CIF State Playoffs: Intriguing Open Division Matchups

<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 Open Division field.</p> <h6>Mater Dei (26-4) at Bishop Montgomery (20-3)</h6> <p>Some questioned the validity of having Bishop Montgomery in the Southern Section Open Division, but the always-well coached Knights proved they belonged winning two of three pool games over Crean Lutheran and Damien while its only loss came to eventual champion Corona Centennial. Mater Dei found itself in a difficult pool and dropped two of its three Southern Section Open games to Harvard-Westlake and Sierra Canyon, but picked up a win over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. So what’s the theme heading into this Tuesday night win or go home showdown? I think it’s similar styles of play. This year’s versions of Mater Dei and Bishop Montgomery both excel when executing their offense in the half-court setting while also playing a traditional brand on the defensive end with solid man-to-man and team rebounding principles. The outcome of this game will come down to which front court will have the bigger impact. Mater Dei will have its hands full with 6-foot-8 junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994924" first="Xavier" last="Edmonds"]</strong>, who is one of the top offensive big men in the state. On the other side, emerging freshman center <strong>Tee Bartlett</strong> and established junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994920" first="Zack" last="Davidson"]</strong> present a matchup problem of their own. as both are skilled offensive players and high level passers.</p> <h6>St. Augustine (23-7) at Sierra Canyon (24-4)</h6> <p>The Saints are coming off of a hard-fought win over San Ysidro in the San Diego Section Open Division championship game, while Sierra Canyon is looking to re-group after a loss to Corona Centennial in pool play of the Southern Section Open field. This is a rematch of a 2017 State Playoff matchup between the two programs in which St. Augustine shocked to Southern California basketball world with an 88-81 victory over a Sierra Canyon team that was stacked with eight future Division 1 college players and two future NBA players. The intrigue here surrounds the thought of "Can St. Augustine go up to the valley and win another game where they are the underdog?" If the team’s first matchup of the season - a 51-46 Sierra Canyon victory on Nov. 20 - is any indication of what could happen Tuesday, the Saints certainly have a shot. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="992479" first="Jurian" last="Dixon"]</strong>, <strong>Lolo Rudolph</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994949" first="Jaden" last="Matingou"]</strong> and <strong>Ian de la Rosa</strong> will all need to have big games for the Saints to pull off an upset. There’s no questioning the amount of talent Sierra Canyon has amassed on its roster once again with UCLA-commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="748740" first="Amari" last="Bailey"]</strong>, USC-commit<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="748680" first="Kijani" last="Wright"]</strong>, Howard-commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="954225" first="Shy" last="Odom"]</strong>, along with top sophomores <strong>Isaiah Elohim</strong> and recent transfer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1129814" first="Trentyn" last="Flowers"]</strong> among many others. I think the major question marks surrounding this Trailblazers’ team is the chemistry on the court leading to wins in big games.</p>