TOURNAMENT TIPOFF

Not much has changed in City Section boys’ basketball.

Sixteen teams will compete for the City championship and 16 will compete for the Invitational title when first-round playoff games begin Friday.

The Southern Section, however, made a decision to offer teams with 10 or more victories the opportunity to petition for playoff entry.

There was no shortage of takers.

Wild-card games began Wednesday night with 66 at-large entries among the 314 teams in the boys’ playoffs. The girls’ playoffs have 51 at-large entries among the 295 participants.

The largest increase came in divisions I-AA, I-A and V-A, adding an extra round of competition.

Here is a look at each of the divisions:

CITY SECTION

CHAMPIONSHIP

Crenshaw, going for its 17th title, is the top-seeded team. Senior guards E.J. Harris and Tommy Johnson and an underrated frontline led by center Jamaal Walls helped Crenshaw (18-2) win the Coliseum League. Second-seeded Westchester (19-6) won the Western League. Third-seeded Fairfax, with senior forward Jason Morrisette, has the talent to return to the final for the second year in a row if the Lions (19-6) can avoid the inconsistency that plagued them late in the season. Fourth-seeded Woodland Hills Taft (19-2) is very young and very talented.

INVITATIONAL

Venice, which finished fourth in the Western League, is the top-seeded team in a division for teams ranked 17-32.

SOUTHERN SECTION

DIVISION I-AA

With Wesley Stokes at point guard, Long Beach Poly (25-2) was already good. When the Jackrabbit football players who joined the team rounded into basketball shape, Poly became unbeatable. Rialto Eisenhower (26-1) has not lost since the season opener, Chino Hills Ayala (24-4) has one of the most disciplined teams in the section, and El Toro (22-4) has an outside shot.

DIVISION I-A

Center Jamal Sampson of defending champion Santa Ana Mater Dei (27-2) was sidelined because of illness for much of the last month, and his stamina will be tested in a division that includes second-seeded Corona Centennial (23-2), third-seeded Simi Valley (25-2), fourth-seeded Santa Barbara (24-2) and unseeded San Bernardino Pacific (21-2).

DIVISION II-AA

Compton Dominguez (26-2) is ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today. Temecula Chaparral (24-3) is seeded second, Inglewood (17-9) third and Pasadena (21-6) fourth. Redondo Union (21-5) appealed Inglewood’s seeding because the Sentinels were forced to forfeit four Bay League games for using an ineligible player. But the section did not change the bracket, and Redondo could face Dominguez in the semifinals.

DIVISION II-A

Lakewood Artesia (24-2) moved down from I-AA, but the Pioneers will not have an easy time in a division that includes second-seeded Huntington Beach Ocean View (25-2), third-seeded Lakewood Mayfair (21-5) and fourth-seeded Pasadena Muir (18-7).

DIVISION III-AA

Top-seeded Torrance Bishop Montgomery (20-5) could meet second-seeded and defending champion San Dimas (23-3) in the final for the second consecutive year. Third-seeded Corona del Mar (20-6) and fourth-seeded North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (20-5) are other threats.

DIVISION IV-AA

Top-seeded Pasadena Marshall (17-5) and second-seeded Sierra Madre La Salle (20-6) are located only a few miles apart. Santa Maria St. Joseph (9-16), which finished 7-3 in Los Padres League play, is the third-seeded team, Twentynine Palms (20-5) is fourth.

DIVISION IV-A

Multitalented Jason Whieldon leads top-seeded Orange Lutheran (21-4) in a division that includes Isaiah Fox and second-seeded Santa Monica Crossroads (18-9), third-seeded Milken Community (17-3) and fourth-seeded Ventura St. Bonaventure (19-4).

DIVISION V-AA

Top-seeded Pacific Hills (22-4), North Hollywood Campbell Hall (17-8), Downey Calvary Chapel (21-5) and Burbank Bellarmine-Jefferson (19-6) are the teams to beat.

DIVISION V-A

Price (25-1) is the defending champion and top-seeded team. Among those standing in the way of another title are Eastside Christian (21-4), Antelope Valley Christian (15-9) and Southwestern Academy (14-7).