Boys’ basketball: City Section preparing for Open Division playoffs
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The CIF state championships in basketball will have an eight-team Open Division for the first time in Southern California and an eight-team Open Division in Northern California, and sections have to come up with a plan to replace teams if they’re selected.
If the City Section’s Division I champion is selected for the Open Division, then it can replace the team with another school. Currently, the City Section is given four at-large spots for the Division I state playoffs, and all the semifinalist teams are selected. That means a fifth team could make the playoffs.
The City Section is considering having two play-in games for the losers of the Division I quarterfinals the week between the semifinals and championships. That way, if the champion is chosen for the Open Division, the winner of the play-in game will get to participate in the Division I state playoffs.
The City also gets three spots in the Division II state tournament, so the losers of the Division II semifinals will likely face off to determine the third team in the state tournament.
The Southern Section has a committee that selects at-large teams for the state tournament. Teams don’t have to win a section title to be selected for the Open Division but there’s a clear criteria to be considered.
The City Section championships will be held Saturday, March 2 at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The small schools will be 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Division III will be 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and Division I will be 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Division II is March 1 at Roybal.
-- Eric Sondheimer