SoCal Top 10 Plus 15: Friday SS Open showdowns
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Each of the four CIF Southern Section Open Division first-round playoff games Friday night will be made up entirely of teams from the Top 10 of the latest BurlisonOnBasketball Top 10 Plus 15.
Only No.’s 7 Westchester (the top seed in the L.A. City Open playoffs, which begin Saturday) and 8 Oak Park (the No. 1 seed in the CIF SS Division I bracket) from the Top 10 aren’t in the Southern Section Open bracket.
The Friday SS Open matchups could prove scintillating:
*No. 8-ranked St. John Bosco (which has wins over fellow Open entrants Crespi, Mater Dei, Rancho Christian and Santa Margarita on its resume) plays unbeaten and top-seed Bishop Montgomery at El Camino College;
*No. 10 Crespi (25-2 and unbeaten in the Mission League), led by Arizona-bound guard Brandon Williams, travels to Orange County (Santa Ana) to face Trinity League-champion Mater Dei, which is also led by a superb guard in Harvard-bound Spencer Freedman;
*No. 6 Santa Margarita (the Trinity runner-up) will pit its big and skilled frontcourt against host and No. 2 Etiwanda (with only a Dec. 2 loss to Rancho Christian tainting its record) with its relentless half-court defense and;
*No. 5 Sierra Canyon travels from the San Fernando (Chatsworth) to Riverside County (Temecula) to face No. 4 Rancho Christian, in a game hosted by Temecula Valley High.
Saturday night Westchester plays host to the L.A. City’s 2017 Open championship program, Birmingham, which is led by the best unsigned guard in the western Class of 2018, 6-foot-5 Devonaire Doutrive (PICTURED).
SoCal Top 10 Plus 15
(Records as of Feb. 9)
- Torrance Bishop Montgomery (Southern Section/24-0)
Friday: vs. St. John Bosco at El Camino College/Open
- Etiwanda (SS/27-1)
Friday: vs. Rancho SM Santa Margarita/Open
- Temecula Rancho Christian (SS/26-2)
Friday: vs. Sierra Canyon at Temecula Valley HS/Open
- Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (SS/21-3)
Friday: vs. Rancho Christian at Temecula Valley HS/Open
- Santa Ana Mater Dei (SS/20-6)
Friday: vs. Crespi/Open
- Rancho SM Santa Margarita (SS/20-6)
Friday: at Etiwanda/Open
- Westchester (L.A. City/27-5)
Saturday: vs. Birmingham/LAC Open
- Bellflower St. John Bosco (SS/21-6)
Friday: vs. Etiwanda at El Camino College/Open
- Oak Park (SS/21-6)
Friday: vs. winner of Wednesday Esperanza at Edison/D-1
- Encino Crespi (SS/25-2)
Friday: at Mater Dei/Open
- El Cajon Foothills Christian (San Diego/22-5)
Wednesday: vs. La Jolla Country Day/League
- Fairfax (City/20-8)
Saturday: vs. El Camino Real/LAC Open
- Mission Bay (SDS/24-4)
Tuesday: vs. La Jolla/League
- Chino Hills (SS/16-11)
Wednesday: vs. Inglewood/D-1
- La Verne Damien (SS/22-6)
Wednesday: at Temecula Valley/D-1
- Pasadena (SS/20-6)
Friday: vs. winner of Wednesday Loyola at Redondo Union/D-1
- San Bernardino Cajon (SS/21-6)
Wednesday: vs. El Toro/D-2AA
- Woodland Hills Taft (LAC/25-7)
Saturday: vs. Crenshaw/LAC Open
- Harbor City Narbonne (LAC/21-6)
Saturday: vs. Granada Hills/LAC Open
- Long Beach Poly (SS/19-7)
Wednesday: vs. Gardena Serra/D-1
- Studio City Harvard-Westlake (SS/21-5)
Wednesday: vs. Heritage Christian/D-1
- San Diego Torrey Pines (SD/25-2)
Wednesday: at Carlsbad Sage Creek/League
- Corona Centennial (SS/19-10)
Wednesday: vs. Los Alamitos/D-1
- Long Beach St. Anthony (SS/25-2)
Wednesday: vs. Simi Valley Royal/D-3AA
- Eastvale Roosevelt (SS/23-3)
Wednesday: vs. Palos Verdes Peninsula/D-1