Magic Number for Playoffs Is 10

The Southern Section has agreed to expand its boys’ and girls’ basketball playoffs by allowing any team with at least 10 victories to participate, regardless of its league finish.

“If you petition and have 10 wins, we’ll put you in,” said Hal Harkness, interim assistant commissioner in charge of Southern Section basketball.

That’s good news, especially for the Rosary girls’ team. The Royals, defending champions in Division III-AA, are ranked No. 2 in the division but are in third place in the four-team Serra League, which gets only two automatic playoff qualifiers.

It was possible Rosary (16-8) could miss the playoffs despite being one of the division’s best teams. In leagues with five teams or more, the top three teams get automatic berths.

“I want to get into the playoffs because we earned the right to be in the playoffs, not because we scheduled easy and got 10 wins,” said Rosary Coach Richard Yoon, whose team’s only losses have been to teams in Orange County’s top 10. “[But] there have been years, when I was an assistant at Rosary, that the section didn’t take any wild cards and I felt we deserved to be in. For all schools, it’s a good situation if your goal is to be in a playoff game.”

Schools that don’t automatically qualify for playoff berths based on league finish must petition to enter the playoffs before 9 a.m. on Feb. 12. The decision to expand in all divisions was made because there are too many schools competing in Division I to limit the playoffs to a 32-team bracket. There are 142 girls’ teams and 145 boys’ teams in Division I.

Yoon admitted the ruling could water down the field. “If you let every team come in and play, it could take a few rounds before the real playoffs begin,” he said. “I don’t know if it will lose some of its luster.”