CIF STATE BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Open Division
Mater Dei (34-0) vs. Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland (28-4)
Saturday, March 29
At Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, 8 p.m.
Fan info: General admission is $16 for adults, $10 for senior citizens 65 and older, high school students with valid student identification and for childen. Parking is $12.
TV/Online: Time Warner Cable Sports Net and cifstate.org
Outlook: It is a matchup of the top two teams in the California rankings. Calhisports.com has Mater Dei at No.1 and O’Dowd at No.2 in its state rankings. Mater Dei defeated Bishop O’Dowd, 63-59, in overtime in the championship game of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas on Dec.21. O’Dowd’s 6-foot-10 junior Ivan Rabb scored 24 points with 21 rebounds in that game. Mater Dei All-American and state player of the year Stanley Johnson scored 25 with eight rebounds. Mater Dei is going for its fourth straight CIF State championship. A win would mean Johnson has been on four state championship teams in his four years at Mater Dei. Mater Dei is 10-4 in state championship games. O’Dowd is 1-7, having lost seven state finals in a row since winning in 1981.
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