CIF San Diego Section 2020 boys basketball Division 2 bracket breakdown: Top storylines to watch
The CIF San Diego Section released their 2020 high school boys basketball playoff brackets on Saturday. In Division 2, Bonita Vista and San Diego are the two top seeds.
The 16-team Division 2 bracket gets started with first round games on Tuesday night. The two teams that reach the final will advance to the CIF State Tournament.
Scorebook Live California reporter Bodie DeSilva breaks down the top storylines from the Division 2 boys basketball playoffs.
- BRACKETS: OPEN DIVISION | DIVISION 1 | DIVISION 2 | DIVISION 3 | DIVISION 4
THE FAVORITES?
The top two seeds, Bonita Vista and San Diego both played really good basketball throughout the year, but they also challenged themselves with difficult non-league and tournament games that have prepared them for a playoff run. The Barons and Cavers are both led by several excellent junior guards that are sure to shine in the upcoming weeks.
WHICH UNDERDOG CAN STEP UP?
There is tons of parity in this division from the three-seed all the way down to 14. None of the lower seeds winning those games in the first round would shock me. 11-seed Scripps Ranch and 14-seed Canyon Crest both stick out to me as teams that can win their first round game and potentially make a run to the semi-finals. Scripps Ranch finished as co-league champions in the Eastern League and really improved after getting their football players back with the team. Canyon Crest was winless in league play but had the lead in many of those games going against Open/D1 teams each night. They finished with the best strength of schedule in division two.
WHO CAN TAKE DOWN BONITA VISTA AND SAN DIEGO?
A potential 2nd round game could pit top-seeded Bonita Vista against ninth-seeded Olympian. The Barons and Eagles faced off twice in league play, with Olympian winning by ten points in the first matchup and Bonita Vista winning by 30 points in the second matchup.
San Diego played Lincoln, Serra, and Scripps Ranch each twice this season during league play. They're all in this bracket together, but only the Eagles are on the same side of the bracket with San Diego. The Cavers split all six of those games, but most importantly their three wins came at home. If San Diego sees one of these teams again in the playoffs, it'll be at home where they appear to be most comfortable as a team.
MY PICK?
San Diego has won CIF Championships in division three and four the past two seasons before making the jump up to division two this year. They finished the season with five straight wins, four of them in league to share the title. How can I pick against them now?
