Boys basketball: A breakdown of January’s best league battles

It’s cliche, but it’s true — a season is split into three portions: a team’s nonleague slate, league competition, and of course, the postseason. The nonleague portion of the season is coming to a close as holiday tournaments wrap up and 2026 begins, which will turn the attention to all-important league play in January.

League games are the meat and potatoes of the year because it’s where teams compete for a league championship and position themselves for a playoff berth.

According to CIF rules, any team that finishes in the top 50% of its league automatically qualifies for the playoffs. Additionally, due to CIF’s new competitive equity model that uses computer rankings to place teams in their appropriate division, most programs won’t know which division they’ll be placed in until February.

The Mission League is arguably the most competitive and talented high school basketball league in California, highlighted by powerhouse programs like Sierra Canyon, Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame. The coaching and talent level of the teams in the league are unmatched from top to bottom. Crespi, Chaminade, Loyola and Alemany all have Division I-level players on their roster.

The Marmonte, Olympic, Coastal Canyon and West Valley Leagues are highly competitive, but are generally top heavy. Unlike the Mission League, these other leagues have two teams vying for the league title, while others are simply looking to place in the top half of the league for an automatic playoff berth.

That said, here is a schedule of the area’s biggest league matchups in January that will impact league championship aspirations and league placement.

Jan. 6

Olympic League: Village Christian at Heritage Christian

Jan. 7

Mission League: St. Francis at Sierra Canyon

Jan. 9

Mission League: Harvard-Westlake at Crespi, Notre Dame at Sierra Canyon

Marmonte League: Oaks Christian at Thousand Oaks

Jan. 13

Mission League: St. Francis at Crespi

Coastal Canyon League: Moorpark at Oak Park

Gold Coast League: Viewpoint at Campbell Hall

Liberty League: Oakwood at Milken

Jan. 14

Golden League: Eastside at Pete Knight

Jan. 15

Mission League: Notre Dame at St. Francis

Jan. 21

Mission League: Crespi at Notre Dame, Harvard-Westlake at Sierra Canyon

Jan. 23

Mission League: Chaminade at Alemany, St. Francis at Loyola

Marmonte League: Thousand Oaks at Oaks Christian

West Valley League: Cleveland at Birmingham

Jan. 24

Mission League: Sierra Canyon at Crespi, Notre Dame at Harvard-Westlake

Jan. 28

Golden League: Campbell Hall at Viewpoint

Jan. 30

Coastal Canyon League: Oak Park at Moorpark

Jan. 31

Olympic League: Heritage Christian at Village Christian