D3 Predictions

[Sacsports33]

The 2018 D3 NorCal bracket is very solid. Lots of well coached, talented teams. To me, the seedlings don't mean that much, the teams are pretty even from 1-16. Vanden might be the best 16 seed I've ever seen.

I don't know much about Branson but Vanden will have a chance of winning against anyone in this whole bracket. I got them upsetting Branson, 16 beats the 1 seed. Vanden 79 Branson 75.

Oakland Tech 61 Valley Christian 56
Haven't seen these teams play in person but Oakland Tech plays tough and fast, and they are on a roll right now. 9 upsets 8.

Rio Americano 65 HMB 62
Have to pick a Sac team on this one. Rio is not a team you want to play first round. Lots of size and skill, and very well coached. I think if they will be able to shut down 12/13 from HMB, they will take the win. Either way, upset city so far. 12 seed beats 5.

Central Catholic 59 Monterey 51
Monterey is a good basketball team. Saw them play over summer. They have gotten much better since. I think CC with Hamilton is just too much in this one and will outlast Monterey. 4 beats 13.

University 74 Patterson 63
Think this one will be a fun game to watch and a good matchup. University extremely talented and plays well together. Patterson almost pulled off an upset against CC in the SJS semis so don't be surprised to see a good game here. 3 beats 14.

Foothill 71 Mission 70
This is the game I would probably go to if I had to choose one in this opening round. Mission defending state champs who graduated a lot of seniors have returned and done pretty well this season. However, I think Foothill senior guard Thurman Knowles will lead them to an upset victory. Extremely talented guard and tremendous leader. This team plays very well together.
11 upsets 6 seed.

Beyer 65 Sanger 58
Beyer will bounce back after a tough section title game loss. This team is backed by seniors, led by Senior guard and multi-sport athlete Ben Polack. Beyer plays with an edge and they don't fold under pressure, they don't seem to be afraid of any opponent and they are battle tested with lots of tough games this year. Look for a good game. 10 beats 7.

Pleasant Valley 78 Drake 59
PV all the way in this one. Damn good team led by 6'5 senior Kevin Kremer. Should handle their first round easily.

 

[Sacsports33]

***seedings.. sorry for the typos. And these are just my predictions! Haven't seen some of these teams play so it's hard to tell. Post your thoughts and predictions below!

 

[NorCalBasketballFan]

I agree Vanden can certainly get Branson. Would not be surprised at all. Rolling with the 16 over 1 upset as well.

 

[passfirst]

I agree Vanden can certainly get Branson. Would not be surprised at all. Rolling with the 16 over 1 upset as well.

I haven' seen Branson this year, but I believe their old coach is back. For a school not playing them before in a winner take all scenario is dangerous ground. I would compare it to getting a root canal at the dentist. Vanden is good but very young, they could get frustrated.

 

[passfirst]

I'm shocked no one has picked Pleasnt Valley to win this Bracket, and quite frankly I'm surprised they didn't get bumped up to d2. They beat some quality teams and played a good schedule. They are not a fluke, the are a Sr squad and very well coached, and the shoot the crap out of the ball. Not your typical Northern Section Squad.

 

[Lincoln240]

My Predictions-
Vanden down compared to last year and playing on the road to a much improved Branson team.
Branson 55-46

Marc Delucca- veteran coach helps team get win. Not too mention they have some talent too
VC 76-67

Don’t know much about either but going with HMB 68-62

Central Catholic takes Monterey at home. 75-68

This should be a lopsided game. University bye 20 77-57

Poor Foothill. Misssion at Kezar again. Bad reoccurring nightmare. Bears win 67-58

Beyer by 19 of Sanger 65- 55

PV is good this year, Drake is down, PV 77-52

Looking forward to the double header at Kezar tonight. Hope both city teams win tonight. Would love to see Mission play University on Kezars expansive court rather than an 84” court.

 

[Lincoln240]

I agree Vanden can certainly get Branson. Would not be surprised at all. Rolling with the 16 over 1 upset as well.

Vanden is down from last year. They didn’t have any real impressive wins. Branson however, is much improved and will lock you down on the Defensive side of the court. Getting to 50 is a task against them.
Branson by at 12

 

[Streak One]

Vanden is a dangerous matchup for Branson, but I think the root canal description is pretty spot on. Hard for a young team to combat that.

I like Pleasant Valley, but I would slot them behind Branson, University and Central Catholic in terms of power rankings.

 

[mistisoman]

The 2018 D3 NorCal bracket is very solid. Lots of well coached, talented teams. To me, the seedlings don't mean that much, the teams are pretty even from 1-16. Vanden might be the best 16 seed I've ever seen.

I don't know much about Branson but Vanden will have a chance of winning against anyone in this whole bracket. I got them upsetting Branson, 16 beats the 1 seed. Vanden 79 Branson 75.

Oakland Tech 61 Valley Christian 56
Haven't seen these teams play in person but Oakland Tech plays tough and fast, and they are on a roll right now. 9 upsets 8.

Rio Americano 65 HMB 62
Have to pick a Sac team on this one. Rio is not a team you want to play first round. Lots of size and skill, and very well coached. I think if they will be able to shut down 12/13 from HMB, they will take the win. Either way, upset city so far. 12 seed beats 5.

Central Catholic 59 Monterey 51
Monterey is a good basketball team. Saw them play over summer. They have gotten much better since. I think CC with Hamilton is just too much in this one and will outlast Monterey. 4 beats 13.

University 74 Patterson 63
Think this one will be a fun game to watch and a good matchup. University extremely talented and plays well together. Patterson almost pulled off an upset against CC in the SJS semis so don't be surprised to see a good game here. 3 beats 14.

