A few preliminary predictions after a quick look at the CIF-Southern Section boys basketball playoff brackets. (Steve Fryer’s annual predictions column will be available online on Tuesday night.):
1. Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran are going to be challenged. That Open Division they are in is ridiculously tough. Lutheran goes on the road to play at Damian of La Verne in the first round. Mater Dei has a first-round home game against Price of Los Angeles, which the Monarchs should beat. But that second-round game against the Chino Hills-Long Beach Poly winner could end the Monarchs quest for what would be a 23rd CIF-SS championship.
2. Santa Margarita vs. Los Alamitos in the quarterfinals. The Eagles and Griffins could meet in the Division 1AA quarterfinals if they get past their first- and second-round opponents, which they should. That would be an outstanding Orange County game, with great players and outstanding student cheering sections. Home court advantage could be significant if they do meet in the quarters.
3. Tyler Burch won’t score 56 on Friday. He had that many points Wednesday against Ocean View. Villa Park, Westminster’s first-round opponent in a Division 1A home game Friday, is better than Ocean View. So Burch will score “only” 36.
4. Canyon will be the Orange County at-large team to win a first-round away game by the largest margin. Only the top two finishers in the four-team Crestview League received guaranteed entry into the playoffs. As the league’s No. 3 teams, Canyon had to qualify as an at-large team, which it did. Canyon is seeded No. 5 in Division 2AA but goes on the road to play unseeded Oak Hills of Hesperia, the No. 1 team from the Mojave River League. The Comanches won the 2AA championship last season.
5. The San Joaquin and Trinity leagues will have multiple teams in championship games. From the San Joaquin Lague, Orangewood Academy is seeded No. 1 in Division 6 (although as the No. 3 team in a four-team league, the Spartans are an at-large team), Capistrano Valley Christian is seeded No. 2 in Division 5A and Saddleback Valley Christian is seeded No. 4 in 5AA. Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Orange Lutheran are in that awfully difficult Open Division but both can compete with any of the other 14 teams there. Santa Margarita is good enough to get to the 1AA final and Servite has shaken off the shackles of being in the Trinity League and could find Division 3A opponents relatively less challenging.
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