NCS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS: TOP STORYLINES
BOYS: OPEN DIVISION
It sure looks as if the selection committee emphasized the total body of work rather than being a prisoner of the moment when it seeded teams in the section's top division on Sunday. San Ramon Valley avenged its two regular-season league losses in the East Bay Athletic League tournament, winning impressively on the road over Granada on Thursday in the semifinals and De La Salle on Saturday in the final. But the committee still placed SRV behind De La Salle in the six-team bracket. So in reality, SRV's 68-59victory over the Spartans meant next to nothing in terms of seeding purposes. De La Salle, which hadn't lost to a Northern California team this season until Saturday, was placed second behind top-seeded Salesian. San Ramon Valley drew the No. 4seed as North Bay powerhouse Branson, led by Illinois-bound Jase Butler, was seeded third. Branson's resume includes victories over Archbishop Mitty, Archbishop Riordan and a Redwood team that beat San Ramon Valley. What does all this mean? Well, SRV will now have to play a rubber match on its home court Thursday night against Granada for the right to face Salesian on the road in the semifinals on Feb. 21. De La Salle, meanwhile, will get a home game on Feb. 21against Branson or DAL tournament champion Clayton Valley Charter. The good news for all teams selected for the Open: They have qualified for the Northern California regionals.
GIRLS: OPEN DIVISION
San Ramon Valley is the top seed in the NCS's top bracket after a banner regular season that included victories over Carondelet, Pinewood and Oakland Tech, but the path to an Open title is no cakewalk for Sofia Bowes and Co. Any of the six teams could realistically win the section. … Cardinal Newman enters the tournament winners of 24straight, with its last four victories coming by at least 60points each. … Scoring in the Bishop O'Dowd and Acalanes matchup could approach triple-digits. Bishop O'Dowd's Lizzy Quinteros and Devin Cosgriff are both future college players, as are Acalanes' Karyss Lacanlale and Dulci Vail. … Carondelet just took top-seed SRV to the brink in a close EBAL title game loss Saturday. … Meanwhile, no one puts up points quite like Piedmont's Natalia Martinez, a San Diego State commit.
BOYS: MEET THE NO. 1 SEEDS
Salesian was a no-brainer for the top seed in the Open Division. Salesian's only loss in a 27-1regular season was to St. John Bosco-Bellflower in the semifinals at Damien, 68-66 in OT. Longtime coach Bill Mellis has led a team of standouts who are committed to the end-goal rather than individual glory. … Bishop O'Dowd, stumbled down the stretch with losses to Berkeley and Modesto Christian, but is the No. 1 seed in a Division I. O'Dowd's path to the title could include a semifinal game against fourth-seeded Dougherty Valley and a title game against No. 2Berkeley. … Montgomery-Santa Rosa (Div. II) and University-San Francisco (Div. III) are strong top seeds. … Ygnacio Valley, the DAL's regular-season champion, is seeded No. 2behind Justin-Siena in Division IV. … Oakland's Head-Royce received the top seed in Division V.
GIRLS: MEET THE NO. 1 SEEDS
San Ramon Valley went 27-1and defeated Carondelet twice in the span of a week to clinch the top spot in the Open Division. The Wolves lost an early-season matchup with powerhouse St. Mary's-Stockton and have since ripped off 25 consecutive wins. … California, the top seed in Division I, went 23-4and proved it was better than all but the Carondelet and San Ramon Valley in the EBAL. … Redwood and Marin Catholic are the top seeds in Division II and III, respectively. … St. Patrick-St. Vincent has a chance chance to feast Division IV's top seed. … St. Bernard's is the No. 1 seed in Division V, and San Francisco Waldorf is the top team in Division VI.