CIF Southern Section boys basketball parity could forge 10-team Open Division playoff

The Open Division field has been eight teams since 2018, but with the new computer rankings system, the field could be 10 in 2025. Here's how ...

Eastvale Roosevelt boys basketball coach Stephen Singleton paces his bench at the 2025 Spalding Hoophall Classic. / Basketball HOF

High school football coaches in the CIF Southern Section can't help but chuckle as their basketball-coaching colleagues experience the rollercoaster of emotions that come with tracking computer rankings for the first time.

Football has been using the computer rankings model to determine playoff divisions for the last four seasons.

As basketball coaches begin to think they're acclimating to the new era, there's another wrinkle lurking that football programs are all too familiar with: the wonder of how many teams will be in the top division, which is determined at the end of the regular season by the Southern Section office.

In basketball's case, the top division is the Open Division, which could "consist of eight (8) – sixteen (16) teams in a pool play tournament," according to Page 4 of the basketball playoff bulletin.

The proverbial line drawn by the Southern Section office won't just impact the top teams (in the Open or D1), it will influence the subsequent divisions below, which could change projected division placement and seeding.

As we head into the final week of the regular season, a 10-team Open seems very feasible, given the parity among the top boys basketball teams in the section.

Could the Open Division be eight? 10? 16?

Welcome to 'competitive equity'.

WHAT 10-TEAM OPEN COULD LOOK LIKE

Just like football in 2024, which saw the CIF create a 10-team Division 1 playoff, the parity at the top could garner a 10-team Open Division field as opposed to the 8-team field that's been the norm since 2018.

Here's what it would look like, and it's not much different. However, a deeper incentive would be threaded through the process.

Two pools. Five teams in each pool. Each team is guaranteed four games, and the top two finishers of each pool advance to the final (for a fifth game). All other 32-team playoff divisions require five victories to win a CIF title, so schedule/calendar-wise this is doable.

Here's where things would be different.

In the past, a berth to the Open Division guaranteed all teams a spot in the CIF State playoffs. That is not the case this season. The CIF Southern Section boys basketball playoff bulletin states: "A maximum of eight (8) participants from the CIF-SS Open Division will be guaranteed an automatic bid into the CIF-State Regional Playoffs." [Page 10]

This means, in a 10-team Open Division playoff, two teams will not advance to the CIF State playoffs, but will have a minimum of four games to earn a CIF State berth through pool play. Only the last-place teams in each pool would not advance.

In theory, this model would incentivize teams to keep playing competitively even if qualifying for the final is out of reach. In Divisions 1-5A (all other divisions), a team must reach the semifinals to earn a berth to the state playoffs. That's three postseason victories.

The CIF Southern Section is allocated 44 submissions to the CIF State playoffs. Eight from the Open Division and four (semifinalists) from each subsequent division.

TEAMS VYING FOR THE OPEN

As of Monday's latest computer rankings on January 27, the top 10 teams are:

1. Harvard-Westlake
2. Roosevelt
3. St. John Bosco
4. Redondo Union
5. La Mirada
6. Sierra Canyon
7. Notre Dame/SO
8. JSerra
9. Santa Margarita
10. Crespi

Bubble teams that could make a leap into Top 10? Mira Costa, Heritage Christian and Mater Dei.

Due to the drama in the Trinity League, teams like St. John Bosco, JSerra, Mater Dei and Santa Margarita have all beaten each other to create a much more competitive window of teams that could justify a 10-team field.

St. John Bosco and JSerra are 6-2 in league play. Santa Margarita and Mater Dei are 5-2. Mater Dei still has games against St. John Bosco (Feb. 1) and Santa Margarita (Feb. 3). JSerra plays Santa Margarita on Jan. 31 and St. John Bosco on Feb. 4.

The results of all these games could be a determining factor for an 8-team or 10-team Open playoff. For example, if one of the aforementioned Trinity League teams loses out, it could drop them enough to create a definite 8-team field, making the proverbial line more apparent for the section to create.

Another factor could be the results of the Mission League end-of-year culminating tournament. Last year, Crespi stunned Sierra Canyon to advance to the tournament final. The Trinity and Mission League make up for seven of the top 10 teams in the computer rankings right now.

CIF Southern Section is scheduled to release the playoff pairings on Saturday, February 8.

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