High School Basketball Playoffs : Sorting Out the Playoff Picture Difficult--Except for Santa Clara : Basketball: Saints are certain to be the top-seeded team in the 2-AA Division.

The Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs begin Tuesday, and Santa Clara is the only Ventura County team guaranteed of a high seeding.

Pairings will be announced Sunday, and the undefeated Saints are expected to draw top seed in the 2-AA Division. They are the defending 2-A and state Division IV champions.

Frontier League rival Nordhoff, ranked No. 7 in the 2-AA, also should be a middle-seeded team after finishing second in the league behind Santa Clara.

The Southern Section regular season ends Friday. The top three teams in each league automatically qualify for the playoffs. Additional at-large berths will be given as needed to fill out the 32-team brackets in each division. Teams no longer have to have a winning record in order to make the playoffs.

First-round action begins Tuesday and the second round is Feb. 16. The quarterfinals will be played Feb. 20, and the semifinals are Feb. 23. Championships will be held between Feb. 28 and March 3 depending on the division.

Santa Clara is a heavy favorite to repeat its title, with senior guard Shon Tarver leading the way. Tarver, 6-foot-5, is averaging 30 points a game.

But the rest of the picture isn’t as clear. Here’s a rundown, by league, of the how the playoffs stack up:

Channel--This is one of the closest races in the area, with Santa Barbara (5-A), Buena (5-A) and San Marcos (4-A) battling for the championship.

Buena split regular-season games with Santa Barbara and swept San Marcos. The Bulldogs have an easy schedule the final week to give them the advantage. Santa Barbara will win the league if it sweeps games against Ventura and Rio Mesa.

Rio Mesa (4-A) has an outside chance at third place and a solid shot at an at-large berth. Hueneme, Oxnard and Ventura, all of whom have losing records, most likely will not receive at-large berths.

Marmonte--Royal (5-A), Westlake (4-AA), Simi Valley (5-AA), Camarillo (4-AA) and Thousand Oaks (5-A) all have winning records and should land playoff berths.

Royal entered the week leading the league by one game and only needs to keep winning to earn its first league title since 1971. Newbury Park (3-AA) is even odds to earn an at-large berth but Channel Islands (5-AA) has little chance.

Frontier--Santa Clara and Nordhoff are in. Agoura (4-AA) and Calabasas (3-A) are battling for third place. Santa Paula (3-A) is out.

Tri-Valley--Bishop Diego (1-A) has clinched the title and a berth in the 1-A. Moorpark (3-A) will finish either second or third and has earned a berth.

Carpinteria (2-AA) and Oak Park (2-A) are in a battle for third. St. Bonaventure (2-A) and Fillmore (2-AA) are out.

Note--The girls’ playoffs begin with the first round Wednesday. Subsequent rounds will be one day after the boys. Pairings also will be announced Sunday. Undefeated and No. 1-ranked Buena should get the top seed in 5-A.