CIF State Playoffs: Best Opening Round Division 1 Games

<p>With CIF Southern and Northern Section champions having been crowned last week, the CIF State playoff brackets were release Sunday afternoon. The state’s top teams are now competing for the opportunity to be called the best in California within their divisions with action starting Tuesday. In this piece write about the best opening round matchups in the Division 1 field.</p> <h6>No. 9 JSerra (20-10) at No. 8 Fairfax (16-6)</h6> <p>It’s always good to see how the Southern Section and Los Angeles City Section matchup and this 8/9 showdown will give us a good read on where the two sections stand against one another. JSerra is coming off of a loss to St. Bernard in the Division 1 championship game, while Fairfax won the City Open crown over King/Drew. The Lions could be without a key piece in starting wing <strong>Everett Bryson</strong> (injury) and his defensive prowess would have come in handy against Fairfax wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1013422" first="Tyler" last="Bey"]</strong>. The Lions are head into Tuesday’s game on an 11-game winning streak and are playing their best basketball of the season. As has been the case over the last few months, the key to JSerra coming out of Fairfax with a win will be the play of high scoring guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="972526" first="Rob" last="Diaz III"]</strong>.</p> <h6>No. 12 Village Christian (27-4) at No. 5 San Ysidro (23-8)</h6> <p>Village Christian’s impressive run to the Division 2AA title earned it a bump up to Division 1 for the State Playoffs. The Crusaders drew one of San Diego’s best teams in San Ysidro which is coming off of a loss to St. Augustine in the San Diego Section Open Division finals. The trek from Sun Valley to San Ysidro - which sits near the U.S./Mexico border, is one of the longer drives for any team that made the state playoffs and could play a factor in the final result. Village Christian proved it has the defensive ability to compete with any team in this division after shutting down top 2023 big man Jazz Garnder and Los Altos in the 2AA semifinals, holding it to just 34 points in a 20-point win. San Ysidro has group of tough, skilled and motivated players led by <strong>Sebastian Medina</strong>, <strong>Martin Flores</strong>, <strong>Franlys Valenzuela</strong> and <strong>Miguel Figueroa</strong>, a group that has some explosiveness on the offensive end.</p> <h6>No. 11 St. Anthony (18-9) at No. 6 Torrey Pines (23-6)</h6> <p>In another Southern Section vs. San Diego Section matchup, we have the Long Beach-based Saints heading down to take on one of San Diego’s premier high school basketball programs. The matchup within the matchup to watch is two of the best senior big men going head to head in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="954255" first="Elijah" last="Price"]</strong> of St. Anthony and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="970252" first="Otto" last="Landrum"]</strong> of Torrey Pines. Both are talented offensive players and impactful on the defense and on the board, but which of the two will produce the most? Another head-to-head to watch is the point guard play of seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="748743" first="Jaayden" last="Bush"]</strong> (Saints) and <strong>Logan Huston</strong> (Falcons). Bush is one of the top signal callers in SoCal, while Huston has put together a great senior campaign for Torrey Pines.</p> <h6>No. 13 Long Beach Poly (22-6) at No. 4 St. Bernard (22-6)</h6> <p>If you’re looking for a game with top-shelf talent - both upperclassmen and underclassmen - and the potential to feature some major offensive explosions, head to St. Bernard Tuesday for its matchup with Poly. Not only will you see two of the top senior guards in the region in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="954226" first="Christian" last="Watson"]</strong> (Poly) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="748754" first="Jason" last="Hart II"]</strong> (St. Bernard), but the Vikings have two talented juniors in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994964" first="Tyler" last="Rolison"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="992482" first="Darius" last="Carr"]</strong>. The big key for Poly to come away with a win here will be how freshman guard <strong>Jovani Ruff</strong> handles his first state playoff game against the Southern Section Division 1 champions. Ruff, a 6-foot-5 guard, is one of the best freshmen in the state and has the ability to be a game-changer for the Jackrabbits now and in the future.</p>