MILPITAS: NOT BACK IN THE OPEN
Despite a very impressive 23-1 record this season that included an unbeaten mark against Central Coast Section opponents, Milpitas is not back in the CCS Open Division bracket for the second straight year.
Last season, Milpitas went 24-5 and made the Open bracket as the No. 6 seed, then made waves by knocking off West Catholic Athletic League titans Serra and Bellarmine.
With Milpitas tracking for another potential Open appearance this season, Trojans coach Champ Wrencher shared his thoughts in January on whether he’d like to be back in the top bracket.
“It would be nice to play D1 CCS,” Wrencher said. “But the automatic NorCal berth, and that status as an Open team is just hard to deny. And to me, that speaks for itself. But a trophy for a section championship is something that will stay around for a long time. Nobody may remember an invite to an Open.”
Wrencher got his wish as Milpitas was slotted as the top team in the Division I bracket, which sets the Trojans up with home-court advantage until the championship game, should they advance that far.
There are pros and cons to both arrangements. A trip to the CIF NorCal playoffs is guaranteed with an Open spot, but reaching the Division I title game also guarantees a spot.
In January, Wrencher also said, “We’ll play wherever they put us. There could be a preference, but I’m not gonna say.”
Whatever Milpitas’ ultimate preference was, the Trojans will try to be undeniable in Division I this season.
ST. IGNATIUS, RIORDAN LIKELY ON COLLISION COURSE
Among teams who made the Open bracket, top seed Archbishop Riordan and second-seeded St. Ignatius immediately stand out.
The two San Francisco schools are the unquestioned odds-on favorites after playing a pair of thrilling games during their matchups in the West Catholic Athletic League regular season.
Just on Tuesday, they went to double overtime at the Crusader Forum before Riordan emerged as the victor in a classic 100-95 win.
In January at the University of San Francisco, his future collegiate home, USF commit Andrew Hilman gave Riordan the 53-51 win over SI on an off-balance buzzer-beater that evoked comparisons to Michael Jordan.
In order to reach round three, Riordan will have to get past a bracket pool that includes No. 8 Serra, No. 5 The King’s Academy and No. 4 Bellarmine.
St. Ignatius must wade through a pool that includes No. 7 Menlo-Atherton, No. 6 Valley Christian and No. 3 Archbishop Mitty.
But it would be a big surprise not to see either City school advance. Riordan was undefeated in the WCAL this season with a 14-0 record, and SI’s only losses in league play (or to a CCS team, for that matter) came at the hands of Riordan.
Both teams currently rank among the top ten in the state and are expected to make the CIF NorCal Open bracket in March.
BUZZER BEATERS
– Elsewhere in the Division I bracket, Carlmont is back as the No. 3 seed. The Scots were the third seed last season when they won the first CCS championship in school history over top seed Palo Alto.
Carlmont has a new coach this year in Suhail Mohammadi, but the Scots have seen similar success to what they experienced last season under John Schrup. They finished second in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division behind undefeated Menlo-Atherton and look primed to make noise again in the D-I tournament.
– Palo Alto, meanwhile, is lurking as the No. 4 seed in D-I. The Vikings, like all top four teams, get a bye to the quarterfinals on Tuesday, where they will face the winner of No. 5 Evergreen Valley and the play-in game between No. 12 Alisal and Hollister.
– Los Gatos is the No. 2 seed for the fourth straight year, flying a bit under the radar after another solid year. The Wildcats lost star Scotty Brennan from last year’s team but have posted a strong campaign, finishing second to Milpitas in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division.
The Cats were the second seed last season before No. 7 Homestead upset them in the second round, denying Los Gatos a trip to NorCal with an overtime win.
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