Foothill 71 Mission 70
This is the game I would probably go to if I had to choose one in this opening round. Mission defending state champs who graduated a lot of seniors have returned and done pretty well this season. However, I think Foothill senior guard Thurman Knowles will lead them to an upset victory. Extremely talented guard and tremendous leader. This team plays very well together.
11 upsets 6 seed.

Beyer 65 Sanger 58
Beyer will bounce back after a tough section title game loss. This team is backed by seniors, led by Senior guard and multi-sport athlete Ben Polack. Beyer plays with an edge and they don't fold under pressure, they don't seem to be afraid of any opponent and they are battle tested with lots of tough games this year. Look for a good game. 10 beats 7.

Pleasant Valley 78 Drake 59
PV all the way in this one. Damn good team led by 6'5 senior Kevin Kremer. Should handle their first round easily.

I to was very impressed with Rio Americano, saw them vs Beyer, thought they should've beaten Beyer, C. Catholic has been STRUGGLING from the field las 2 games, whether on the perimeter or even jus open layups, saw this vs Patterson and Beyer, probably should've beaten Beyer by 20 but missed many open layups & open 3's, as far as Beyer, they've played an extremely difficult schedule this yr so they're not going to be intimidated, but they need to hit early 3's which I don't think will be an issue vs Sanger if they play that game in a regular high school gym, i think Beyer was thrown off by playing at UOP where at times the "shooting perception" can make u have an off night if ur not used to playing in those types of venue's... Don't kno much about Branson but I've seen Vanden and they need to be more sound & disciplined if they want 2 continue & advance...

 

[ayalar09]

How on gods green earth did Vanden get a 16 seed..............

I think whoever runs the CIF needs to be fired immediately

 

[mistisoman]

How on gods green earth did Vanden get a 16 seed..............

I think whoever runs the CIF needs to be fired immediately

Doesn't matter at this point of the season what seed u get, all & every team will be very tough to beat, plus u never kno this Vanden team may matchup jus right vs Branson & possibly throughout that whole upper bracket??

 

[kiddman32]

I'll go:

Branson 59-54
Valley Chr. 63-58
HMB 60-56
Central Cath. 64-55
University 70-62
Foothill 68-66
Beyer 61-55
Pleasant Valley 71-57

 

[kiddman32]

Only Beyer failed me. Not bad!

 

[passfirst]

Well looks like the root canal turned into a wisdom tooth extraction. I watched Branson frustrate teams in the state finals many times. Vanden was just too young this year. Didn' get to 40pts.

 

[passfirst]

Vanden is a dangerous matchup for Branson, but I think the root canal description is pretty spot on. Hard for a young team to combat that.

I like Pleasant Valley, but I would slot them behind Branson, University and Central Catholic in terms of power rankings.

I don' know Streak, I've watch them quite a few times. They are really good, willing to score low 50's and run their stuff. Don' see a team left in d3 that can speed them up and get them out of character.

 

[damim]

When Branson walks into the gym the other team can't help but smirk. Then they hit the court and they put you in a vice grip. And then after they put you in a vice grip they have guys that look like your middle school sister's boyfriend burying 3's in your grill! Next thing you know it's halftime and you have 16 points and by the end of the game your like, "what the hell just happened???"

 

[mistisoman]

Is it me or has Branson been down for a lil while, haven't seen Branson be relevant for a couple yrs??

 

[damim]

They won NCS D5 last year and advanced in Norcals to the semi's. Not sure about before last year. One of the most well disciplined teams I've ever seen play these last 2 years.

 

[mistisoman]

Is it me or has Branson been down for a lil while, haven't seen Branson be relevant for a couple yrs??

They won NCS D5 last year and advanced in Norcals to the semi's. Not sure about before last year. One of the most well disciplined teams I've ever seen play these last 2 years.

If I remember right, wasn't Branson vs Modesto Christian that played for the right to represent the NorCal in the state title game for a couple of yrs back in the day? They represented Norcal small schools along with Hoopa??

 

[kiddman32]

Branson’s hoop history has a LOT to do with Coach Honick. He coached there for a long time with great success starting sometime in the 80’s or 90’s, building a small-school powerhouse that could play with the big boys... won nine section titles and three state titles, I think...

Honick retired from coaching in 2008, and the team slipped. Honick returned a couple years ago, and Branson has become a bigtime power again.

 

[slick58]

Branson’s hoop history has a LOT to do with Coach Honick. He coached there for a long time with great success starting sometime in the 80’s or 90’s, building a small-school powerhouse that could play with the big boys... won nine section titles and three state titles, I think...

Honick retired from coaching in 2008, and the team slipped. Honick returned a couple years ago, and Branson has become a bigtime power again.

A Honick led team went down to 2-12 VC? Going to have to put Branson in the category of not "well coached" teams.

 

[Lincoln240]

A Honick led team went down to 2-12 VC? Going to have to put Branson in the category of not "well coached" teams.

That is some of the most simplistic reasonings, I have heard to define if one is a great coach or not!
Not sure if you know, but Coach Delucca is a hella of a coach. He took Berkeley to D1 state final 3 years ago and has turned around every program he has coached at.
Branson wanted the game to be in the 30’s-40’s, so Honik’s game plan worked! Sounds like Branson missed shots at the end and VC made them.
Please have more reasoning before posting

 

[slick58]

That is some of the most simplistic reasonings, I have heard to define if one is a great coach or not!
Not sure if you know, but Coach Delucca is a hella of a coach. He took Berkeley to D1 state final 3 years ago and has turned around every program he has coached at.
Branson wanted the game to be in the 30’s-40’s, so Honik’s game plan worked! Sounds like Branson missed shots at the end and VC made them.
Please have more reasoning before posting

It's in reference to another post. I too remember when Honick and Branson couldn't be beat. Just this time David couldn't beat Goliath. It happens.