As if the first four rounds of the recently completed high school basketball playoffs wasn’t a travel-heavy grind, here comes the next round with a much greater radius.
The CIF Northern California Regional tournament brackets were released Sunday afternoon, spanning seven divisions for the boys and girls, with some games as far south as Fresno and others so close to the Oregon border you can see it.
The brackets are headed by the elite Open Division that was created in 2013 for powerhouse programs. The concept was introduced to allow public schools a better fighting chance to earn NorCal and state hardware, as the private programs had for decades overwhelmingly dominated those winnings.
Then something interesting happened, particularly for the boys regionals. The public school teams got really good, state-ranked good, and so it was no surprise Sunday that three Sacramento-area programs again landed in the eight-team boys Open Division field that tips off Friday. The area’s top-ranked girls team, Folsom, is in the girls Open.
Bee No. 1 Sheldon, still stinging from a down-to-the-wire loss to Modesto Christian in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I final Saturday in Stockton, earned a four seed and will host No. 5 San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno.
“Our attitude will be like a lot of other teams,” Sheldon guard Dale Currie said of approaching the NorCal tournament. “Get back to the gym, get back to work and win games.”
Sheldon lost at Pacific to Modesto Christian, which is the No. 3 Open seed and will host No. 6 Bellarmine, which wasn’t happy with such a low seed after winning the Central Coast Section’s Open title for the first time. This is also the season where coaches – boys and girls – grumble about seeds. Everyone wants to take on a low seed and no one wants to travel.
No. 7 Capital Christian, however, likes its chances and is ready to fire up the team buses. A section semifinal victim to Modesto Christian, the Cougars play at No. 2 Bishop O’Dowd, coming off its 18th North Coast Section championship.
And Folsom, an overtime victim to Sheldon in the section semifinals, drew the dreaded No. 8 seed, thus a date at CalHi Sports state No. 1 Salesian of Richmond, winners of 22 consecutive games. But here’s a twist: Salesian’s lone loss was 69-63 to Gorman of Las Vegas, which went on to win its seventh successive state championship. Gorman lost to Folsom 68-61 in a December tournament.
Also Friday, the Folsom girls, seeded fourth in the Open, will host Salesian, seeded fifth. Folsom is enjoying its greatest season, though still smarting from a blowout loss to national power and Open No. 2-seed St. Mary’s of Stockton in the section D-I final.
The creation of the state Open Division in 2013 meant there would be holes in the other 16-team brackets as schools were pulled up in classification. This translates to new life for other teams, some that lost long ago in the sectional rounds, including the second round.
Too many teams in the playoffs? The CIF member schools voted for expansion, and administrators, athletes and fans also pushed and urged deeper brackets. They got it.
What is also a continuing trend, albeit on the absurd side, is how many NorCal teams decline to input statistics on MaxPreps, a site created for the schools to promote programs. A good many stopped this practice in the last year to hide tendencies, and several that continued to input data this season rushed to remove it as the brackets were released, leaving scores of NorCal coaches to scramble for morsels of information.
The boys D-I field includes section quarterfinal losers Jesuit (lost to Modesto Christian) and Franklin (fell to Capital Christian) as No. 14 and No. 15 seeds, respectively. Without the Open, the D-I bracket would have included at least six of the Open teams.
In girls D-I, section second-round victims Oak Ridge and McClatchy have another shot as the No. 15 and No. 14 seeds, respectively.
The oddity of the new “competitive-equity” formula for the NorCal fields includes Woodcreek. The Timberwolves boys a year ago won the NorCal Open Division title, then lost 6-foot-11, five-star recruit Jordan Brown to Prolific Prep, fell to Sheldon in a second-round D-I playoff game and now winds up in the NorCal D-II bracket as the No. 11 seed.
The D-II field also includes No. 16 Oak Ridge, which lost a section quarterfinal to Folsom. No. 5 Grant, No. 8 Antelope and No. 14 Whitney are also in that bracket. West Campus is the No. 2 seed in D-IV.
Without the girls Open, Open No. 1 seed Mitty of San Jose – the top-ranked team in the country – St. Mary’s and Folsom would have been D-I entries.
In girls D-II, Sacramento is a No. 16 seed after falling to Del Oro in a second-round section game, and Granite Bay, a blowout loser at Bear Creek of Stockton in a section second-round game, is the No. 15 seed. There will be road trips, as Sacramento heads to Chico to face Pleasant Valley and Granite Bay is off to No. 2 Eureka.
The competitive equity model impacts the Antelope and West Campus girls. Antelope won the section D-II title but was pulled up to D-I for regionals.
West Campus, defending CIF NorCal and state D-IV champions coming off a D-IV section title win Friday were moved up to D-III as a No. 5 seed.
“We’ll play anyone, and we’ll be ready,” West Campus coach John Langston said.
D-III section champion Christian Brothers is the No. 3 seed in D-III.
