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Four storylines to watch heading into CIF-SS basketball playoffs

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Four storylines to watch heading into CIF-SS basketball playoffs

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The CIF Southern Section officed released the boys and girls basketball playoff pairings Sunday, which included the seedings and pool placement for the Open Division.

Harvard-Westlake boys basketball received the No. 2 overall seed and top seed in Pool B with No. 3 West Ranch, No. 6 St. John Bosco and No. 7 St. Bernard. Corona Centennial was awarded the No. 1 overall seed with No. 4 Bishop Montgomery, No. 5 Notre Dame Sherman Oaks and No. 8 Sierra Canyon in Pool A. Opening round of pool play begins Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.

In the girls’ Open Division, unbeaten Sierra Canyon will be the No. 1 overall seed and top seed in Pool A with No. 4 Sage Hill, No. 5 Ontario Christian and No. 8 Bishop Montgomery. Etiwanda will be the No. 2 seed with No. 3 Mater Dei, No. 6 Windward and No. 7 Corona Santiago in Pool B. Opening round of pool play begins Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.

Here are the Daily News’ top storylines to watch heading into the postseason:

WEST RANCH WILL LOOK TO MAKE NOISE

West Ranch will embark on its first Open Division postseason in program history after going 27-1 during the regular season, which included maintaining its impressive Foothill League winning streak of 36 games.

“We are in, now we need to show that we belong,” West Ranch coach Jeff Bryant said.

On paper, the Wildcats are arguably the most talented roster in the field with Andrew Meadow, James Evans, Jaqari Miles, Darrell Morris, Isaiah Fields and 7-foot center Jazz Gardner.

If higher seeds prevail, West Ranch’s final pool-play game at Harvard-Westlake on Feb. 17 could serve as the unofficial semifinal.

SIERRA CANYON GIRLS, BOYS

One school with two Open Division programs is something to be praised, however, the storyline for the Sierra Canyon girls’ is much different than the one for the boys team.

The top-seeded Sierra Canyon girls’ are on a collision course with Etiwanda for a rematch of last year’s Open Division final. Star Juju Watkins fouled out of that game and Etiwanda won. Sierra Canyon went on to avenge the loss in the CIF State playoffs before lifting the CIF State Open Division crown, but it’s still one piece of hardware missing from Watkins’ resume as a Trailblazer.

Sierra Canyon’s boys team hobbled its way into the Open Division field despite losing three of its last five games of the season. The Trailblazers went 0-3 against Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame (twice) in the Mission League this season.

The team’s two best players, Isaiah Elohim and Bronny James, have been dealing with injuries that’ve directly impacted the team’s performance. The last time the two played together was Jan. 16 against Florida’s Columbus High in the Hoophall Classic.

Sierra Canyon’s No. 8 seed is the lowest in program history since the Open Division field went to eight teams.

MISSION LEAGUE POWER

The Mission League will see all boys and girls teams in the postseason. Despite going winless in league play, the Alemany boys’ were given an at-large berth to the Division 3AA playoffs where it will travel to top seed St. Pius on Wednesday.

Loyola (at Crossroads) was given an at-large to Division 1. Chaminade (at Knight) and Crespi (at Vista Murrieta) were given at-large berths to Division 2AA. Notre Dame Sherman Oaks (at Northview, D-2A), Alemany (at Long Beach Poly, D-1) and Marlborough (at Vista Murrieta, D-1) girls’ received at-large berths from the Mission League.

DOUBLE-LOCAL MATCHUPS

St. Francis will play at Oak Park in Division 1 and Chaminade will play at Knight in Division 2AA to highlight two double-local boys’ matchups in the first round of the playoffs Wednesday night.

Agoura will play at Louisville, Saugus will play at Highland and Valencia will play at Holy Martyrs in three double-local girls’ matchups in Division 3AA Thursday night. Simi Valley will play at Knight in 4AA.

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