Sac-Joaquin Section releases boys and girls playoff matchups. Who’s in?
After nearly 730 days, we will have California Interscholastic Federation Sac-Joaquin Section basketball playoffs.
The last postseason basketball games were the section championships on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Golden 1 Center.
On Tuesday afternoon, the section announced the matchups for the 2022 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Boys and Girls Basketball Championships in an hourlong selection show hosted by Section Assistant Commissioner Will DeBoard and Sacramento Bee high school sportswriter Joe Davidson.
This year’s playoff bracket announcement was pushed back a few days after the section extended the regular season due to the number of league COVID cancellations.
Now, every team has received its seed and knows who stands in the way as it competes for a spot in the section championships on Feb. 25-26 at Golden 1 Center.
The boys and girls postseasons start Wednesday, Feb. 16, with the play-in games. First-round games are Thursday, Feb. 17 (girls) and Friday, Feb. 18 (boys).
Ripon Christian, which is the Division VI defending champion, will have a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed in Division V. The Knights won the Trans-Valley League title, going 11-1 and were in the running for the top spot in Division V, but a 62-49 loss to Denair dropped them down to the second seed.
Modesto Christian earned the second-highest seed of any Stanislaus District team. The Tri-City Athletic League co-champions are the No. 3 team in Division I and will play the winner of the Gregori vs Chavez out bracket game.
Downey is making its first playoff appearance since 2012 and will host Bear Creek in a Feb. 16 out bracket game. Turlock, which shared the Central California Athletic League championship with Gregori, will travel to Sacramento for a matchup with Capital Christian.
Beyer, a section playoff regular, is back for the eighth straight season. Head coach Kyle McKim picked up his 150th win earlier this season and will lead a Patriots team looking for its first trip to the section title game since 2018.
On the girls’ side, Gregori shared the 2022 CCAL title with Pitman. The Jaguars enter the postseason as the No. 14 team in Division I. They will travel to Stockton to take on St. Mary’s, which has won every Division I section title since 2013.
Downey and Pitman, the CCAL’s other two girls playoff teams, will play in Wednesday’s Division I play-in games. No. 16 Pitman hosts Stagg and No. 18 Downey travels to Inderkum.
Escalon won the TVL and is the No. 9 team in Division IV. The Cougars went 10-2 in league and won 20 games overall this season. In addition to Escalon, the TVL sent Hughson, Ripon and Riverbank to the playoffs after all three teams finished with an 8-4 league record.
Waterford earned a No. 11 seed in Division V, and Big Valley Christian will host a Division VI play-in game against No. 9 Forest Lake Christian.
Division I through V section semifinalists all advance to the NorCal Playoffs. There are no state championships for Division VI, but there is a NorCal tournament in which the Division VI section finalists will play.
2022 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Basketball Playoffs
Boys
Division I
Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.
No. 16 Downey vs No. 17 Bear Creek
No. 14 Gregori vs No. 19 Chavez
Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
No. 1 Inderkum vs No. 16 Downey/Bear Creek
No. 8 Capital Christian vs No. 9 Turlock
No. 3 Modesto Christian vs No. 14 Gregori/Chavez
Division II
Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.
No. 14 Sacramento vs No. 19 Patterson
Division III
Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
No. 3 Placer vs No. 14 Beyer
No. 6 Central Catholic vs No. 11 Wood
Division IV
Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
No. 6 Venture Academy vs No. 11 Escalon
No. 7 Ripon vs No. 10 Foothill
Division V
No. 2 Ripon Christian Bye
Division VI
None
(View Boys Brackets Here)
Girls
Division I
Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.
No. 16 Pitman vs No. 17 Stagg
No. 15 Inderkum vs No. 18 Downey
Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
No. 3 St. Mary’s vs No. 14 Gregori
Division II
Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.
No. 16 Bear Creek vs No. 17 Johansen
Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
No. 7 Whitney vs No. 10 Patterson
Division IV
Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
No. 8 Orestimba vs No. 9 Escalon
No. 5 Liberty Ranch vs No. 12 Ripon
No. 4 Argonaut vs No. 13 Hughson
No. 6 Capital Christian vs No. 11 Riverbank
Division V
Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
No. 6 Ben Holt College Prep Academy vs No. 11 Waterford
Division VI
Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
No. 8 Big Valley Christian vs No. 9 Forrest Lake Christian
(View Girls Brackets Here)
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 7:42 PM.
