Here are my rankings of the top Community College (JC) teams in California.
This week I'm doing kind of a combined rankings & playoff picture prognostication. With just one game to go in the regular season, interest in who will make the postseason field and who will be seeded where seems at a peak.
Remember, there is one iron-clad rule in playoff selection/seeding...teams are selected and seeded in order of conference finish. That's why I have Irvine Valley so low (i.e. they have to go in behind Santa Ana). And why I don't even mention Santa Monica (13-12) or Bakersfield (13-13), who have to go in behind LA Valley (5-18 but 5-6 in WSC-S).
But I didn't try to manipulate the bracket to avoid intra-conference match-ups. That's too hard for my little brain to deal with.
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South (as of 2/23 - end of regular season):
It'll all be in the hands of the seeding committee, but here's how it looks to me...
Foothill Conference: San Bernardino Valley's win on Wednesday puts the Wolverines in the driver's seat, and I think a win on Sat gives them the #2 seed. Of that 24-7 overall record, 2 losses are to out-of state teams so they don't figure in the selection process. Chaffey could still be a 4-seed but probably drops behind Mt. San Jacinto and Saddleback. Third-place Rio Hondo won't make it into the field at 11-15.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: San Bernardino Valley (2), Chaffey (5).
Orange Empire Conference: Saddleback beat Santa Ana on Wednesday to earn the co-championship and the top seed from the OEC. Santa Ana and Irvine Valley are the other playoff teams. Sorry, but Riverside has too many (17) losses.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: Saddleback (4), Santa Ana (12), Irvine Valley (13)
South Coast-North: East LA wrapped it up with it win over Mt. SAC on Friday. But the Mounties' second-half charge should still get them into the field.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: East LA (7), Pasadena (10), Mt. San Antonio (16).
South Coast-South: It's a 3-way tie for the championship! For seeding purposes, Cerritos gets the nod on a head-to-head tie-breaker with Harbor going in next, then Long Beach.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: Cerritos (9), LA Harbor (11), Long Beach (14)
Pacific Coast-North: Mt. San Jacinto lost to Grossmont Friday so there are co-champions, and I'm not sure if the PCC uses a tie-breaker (or what it is). As long as a tie-breaker doesn't mess things up I still see MSJC as a #3 seed. The win probably earned Grossmont another home game on Wednesday. Nobody else is a playoff contender.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: Mt. San Jacinto (3), Grossmont (17)
Pacific Coast-South: San Diego City wrapped up the division a while ago. Southwestern is second but with an overall sub-.500 record won't make it to the postseason. Imperial Valley made it to .500 but finished behind Southwestern so they're out.
Playoff teams/projected seed: San Diego City (15)
Western State-North: Cuesta wrapped up a playoff berth with its win at Canyons on Saturday, and Ventura punched its ticket with the win over Canyons on Wednesday. Allan Hancock rallied for a 77-71 win at Canyons on Saturday in a virtual play-in game for the 20th seed.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: Cuesta (8), Ventura (19), Allan Hancock (20)
Western State-South: Antelope Valley beat Glendale on Weds to wrap up the WSC-S title and in all likelihood earn the #1 seed. Glendale won't fall far. Citrus isn't your older brother's Citrus but has done enough to keep playing.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: Antelope Valley (1), Glendale (6), Citrus (18)
North (as of noon 2/22):
Coast-North: The state's toughest division should have 4 teams, including the state's best team.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: San Francisco (1), Ohlone (3), Chabot (5), Foothill (14)
Coast-South: Cabrillo and San Jose tied for the conference title. And DeAnza...WOW what a finishing week! The Dons beat both of those co-champions, SJCC on the road, and likely squeezed into the playoff field in the process.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: San Jose (9), Cabrillo (11), DeAnza (18)
Golden Valley: Butte ran away and hid in this race. Pre-season favorite Lassen should make it, and both Redwoods and Siskiyous have a chance as well though those games against out of state schools don't count in their records for seeding/selection purposes.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: Butte (10), Lassen (13)
Central Valley: Fresno will get a very high seed. Sequoias looked dead in the water in December but has put together an amazing 10-game win streak. West Hills still has an outside shot but is below .500 since Christmas.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: Fresno (2), Sequoias (15)
Bay Valley: Yuba is an outstanding team and a championship contender, and ran away with this race a long time ago. Merritt is solid as a runner-up and will make the field, and that win last night vs. Yuba helps its placement. Contra Costa is also worthy of consideration. Marin is over .500 but I can't find a signature win on their slate.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: Yuba (4), Merritt (12), Contra Costa (17)
Big 8: The state's deepest conference top-to-bottom should have 4 representatives. Santa Rosa played a brutal pre-conference schedule and it seems to have paid off as the Bear Cubs are in the driver's seat. Cosumnes River & DVC should each get a home game and Delta should make the field.
Playoff teams/projected seeds: Santa Rosa (6), Cosumnes River (7), Diablo Valley (8), San Joaquin Delta (16)