finished the regular season with 4-4 league records. La Habra won a three-way coin flip, leaving Canyon and Cypress to play Wednesday for the final playoff berth. Canyon won 64-56.

    Marina (17-11) finished fifth in the seven-team Sunset League and is No. 52 in the CIF-SS rankings, but it is not in the playoffs. The Vikings, who were the Division 2A champions a year ago, were also placed in the Division 1 group this season. Higher-ranked at-large candidates got priority over Marina for the available at-large berths in Division 1.

    Newport Harbor tied Marina for fifth in the Sunset League. The Sailors, No. 57 in the CIF-SS rankings, are in the 2AA playoffs as an at-large team. Newport Harbor was placed high enough among the 2AA teams that it received priority as an at-large candidate.

    Strength of schedule carries much weight in the CIF-SS rankings formulated by the Colley Royalty system that the Southern Section uses for its boys basketball rankings. A result is that the power leagues like the Mission League and the Trinity League have plenty of teams in the upper portion of the rankings.

    Orange County teams that were seeded among the top four in their divisions: Open Division, 4. Santa Margarita; Division 1, 3. Mater Dei; Division 3AA, 2. Tustin and 3. Capistrano Valley; Division 4AA, 2. Pacifica and 3. Valencia; Division 4A, 1. Garden Grove; Division 5AA, 4. Anaheim; Division 5A, 4. Saddleback.

    Many first-round games have an Orange County team playing another Orange County team on Wednesay. Those games are San Clemente at Crean Lutheran and Fountain Valley at Mater Dei in Division 1; Kennedy at Capistrano Valley Christian in Division 3AA; Santiago at Los Amigos in Division 4AA.

    Santiago and Los Amigos are together in the Coast League this sesaon. They previously were rivals for many years in the Garden Grove League. Los Amigos won its two Coast League games against Santiago this season.

    San Clemente is No. 9 and Crean Lutheran is No. 5 in the Orange County Top 25.

    After the first round the determination of home teams follows the long-followed formula – the team with the fewest number of playoff home games is the home team; if the two teams have played the same number of playoff home games a coin flip identifies the home team.

     Orange County Register 

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