Basketball playoff matchups announced. Who’s in and where are they playing?
A coin flip likely cost Central California Conference co-champions El Capitan a first-round home game in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III boys basketball players.
So there was no surprise when the Gauchos learned they were given the No. 9 seed and will open at No. 8 Mountain House, which won the Western Athletic Conference on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
“One we lost that coin flip, I figured we were going to travel,” said El Capitan coach Adrian Hurtado. “I figured we’d be No. 9. I just didn’t know who we’d play at No. 8.”
The coin flip came because El Capitan (18-10) tied Golden Valley (22-6) for the CCC championship. The two teams had to flip for the top seed coming out of the CCC. Golden Valley won the flip and was given the No. 5 seed in Division III and will host No. 12 Sierra.
El Capitan scrimmaged Mountain House in the preseason.
“It’s going to be an exciting game, a tough game,” said El Capitan senior Dillon Greenwood. “I know we can pull through. This year we’ve been the underdog the whole year so it’s nothing new to us.”
The top seed Vanden will likely be waiting for El Capitan in the second round on Friday. However, if the Gauchos can get by Mountain House, El Capitan would host Vanden in the second round.
That’s because the section executive committee’s punishment to Vanden coach Michael Holloway. The Vikings won’t host any playoff games after Holloway angrily confronted a referee after a game during a tournament earlier this year.
The punishment could give Golden Valley a home game in the semifinals if the Cougars can win their first two games. Golden Valley’s first-round game is a rematch of an earlier this game this season won by Sierra 58-48 on Nov. 30.
Buhach Colony is the No. 17 seed in Division II and will play a play-in game against No. 16 Pitman in Turlock on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner will face No. 1 Jesuit on Wednesday.
Hilmar is the No. 12 seed in Division IV and will open at No. 5 Calaveras. The Yellowjackets lost 53-50 to Calaveras earlier this season.
Mariposa is the No. 9 seed in Division V and will travel to No. 8 Hughes on Wednesday.
The Merced girls received the No. 5 seed in Division III and will host No. 12 Los Banos (16-12), which won the WAC. The Bears bring a 16 game winning streak into the game on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Bears coach Art Solis says the No. 5 seed was a pleasant surprise with the MaxPreps rating having Merced ranked No. 6 in Division III.
“We’re the No. 5 seed but we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” Solis said.
Merced was one of five girls teams from the CCC to qualify for the playoffs, joining Atwater, Golden Valley, El Capitan and Patterson.
Atwater is the No. 11 seed in Division II and will open at No. 6 Sacramento on Tuesday. Golden Valley is the No. 14 seed and will travel to No. 3 Del Oro.
El Capitan is the No. 13 seed and will face No. 4 East Union in Division III.
The Livingston girls had to be surprised to see the Wolves dropped from Division III to Division IV. Livingston was preparing for a double-digit seed and a road game in DIII. Instead the Wolves are the No. 4 seed in DIV and will host No. 13 Sonora in the first round.
The Le Grand and Mariposa girls are in the Division V bracket. Le Grand is the No. 6 seed and will host John Adams on Tuesday. Mariposa is the No. 10 seed and will open at No. 7 Rio Vista.
Finally, Stone Ridge Christian is the No. 8 seed in Division VI girls and will host No. 9 Sac Waldorf in the first round.
This story was originally published February 15, 2020 at 7:14 PM.
