P2P Girls Basketball
CCS Playoff Projections
Under the new CCS playoff setup, Kelli Hayes and Mitty will surely find themselves in the Open. (Aakash Gupta/Prep2Prep)

Prep2Prep CCS Girls Basketball Playoff Projections

UPDATED 2/12/2013


There will be plenty of anticipation for this year's playoffs as the 2012-13 season marks the first time the Open Division will take place for basketball in the Central Coast Section. 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; 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 Divisions.

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.

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.

CORRECTION: Due to an oversight on our part, we neglected to include Gunderson in our initial projections. Clearly, Gunderson should expect a high seed in Division IV. Thanks to our readers for noticing the omission.


OPEN DIVISION: There is almost no scenario possible whereby the WCAL will produce less than four of the eight teams for the Open Division. The top four finishers during the WCAL regular season ended up as: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Archbishop Mitty, St. Francis, St. Ignatius. Furthermore, WCAL teams cannot meet in the first round. Wilcox should seal an Open bid with two wins this week, but the Chargers face a tough task with games against very good Gunn and Saratoga teams.

1 SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (19-4)

#1 vs. #8 Winner

Finalist

Open Div. Champ

8 Soquel (22-2)

4 ST. FRANCIS (17-6)

#4 vs. #5 Winner

5 Wilcox (20-2)

3 EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP (16-4)

#3 vs. #6 Winner

Finalist

6 St. Ignatius (17-7)

2 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (17-6)

#2 vs. #7 Winner

7 Pinewood (18-3)


DIVISION I: We've got Wilcox as the lone Division I representative in the Open Division, but the committee will be faced with a difficult decision if Wilcox and Lynbrook end up tied for first in the SCVAL De Anza Division. The teams split during the regular season, but Wilcox has a slightly better overall record. Soquel would appear to be a lock for one of the Open slots; if Wilcox doesn't make the open, the Chargers would likely be the top seed in Division I.

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 Evergreen Valley (17-5) vs. 16 Homestead (9-14) winner plays 8 Monta Vista (11-10)
12 Watsonville (15-7) vs. 13 Milpitas (8-13) winner plays 5 Palo Alto (9-10)
11 Salinas (13-9) vs. 14 Independence (9-13) winner plays 6 San Benito (13-10)
10 Menlo-Atherton (10-12) vs. 15 Alvarez (12-9) winner plays 7 Oak Grove (13-10)

QUARTERFINALS:
1 Gunn (15-5) vs. winner of 8 Monta Vista (11-10) vs. (9)-(16) winner.
4 North Salinas (17-5) vs. winner of 5 Palo Alto (9-10) vs. (12)-(13) winner.
3 Piedmont Hills (16-8) vs. winner of 6 San Benito (13-10) vs. (11)-(14) winner.
2 Santa Teresa (15-9) vs. winner of 7 Oak Grove (13-10) vs. (10)-(15) winner.



DIVISION II: Division II looks to have a strong BVAL feel as we have six of the projected 13 teams coming from that league. Lynbrook appears to be in good shape for a No. 1 seed.

FIRST ROUND:
9 South San Francisco (11-7) vs. 8 Willow Glen (17-7)
12 Mt. Pleasant (9-10) vs. 13 Lincoln (10-13) winner plays 5 Woodside (19-3)
11 Leland (13-8) vs. 6 Westmoor (17-4)
10 Leigh (10-14) vs. 7 Los Altos (16-6)

QUARTERFINALS:
1 Lynbrook (18-3) vs. (8)-(9) winner.
4 Westmont (15-9) vs. winner of 5 Woodside (19-3) vs. (12)-(13) winner.
3 Presentation (10-13) vs. vs. (6)-(11) winner.
2 Mountain View (20-2) vs. vs. (7)-(10) winner.



DIVISION III: Branham had a bit of an uneven league record at times, but the Bruins have proven capable of taking down top teams - witness their non-league victory over Lynbrook. Burlingame figures to be a strong contender for the title.


FIRST ROUND:
9 San Jose (18-6) vs. 8 Santa Cruz (14-9)
12 Live Oak (16-8) vs. 13 Terra Nova (8-13) winner plays 5 Mills (13-7)
11 Soledad (14-7) vs. 14 North Monterey County (6-15) winner plays 6 Christopher (14-5)
10 Saratoga (10-9) vs. 7 San Mateo (10-13)

QUARTERFINALS:
1 Burlingame (19-2) vs. (8)-(9) winner.
4 Valley Christian (7-14) vs. winner of 5 Mills (13-7) vs. (12)-(13) winner.
3 Notre Dame-San Jose (15-7) vs. winner of 6 Christopher (14-5) vs. (11)-(14) winner.
2 Branham (18-6) vs. (7)-(10) winner.



DIVISION IV: League, city and Valparaiso Avenue rivals Menlo and Sacred Heart Prep could be headed for a CCS showdown in Division IV.


FIRST ROUND:
9 King City (16-6) vs. 8 Half Moon Bay (14-10)
12 Harker School (15-6) vs. 13 Carmel (11-9) winner plays 5 Scotts Valley (13-8)
11 The King's Academy (11-10) vs. 14 Greenfield (9-12) winner plays 6 Seaside (14-7)
10 Notre Dame-Belmont (6-18) vs. 15 Oceana (9-12) winner plays 7 Mercy San Francisco (8-12)

QUARTERFINALS:
1 Menlo School (15-8) vs. winner of 8 Half Moon Bay (14-10) vs. 9 King City (16-6) winner.
4 Monte Vista Christian (19-3) vs. winner of 5 Scotts Valley (13-8) vs. (12)-(13) winner.
3 Sacred Heart Prep (16-7) vs. winner of 6 Seaside (14-7) vs. (11)-(14) winner.
2 Gunderson (18-5) vs. winner of 7 Mercy San Francisco (8-12) vs. (10)-(15) winner.



DIVISION V: With Eastside Prep and Pinewood projected in the Open Division, Division V figures to be much more wide-open than in years past.





WCAL Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
10-2
23-7
7-5
21-11
4-8
15-15
SCVAL-DA Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
10-2
23-5
9-2
22-5
8-3
20-7
5-7
9-11
4-8
11-14
2-9
11-11
2-9
6-17
SCVAL-EC Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
11-1
18-7
7-5
11-15
6-6
12-12
5-7
13-12
2-10
8-16
0-12
2-22
BVAL-MH Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
11-3
19-7
9-5
17-11
9-6
24-8
8-7
15-11
6-8
14-11
5-9
11-15
1-13
3-19
BVAL-ST Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
12-2
18-9
9-5
15-10
6-8
10-13
2-12
5-19
0-14
2-20
BVAL-WV Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
14-0
19-8
10-4
16-9
10-4
12-12
9-5
10-14
6-8
10-14
5-9
6-14
1-12
1-17
0-13
1-21
MBL-Gab Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
7-5
15-9
7-5
16-13
5-7
15-11
0-12
5-19
MBL-Pac Standings

TEAM
DIV
OVERALL
11-1
17-8
7-5
13-10
2-7
4-15
1-9
1-18