Pat McKinney Playoffs 223

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Pat McKinney: San Diego Playoff Pairings
For All The Other Divisions--(February 23, 1998)

"Other" than what, we hear you ask. If you have to ask, you haven't been paying attention. Paul Smith of Helix High in San Diego's Division I has already given us the playoff pairings for that Division. Pat McKinney of the USDHS' Dons Basketball site, has provided the "others", as in Divisions II through V.

Here's Pat's report which, not surprisingly, starts off with Division III, the Don's own division:

San Diego Hoop News

San Diego Section Playoff Pairings Announced

by Pat McKinney
USDHS Dons Basketball Site

The San Diego Union-Tribune did what can be described at best a cryptic job of announcing the playoff pairings. We'll try to make sense of it here, done by division.

Division III Boys:

#1 USDHS (20-4), bye; will play winner of Friday, Feb. 27 game between Kearny (9-15) at #4 Clairemont (9-12).

#2 St. Augustine (19-7), bye; will play winner of Friday, Feb. 27 game between Mar Vista (6-21) at #3 Madison (12-15).

Division II Boys:

#1 Serra (22-4), bye; will play winner of Ramona (11-14) at Hilltop (12-15).

#2 Oceanside (18-8), bye; will play winner of Montogomery (9-17) at El Cajon (12-12).

#3 Eastlake (20-6), bye; will play winner of El Capitan (10-15) at Monte Vista (16-11)

#4 Point Loma (16-8), bye; will play winner of Patrick Henry (8-18) at University City (15-11).

First round Division II games will be played Tuesday night and the Quarterfinals on Friday.

Division IV Boys:

#1 Bishop's, bye; will play winner of Holtville (13-10) at #4 Coronado (16-7).

#2 Lincoln, bye; will play winner of Imperial (11-12) at #3 Christian (22-3).

Those quarterfinals will take place on Friday night.

The paper failed to report on Division V, but it is safe to say that Horizon will have its pick of victims from Francis Parker, La Jolla Country Day, and last year's finalist Santa Fe Christian.

And in case you missed it before, here are the Division I boys schedules:

Division I Boys:

#1 Rancho Buena Vista, bye; will play winner of Mt. Miguel (14-12) at West Hills (13-14).

#2 Helix, bye; will play winner of San Marcos (13-14) at Valhalla (14-13).

Those first round games will be played on Monday night. The following will be played Tuesday night:

Granite Hills (15-13) at #3 Poway (21-7)
Scripps Ranch (14-12) at #4 Rancho Bernardo (22-8)
Vista (14-12) at #5 Chula Vista (20-6)
San Pasqual (19-9) at #6 Grossmont (19-5)
La Costa Canyon (14-12) at #7 Morse (19-7)
Southwest (15-12) at #8 El Camino (17-10)

Division III Girls:

#1 Kearny (20-5), bye; will play winner of Madison (8-17) at #4 Mission Bay (11-12).

#2 USDHS (12-10), bye; will play winner of Mar Vista (3-17) at #3 Our Lady of Peace (13-10).

Things will start to shake out a little bit as we head into the quarterfinals later this week. Division I is by far the toughest, as any one of the top eight teams could win it. Among the most intriguing matchups are RB/Scripps Ranch and Chula Vista/Vista. If Charlie Mercado (Vista) or Aaron Hands (Scripps) comes up big, there could be some early upsets.

Division II is also open, although Serra has played well all year. Oceanside is extemely tough, and do not be surprised if Uni City pulls off some shockers.

Divisions III, IV, and V look a little more predictable with the top two teams in San Diego County: #1 USDHS (III) and #2 Horizon (V). Few teams in Division IV have been able to compete with Bishop's this season, but you can be certain Lincoln will not go down without a fight. Stay tuned here as we will keep you up to date on all of San Diego's playoff action!