Two At-Large Berths Will Be at Premium for State Tournament

As the City and Southern Section basketball playoffs end this week, it will be interesting to see which Division I boys’ teams will get at-large bids to the State regional tournament March 5-9.

Eight teams are selected in each of the five girls’ and boys’ State divisions.

In Division I, champions from the City 4-A and 3-A divisions, Southern Section I-AA and I-A divisions, and Central and San Diego sections receive automatic bids. The Southern California Selection Committee, composed of representatives from each section, pick two at-large teams.

Last season, Lynwood, runner-up in the Southern Section 5-AA, got the first at-large bid.

There was an uproar, though, when Los Angeles Loyola, runner-up in the Southern Section 5-A, was chosen over Crenshaw for the other. Crenshaw was the defending State champion and City 4-A runner-up. Loyola then lost in the first round.

Although City and Southern Section finals will not be played until this weekend, the favorites for at-large bids are the runners-up in the Southern Section I-AA and City 4-A divisions.

So where does that leave teams such as Washington, which lost to Manual Arts in the City 4-A semifinals Friday, 100-90, and the loser of tonight’s Southern Section I-A semifinal game between Santa Ana Mater Dei and Huntington Beach Marina? An argument can be made that these teams deserve at-large bids, if the eventual division champion is the team that defeated them in the semifinals.

Washington (21-5) has been one of the state’s top teams all season but lost its last two regular-season games in the absence of standout center Barnabas James, who was sidelined because of academic reasons. Those two losses resulted in the Generals being placed in the same bracket with Manual Arts. So, if Westchester (21-7) loses to Manual Arts in the final, will the City nominate Westchester or Washington for an at-large bid?

“It would depend on how Westchester played against Manual,” said Lee Joseph, the City’s representative on the State selection committee. “But it’s a possibility that Washington could be the team that gets the bid.”

The Southern Section also will have a problem if Mater Dei, the defending State Division I champion, loses to Marina tonight at UC Irvine. If Marina goes on to win the division, does Mater Dei, with a 26-5 record, get the Southern Section’s vote over I-A semifinalists Saugus and Santa Barbara?

Another at-large choice could be the runner-up in the Southern Section I-AA. If Lynwood, which would have a 9-21 record because of 16 games forfeited for using an ineligible player, wins the division title, does the runner-up get consideration because of its tough regular-season schedule?

With three of the final four teams in the division being from the powerful Moore League, a strong case could be made for either potential second-place finisher, Long Beach Jordan or Lakewood.

Deciding which teams receive at-large bids will not be easy. Many will feel that their teams are deserving of a State playoff bid, but only a few will get them Sunday, when the bids are announced.

Prep Notes

After beginning the playoffs with every school having had an option to participate, the Southern Section will play the boys’ semifinals tonight and the girls’ semifinals Wednesday. Lakewood, Saugus, Alemany and Santa Margarita all took advantage of the new expanded formant this season and reached the semifinals. Lakewood (17-12) finished fourth in the Moore League, and Saugus (20-9) was third in the Golden League. Alemany (12-16), the fifth-place team in the Mission League, advanced in Division III-AA and Santa Margarita (16-9), the fourth-place team in the Angelus League, advanced in Division III-A.

The Moore League might be the most balanced in the state. Besides Lakewood and Long Beach Jordan, Long Beach Millikan will be playing in the I-AA semifinals tonight, against Lynwood. . . . Alemany, a surprise semifinalist in the boys’ III-AA, entered the playoffs with a 9-16 record, but defeated Laguna Hills, La Serna and Western in the playoffs. . . . The State wrestling tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at the University of Pacific in Stockton. . . . The Southern Section boys’ and girls’ soccer finals will be Friday and Saturday at Gahr High in Cerritos.