There is a ton of movement in the final poll of the season, after a considerably wild week for the teams in the top 10. Bishop Montgomery claims the top spot for the seventh consecutive week.
No. 1 Bishop Montgomery (26-0, 8-0 Del Rey League) – The Knights should be fresh entering the playoffs. They had just one game last week, a 40-point win over St. Bernard to cap off an undefeated regular season. Of the 12 divisions in CIF-Southern Section basketball, Division 4AA ranks behind 1AA in overall competitiveness. As the No. 1 seed in the division, it’s theirs to lose. Whittier Christian is their first round opponent, Wednesday.
No. 2 Long Beach Poly (24-2, 12-0 Moore League) – The No. 2 ranked team in our poll is also the No. 2 seed in the gauntlet that is Division 1AA. The Jackrabbits weren’t given any favors when the pairings were announced on Sunday. Poly is on the bottom of the bracket along with the likes of Loyola, Etiwanda, and Corona Centennial. They’ll host Palmdale on Friday in the first round.
No. 3 Mater Dei (26-1, 10-0 Trinity League) – Mater Dei moves up a spot this week after Etiwanda’s loss. The Monarchs are the No. 1 seed in Division 1AA after winning their 25th straight league title. It’s also now 30 league championships in 31 years for the Monarchs. Stanley Johnson is the best player in the division and the Monarchs can ride his broad shoulders to another CIF title. It won’t be easy, but they’ll get started on Friday against Eastvale Roosevelt.
No. 4 Loyola (20-6, 10-2 Mission League) – The Parker Jackson-Cartwright factor is real, hence, the five spot climb. The junior point guard is back. He was out for over a month with an ankle and foot injury. He didn’t exactly ease himself back into the lineup in his return last Monday. The Cubs went to double overtime against rival Harvard Westlake. Jackson-Cartwright finished with 11 points in the 56-52 win. Two nights later, they got past Alemany in overtime to win the tough Mission League outright. Six of the seven teams in the league are playoff bound. The Cubs will host Montebello in the first round on Friday.
No. 5 St. John Bosco (19-6, 8-2 Trinity League) – The Braves finished the regular season strong with wins over Servite and Santa Margarita and are up two spots this week. The second place team in the Trinity League earned the No. 1 seed in Division 3A. Isaac Hamilton returned to the lineup after a two-game suspension for the regular season finale. His younger brother, Daniel, was two rebounds shy of a triple-double in the win. The Braves suffered heartbreak last season with a one-point loss to Oak Park in the 3A semifinals and lost to Alemany in the regional finals on a layup with under two seconds left after blowing an 18-point lead. The Eagles are the No. 2 seed in the division. St. John Bosco will host Buena Park on Wednesday.
No. 6 Chino Hills (23-4, 10-0 Sierra League) – No movement for the Huskies this week. The champions of the Sierra League will now enter a much tougher task in Division 1AA. They’ll host Montclair on Friday.
No. 7 Pacific Hills (20-4, 10-2 Alpha League) – The Bruins are up a spot this week. They handled their end of the bargain, taking care of Viewpoint, 83-49, in their Alpha League finale. They received some help too. Brentwood’s loss to Windward pulled Pacific Hills into a three-way tie for the league title. They won the coin flip and enter Division 4A as the No. 1 seed and on a collision course with No. 2 seed Brentwood in the finals. The Bruins have a first round bye and will host the winner of Riverside Notre Dame and Marshall on Friday.
No. 8 Etiwanda (22-2, 9-1 Baseline League) – The Eagles fall to No. 8 this week after climbing to No. 3 last week. They let the Baseline league title and a more favorable playoff draw get away from them after a loss to Rancho Cucamonga last week. As a result, they tie the league championship with the Cougars and Rancho Cucamonga won the coin flip to determine the No. 1 team in the league. Therefore, the Cougars are the No. 5 seed and Etiwanda is No. 6 in the 1AA bracket. Etiwanda head coach Dave Kleckner said the loss was a wake-up call for his team. They’ll now have to hit the road for a first round matchup at Palmdale Highland.
No. 9 Brentwood (23-3, 10-2 Alpha League) – Brentwood falls four spots and are in a similar situation as Etiwanda. A one-point loss to Windward last week cost them an outright league championship. Instead, they were tri-champs in the Alpha League with Pacific Hills and Windward. The Eagles are the No. 2 seed in Division 4A. They host Malibu in a first round game on Wednesday.
No. 10 Corona Centennial (25-2, 9-1 Big VIII League) – The Huskies got back on track last week after being upset by Riverside King the week prior. The champs in the Big VIII League earned the No. 3 seed in Division 1AA. They’ll host Long Beach Jordan in the first round on Friday.
Dropped Out: None
