COMMUNITY COLLEGE BASKETBALL : Rancho Santiago Ranked No. 1 in Regional Playoff Pairings

Rancho Santiago College, the No. 1 ranked team in Southern California all season, received the top seeding in the Southern California Regional men’s basketball playoff pairings, which were announced Tuesday.

The Dons (29-2), the defending state champions, will play host to 32nd-seeded San Bernardino Valley (15-12) in the first round Saturday at Rancho Santiago.

Rancho Santiago is in the same bracket as Cerritos, one of the two teams to defeat the Dons this season. Cerritos beat Rancho Santiago, 95-92, in overtime Nov. 21. The Dons’ other loss was to Saddleback, 82-77, in an Orange Empire Conference game Jan 30.

Rancho Santiago was one of six teams from the Orange Empire Conference to be named to the 32-team field, which was selected by a coach from each of the seven conferences in Southern California in a meeting at Long Beach College on Tuesday.

The field is split into four eight-team brackets. The bracket winners advance to the state tournament scheduled March 7-9 at UC Irvine.

The second round of the regionals is Feb. 27 and regional finals are March 2.

Here is a look Saturday’s games:

Bracket I: No. 32 San Bernardino Valley (15-12) at No. 1 Rancho Santiago (29-2); No. 17 El Camino (18-13) at No. 16 Santa Monica (21-11); No. 24 Citrus (15-16) at No. 9 Cerritos (26-7); No. 25 Southwestern (14-12) at No. 8 Los Angeles City (25-5).

Bracket II: No. 28 Oxnard (15-14) at No. 5 Imperial Valley (27-3); No. 21 College of the Desert (17-14) at No. 12 Saddleback (17-11); No. 20 Mt. San Antonio (13-17) at No. 13 Los Angeles Valley (19-12); No. 29 Chaffey (16-14) at No. 4 Compton (24-6).

Bracket III: No. 30 San Diego Mesa (17-12) at No. 3 Long Beach (27-4); No. 19 Mt. San Jacinto (16-13) at No. 14 Riverside (18-15); No. 22 Cerro Cosa (14-12) at No. 11 College of the Canyons (19-12); No. 27 Grossmont (14-12) at No. 6 Moorpark (26-5).

Bracket IV: No. 26 East Los Angeles (15-17) at No. 7 Antelope Valley (24-5); No. 23 Bakersfield (12-18) at No. 10 Cypress (22-10); No. 18 Fullerton (15-15) at No. 15 Pasadena (15-14); No. 31 Golden West (11-19) at No. 2 Ventura (28-4).