P2P Boys Basketball
CCS Playoff Projections
Eilon Tzur and Palo Alto are virtual locks for the Open Division of the Central Coast Section playoffs. (Samuel Chang/Prep2Prep)

Prep2Prep CCS Boys Basketball Playoff Projections

UPDATED 2/15/2013


We are just days away from the CCS committee meeting for basketball, as the complete boys and girls fields will be announced Sunday Feburary 17. The rules for the Open Division are similar to what exists for football in that the goal is to place the top eight teams in CCS in one tournament. However, there are some differences.

The top eight teams are selected by a committee similar to what you would see in the NCAA college basketball tournament using the following restrictions: no more than four teams from the same league can be chosen and no more than three per enrollment division. For basketball, teams are classified based on school enrollment, from Division I for the big schools all the way down to Division V for the smallest schools.

All a team needs to qualify for selection is at least a .500 record in either league or non-league play; the only restriction is that no more than 16 teams can be selected for a given enrollment division unless there are that many automatic qualifiers. Automatic qualifiers are determined on a league basis; for example, the top four teams from the BVAL Mount Hamilton Division receive an automatic bid as do the division champs from the Santa Teresa Division and the West Valley Dvisions. In fact, by our projections, all teams with at least a .500 record either in league or overall will make it. We assume all teams will opt in.

Once teams are populated in each of the six divisions (Open, Division I down to Division V), they are seeded by the selection committee based on their body of work during the course of the season. The only restriction is that league mates cannot meet in the first round.

The committee tries to keep league mates from playing each other in the first two rounds, so in some cases we switched some seeds around to avoid such potential early-round matchups.

These projections are based on our best available information; if you would like to correct a team's result or would otherwise like to comment on our seedings, please contact Prep2Prep via email or tweet us @Prep2PrepSports. You can also leave comments on our Facebook page. Here is what we have for the final seedings - for the complete breakdown of the basketball bylaws, please click here.


OPEN DIVISION: We believe that Archbishop Riordan's late-season run to fourth place in the final WCAL will get the Crusaders into the Open Division as the No. 4 seed. Palo Alto has a sparkling overall record, but the loss to St. Francis will hurt the Vikings in the eyes of the seeding committee. Furthermore, WCAL teams cannot meet in the first round, so the four representatives will likely end up being seeded 1-4. San Benito nabs the final Open bid by virtue of its pending MBL Gabilan championship.



1 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (20-4)

#1 vs. #8 Winner

Finalist

Open Div. Champ

8 San Benito (20-3)

4 ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN (17-8)

#4 vs. #5 Winner

5 El Camino (21-4)

3 SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (16-9)

#3 vs. #6 Winner

Finalist

6 Palo Alto (21-1)

2 SERRA (22-3)

#2 vs. #7 Winner

7 Piedmont Hills (22-4)


DIVISION I: Bellarmine might be disappointed to not make it into the Open Division, but the Bells should be the clear favorites to win the Division I title. We have three PAL-South teams seeded No. 4-6 so there could be some maneuvering by the committee to reseed teams to avoid PAL-South teams meeting early in the tournament.

Technically, CCS only seeds the top 12 teams in each enrollment division, but in order to implement the double-bye system, we will assign seeds 13-16.


FIRST ROUND:
9 Fremont (16-7) vs. 16 Independence (7-17) winner plays 8 Milpitas (13-9)
12 Santa Clara (17-6) vs. 13 Monta Vista (11-12) winner plays 5 Menlo-Atherton (11-13)
11 Wilcox (11-10) vs. 14 Alvarez (11-12) winner plays 6 Carlmont (17-7)
10 Salinas (13-10) vs. 15 Alisal (13-9) winner plays 7 Oak Grove (11-12)

QUARTERFINALS:
1 Bellarmine College Prep (16-9) vs. winner of 8 Milpitas (13-9) vs. (9)-(16) winner.
4 Sequoia (12-16) vs. winner of 5 Menlo-Atherton (11-13) vs. (12)-(13) winner.
3 Evergreen Valley (20-5) vs. winner of 6 Carlmont (17-7) vs. (11)-(14) winner.
2 Santa Teresa (15-10) vs. winner of 7 Oak Grove (11-12) vs. (10)-(15) winner.



DIVISION II: Division II figures to have the feel of a second Blossom Valley Athletic League tournament as we currently project eight teams coming from the BVAL with rivals Leigh and Leland looking like the top threats to take the CCS crown along with a very well-drilled Aragon squad led by coach Sam Manu and PAL power and expected top seed Westmoor.