CIF Northern California Regional playoffs
Boys
Open Division
Friday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Folsom vs. No. 1 Salesian at Albany High
No. 5 San Joaquin Memorial at No. 4 Sheldon
No. 6 Bellarmine at No. 3 Modesto Christian
No. 7 Capital Christian at No. 2 Bishop O’Dowd
Division I
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Bullard at No. 1 Heritage
No. 9 De La Salle at No. 8 Palo Alto
No. 12 Central at No. 5 Saint Francis
No. 14 Jesuit at No. 3 Mitty
No. 11 St. Ignatius at No. 6 Berkeley
No. 10 Serra at No. 7 Dublin
No. 15 Franklin-Elk Grove at No. 2 Las Lomas
Division II
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Oak Ridge at No. 1 Alameda
No. 9 Los Gatos at No. 8 Antelope
No. 12 Acalanes at No. 5 Grant
No. 13 Riordan at No. 4 St. Patrick/St. Vincent
No. 14 Whitney at No. 3 Campolindo
No. 11 Woodcreek at No. 6 St. Joseph-Notre Dame
No. 10 Moreau Catholic at No. 7 Sequoia
No. 15 Sunnyside at No. 2 St. Mary’s-Stockton
Division III
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Vanden at No. 1 Branson
No. 9 Oakland Tech at No. 8 Valley Christian
No. 12 Rio Americano at No. 5 Half Moon Bay
No. 13 Monterey at No. 4 Central Catholic
No. 14 Patterson at No. 3 University
No. 11 Foothill-Pleasanton at No. 6 Mission
No. 10 Beyer at No. 7 Sanger
No. 15 Drake and No. 2 Pleasant Valley
Division IV
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Weston Ranch at No. 1 Santa Cruz
No. 9 Stuart Hall at No. 8 Foothill-Sacramento
No. 12 Liberty Ranch at No. 5 Albany
No. 13 Corning at No. 4 Placer
No. 14 Dixon at No. 3 Saint Mary’s
No. 11 Sonora at No. 6 Lick-Wilmerding
No. 10 Woodside Priory at No. 7 Calaveras
No. 15 Lowell at No. 2 West Campus
Division V
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Durham at No. 1 Argonaut
No. 9 Hayward at No. 8 Pinewood
No. 12 Envision Academy at No. 5 University Prep
No. 13 Mt. Shasta at No. 4 Urban
No. 14 Colusa at No. 3 Colfax
No. 11 Summerville at No. 6 Lassen
No. 10 Bradshaw Christian at No. 7 Redwood Christian
No. 15 Brookside Christian at No. 2 Gridley
Division VI
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 8 San Francisco Waldorf at No. 1 Ripon Christian
No. 5 Cornerstone Christian at No. 4 Fall River
No. 6 Sacramento Adventist at No. 3 Laytonville
No. 7 Jewish Community at No. 2 Redding Christian
Girls
Open Division
Friday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Bishop O’Dowd at No. 1 Mitty
No. 5 Salesian at No. 4 Folsom
No. 6 Carondelet at No. 3 Pinewood
No. 7 Cardinal Newman at No. 2 St. Mary’s
Division I
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Logan at No. 1 Presentation
No. 9 Cosumnes Oaks at No. 8 Castro Valley
No. 12 St. Ignatius at No. 5 Antelope
No. 13 Edison at No. 4 Miramonte
No. 14 McClatchy at No. 3 St. Joseph-Notre Dame
No. 11 Saint Francis-Mountain View at No. 6 Bear Creek
No. 10 Sacred Heart Cathedral at No. 7 Heritage
No. 15 Oak Ridge at No. 2 Eastside College Prep
Division II
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Sacramento at No. 1 Pleasant Valley
No. 9 Newark Memorial at No. 8 Silver Creek
No. 12 Redwood at No. 5 Whitney
No. 13 Menlo School at No. 4 San Ramon Valley
No. 14 Arcata at No. 3 Valley Christian
No. 11 Menlo-Atherton at No. 6 Montgomery
No. 10 Del Oro at No. 7 South San Francisco
No. 15 Granite Bay at No. 2 Eureka
Division III
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Oakland at No. 1 Enterprise
No. 9 Campolindo at No. 8 Sacred Heart Prep
No. 12 Yosemite at No. 5 West Campus
No. 13 River Valley at No. 4 Piedmont
No. 14 Urban at No. 3 Christian Brothers
No. 11 Foothill at No. 6 Dublin
No. 10 Lathrop at No. 7 Clovis
No. 15 Marin Catholic at No. 2 Aptos
Division IV
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Moreau Catholic at No. 1 Woodside Priority
No. 9 Kimball at No. 8 St. Bernard’s
No. 12 Oroville at No. 5 Colfax
No. 13 Lincoln-San Francisco at No. 4 Memorial
No. 14 West Valley at No. 3 Union Mine
No. 11 Bradshaw Christian at No. 6 Oakland Tech
No. 10 Placer at No. 7 Willows
No. 15 Alhambra at No. 2 Notre Dame
Division V
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Western Sierra at No. 1 University
No. 9 Chowchilla at No. 8 Mariposa
No. 12 Cloverdale at No. 5 Lassen
No. 13 KIPP King at No. 4 Lowell
No. 14 Castilleja at No. 3 Argonaut
No. 11 Summerville at No. 6 Durham
No. 10 Modoc at No. 7 Capital Christian
No. 14 Golden Sierra at No. 2 Clear Lake
Division VI
Wednesday openers, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Emery at No. 1 Fall River
No. 5 Forest Lake Christian at No. 4 Rincon Valley Christian
No. 6 Laytonville at No. 3 Ripon Christian
No. 7 California School for the Deaf at No. 2 Redding Christian
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