SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS PREVIEW : This Group of 20-Game Winners Makes for a Crowd at the Top : 4-A

The Southern Section’s toughest basketball division stretches north to Santa Barbara, south to San Clemente and east to Palm Springs. And as wide open as the 4-A’s spaces is its playoff tournament.

We’re talking about a 32-team draw that has 12 teams with 20 or more victories. Compare that with five 20-win teams in the 3-A and six in the 2-A.

The 4-A market is so glutted with quality teams that Friday’s first round includes a game between Beverly Hills (22-3) and Ventura (20-5).

“We’re all scratching our heads trying to figure out if we’ve ever had two teams with 20 wins playing against each other in the first round,” said Scott Cathcart, Southern Section director of media relations. “Talking with the coaches Sunday, the consensus seemed to be that this was the best 4-A field we’ve ever had.”

Six Orange County teams are in the field, but just how long, well, that’s a tough one. Teams such as Capistrano Valley (22-4), Santa Ana (23-3) and, to a lesser extent, El Toro (19-5), seem to have the talent to play with anyone in this group.

But, before they cut down any Los Angeles Sports Arena nets, these three will have to get past the second round, and that could be tough.

Capistrano Valley, seeded third, plays Palm Springs (17-7) in the first round. If it wins, Capistrano Valley could end up playing defending champion Santa Monica (15-11) in the second round. Santa Monica has three starters back from last season’s championship team, and the fact that it has only 15 victories isn’t surprising. Santa Monica usually plays a tough schedule and, in fact, it entered last year’s playoffs with 14 victories.

Santa Ana, seeded fourth, plays Dominguez (14-10) in the first round. If Santa Ana wins, its second-round game probably would come against Riverside’s Ramona High (21-5), a team about which Greg Coombs, Santa Ana coach, knows very little.

“The division is so spread out geographically that it really isn’t possible to see other teams,” Coombs said. “During the season your whole focus is on winning your league. You don’t think about who will be playing in the second round.”

And unlike football, basketball coaches don’t have a week to prepare and don’t exchange game tapes.

“The best you can do is make a call to someone you know in the area and hope they know something,” Coombs said. “Even then, all you’re going to find out is do they play a man defense or a zone. Real A’s and B’s stuff.”

Tell it to El Toro, which plays La Verne’s Damien High (15-8) in the first round and if it wins, plays the winner of the Buena--Inglewood in the second round. Ventura’s Buena enters the playoffs with a 21-2 record.

“It’s games like those that make a coaching network valuable,” said Tim Travers, El Toro coach. “You just hope the guy you’re talking to knows what he’s talking about.”

The others? Well, it’s going to take some doing for them to get past the first round.

Irvine (12-13) might not even make it to the first round. It plays host to Charter Oak (16-7) in tonight’s wild-card game at 7:30. If it wins, Irvine will be matched against Glendale (20-4) in the first round.

If Foothill (15-7) beats Perris (17-6) in the first round, it would probably play Glendora (26-0) in the second.

If Santa Ana Valley (14-10) beats Moreno Valley (20-4), another big if, it would probably play Diamond Bar (21-4) in the second round.