FIRST ROUND:
12 Los Gatos (10-13) vs. 13 Pajaro Valley (10-12) winner plays 5 Leland (16-9)
11 Woodside (11-13) vs. 14 Overfelt (11-14) winner plays 6 Mountain View (13-9)
10 Pioneer (12-12) vs. 15 Yerba Buena (8-16) winner plays 7 St. Francis (10-16)

QUARTERFINALS:
1 Westmoor (20-4) vs. winner of 8 Los Altos (16-7) vs. 9 Lincoln (16-9) winner.
4 Willow Glen (20-6) vs. winner of 5 Leland (16-9) vs. (12)-(13) winner.
3 Aragon (19-6) vs. winner of 6 Mountain View (13-9) vs. (11)-(14) winner.
2 Leigh (18-7) vs. winner of 7 St. Francis (10-16) vs. (10)-(15) winner.



DIVISION III: St. Ignatius appeared headed for the Open Division, but the Wildcats should land in Division III after finishing fifth in the WCAL. Burlingame struggled at times in the preseason - a monstrous non-league schedule had a lot to do with that - but the Panthers have hit their stride in league play and should be one of the top seeds when the Division III playoffs roll around.


FIRST ROUND:
9 Terra Nova (12-11) vs. 16 Gilroy (10-13) winner plays 8 Valley Christian (5-20)
12 Sobrato (10-14) vs. 13 Del Mar (20-4) winner plays 5 Santa Cruz (15-9)
11 Christopher (10-12) vs. 14 Live Oak (10-14) winner plays 6 Aptos (18-6)
10 Prospect (15-9) vs. 15 Monterey (11-12) winner plays 7 Hillsdale (13-11)

QUARTERFINALS:
1 St. Ignatius (15-10) vs. winner of 8 Valley Christian (5-20) vs. (9)-(16) winner.
4 Mills (14-10) vs. winner of 5 Santa Cruz (15-9) vs. (12)-(13) winner.
3 Saratoga (17-6) vs. winner of 6 Aptos (18-6) vs. (11)-(14) winner.
2 Burlingame (17-7) vs. winner of 7 Hillsdale (13-11) vs. (10)-(15) winner.



DIVISION IV: With Riordan likely moving into the Open Division, Division IV should have a more wide-open feel.


FIRST ROUND:
12 Greenfield (12-10) vs. 13 Monte Vista Christian (17-6) winner plays 5 Menlo School (15-4)
11 Gunderson (16-9) vs. 14 King City (10-14) winner plays 6 Sacred Heart Prep (15-8)
10 The King's Academy (14-10) vs. 15 Stevenson (13-11) winner plays 7 Carmel (15-8)

QUARTERFINALS:
1 Half Moon Bay (20-5) vs. winner of 8 Harker School (15-8) vs. 9 Pacific Grove (10-11) winner.
4 Palma (17-5) vs. winner of 5 Menlo School (15-4) vs. (12)-(13) winner.
3 Seaside (17-3) vs. winner of 6 Sacred Heart Prep (15-8) vs. (11)-(14) winner.
2 Soquel (18-6) vs. winner of 7 Carmel (15-8) vs. (10)-(15) winner.



DIVISION V: Division V could be wide open, with the likes of Alma Heights Christian, Pinewood, Thomas More and Trinity Christian looking like potential favorites.





WCAL Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
13-1
28-5
12-2
25-6
7-7
20-12
6-8
21-10
6-8
16-11
4-10
15-17
SCVAL-DA Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
13-0
22-4
9-3
18-7
7-4
13-11
3-9
11-15
3-9
8-16
0-12
3-21
SCVAL-EC Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
12-0
19-8
9-3
17-8
7-5
13-12
5-7
11-13
2-11
5-18
0-12
1-23
BVAL-MH Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
10-4
20-8
9-5
17-10
7-7
17-12
5-9
12-13
2-12
7-18
2-12
6-18
BVAL-ST Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
10-4
17-10
9-5
17-10
9-5
16-10
7-7
13-13
4-10
10-15
4-10
8-16
1-13
5-18
BVAL-WV Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
14-0
21-5
11-3
15-9
9-5
11-15
7-7
10-15
5-9
10-14
2-12
6-15
1-13
3-21
MBL-Gab Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
11-1
21-4
10-2
19-4
9-3
19-6
4-8
13-12
4-8
12-13
3-9
11-14
1-11
12-14
MBL-Pac Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
8-4
13-10
7-5
10-15