NorCal Finals are set

[Streak One]

Here are some quick thoughts on the games. Couple things that pop out. We have a #16 seed in the finals, two of the six divisions had #1 seeds advance to the finals and two Oakland Section teams will play on Tuesday


Open: #4 Salesian at #3 Pinewood


One of these programs will add a second NorCal Open Division title on Tuesday. Salesian avenged a 21 point loss to Mitty on January 12 with a 44-41 win in San Jose. Pinewood lost to Carondelet 67-59 on January 9, but returned to Concord with a 51-39 win to reach its third NorCal Open final in four years.


Division I: #6 Bear Creek at #4 Bishop O’Dowd


Few teams are playing as well as Bishop O’Dowd, which has won three NorCal games by an average margin of 32 points against Presentation, Miramonte and McClatchy. Bear Creek beat two West Catholic Athletic League teams (Valley Christian and St. Francis) by eight combined points before overcoming an early deficit to beat Antelope 57-47 in overtime. It was their second win over the Titans.


Division II: #3 Enterprise at #1 Menlo


Enterprise has won 14 in a row and held all three NorCal opponents to less than 50 points. Three of Menlo’s top four scorers are underclassmen, led by sophomore Avery Lee. Enterprise last made the regional finals in 2014 while Menlo reached this spot in 2016. Both losses were to eventual state champions (Modesto Christian and Cardinal Newman respectively).


Division III: #16 Union Mine at #2 Oakland


The seed number is correct next to Union Mine’s name, which has come back in a major way following a section final loss to West Campus. They are giving up 39 points per game. Oakland had an early season win over Bishop O’Dowd and are riding a 17 game winning streak. Oakland outscored Woodside Priory 25-9 in the fourth quarter en route to a 56-54 semi-final win over Woodside Priory.


Division IV: #4 Oakland Tech at #2 Menlo-Atherton


Tiffany Sui and Stephanie Okowi are averaging double digits for the Bulldogs, which held all NorCal opponents to 51 points or less. Menlo-Atherton has won 10 of 11 games and beat Lowell (42-39) on Saturday after trailing 26-21 at halftime.


Division V: #3 Caruthers at #1 St. Bernard’s


Emily Gardner had 18 points to help St. Bernard’s beat Cloverdale for the second time in eight days. The top seeded Crusaders will now host Caruthers, which is 30-4 with a 19 game winning streak.

 

[keepitreal.32]

Recalled this story from last year on Union Mine. Nice to see them back. Good Luck Union Mine.

https://www.sacbee.com/sports/high-school/joe-davidson/article196060194.html

 

[ankleassassin]

Months ago someone came on here talking about Oakland High girls. I co-signed.... they play relentless defense and in waves... they also attack the cup and do not settle for 3's.

 

[CoachDViks]

I am happy to See Oakland and Oakland Tech in the Finals Great for the OAL. I think they will both represent the North for the State Finals.

 

[CityBoy415]

Here are some quick thoughts on the games. Couple things that pop out. We have a #16 seed in the finals, two of the six divisions had #1 seeds advance to the finals and two Oakland Section teams will play on Tuesday


Open: #4 Salesian at #3 Pinewood


One of these programs will add a second NorCal Open Division title on Tuesday. Salesian avenged a 21 point loss to Mitty on January 12 with a 44-41 win in San Jose. Pinewood lost to Carondelet 67-59 on January 9, but returned to Concord with a 51-39 win to reach its third NorCal Open final in four years.


Division I: #6 Bear Creek at #4 Bishop O’Dowd


Few teams are playing as well as Bishop O’Dowd, which has won three NorCal games by an average margin of 32 points against Presentation, Miramonte and McClatchy. Bear Creek beat two West Catholic Athletic League teams (Valley Christian and St. Francis) by eight combined points before overcoming an early deficit to beat Antelope 57-47 in overtime. It was their second win over the Titans.


Division II: #3 Enterprise at #1 Menlo


Enterprise has won 14 in a row and held all three NorCal opponents to less than 50 points. Three of Menlo’s top four scorers are underclassmen, led by sophomore Avery Lee. Enterprise last made the regional finals in 2014 while Menlo reached this spot in 2016. Both losses were to eventual state champions (Modesto Christian and Cardinal Newman respectively).


Division III: #16 Union Mine at #2 Oakland


The seed number is correct next to Union Mine’s name, which has come back in a major way following a section final loss to West Campus. They are giving up 39 points per game. Oakland had an early season win over Bishop O’Dowd and are riding a 17 game winning streak. Oakland outscored Woodside Priory 25-9 in the fourth quarter en route to a 56-54 semi-final win over Woodside Priory.


Division IV: #4 Oakland Tech at #2 Menlo-Atherton


Tiffany Sui and Stephanie Okowi are averaging double digits for the Bulldogs, which held all NorCal opponents to 51 points or less. Menlo-Atherton has won 10 of 11 games and beat Lowell (42-39) on Saturday after trailing 26-21 at halftime.


Division V: #3 Caruthers at #1 St. Bernard’s


Emily Gardner had 18 points to help St. Bernard’s beat Cloverdale for the second time in eight days. The top seeded Crusaders will now host Caruthers, which is 30-4 with a 19 game winning streak.

But when I came on here at the beginning of the year and said Oakland high should be ranked after the win over BOD nobody believed me

 

[straightline50]

But when I came on here at the beginning of the year and said Oakland high should be ranked after the win over BOD nobody believed me

The winner of D3 should be ranked, that rank would be #37. Behind the 36 teams in open, division 1 and division 2.

 

[CityBoy415]

The winner of D3 should be ranked, that rank would be #37. Behind the 36 teams in open, division 1 and division 2.

That's your opinion. Not sure how much thought was put into it but it is what it is. When I mentioned them being ranked higher it was in response to a Nor Cal ranking in which they weren't on at all, not a state ranking. In terms of state rankings I'm sure Some teams were placed in divisions that didn't belong. Best case scenario if BOD and Oakland High win you could be looking at a D3 winner that beat the D1 winner. I'm also willing to bet at this point in the season BOD would beat a lot of OPEN teams also.

 

[straightline50]

That's your opinion. Not sure how much thought was put into it but it is what it is. When I mentioned them being ranked higher it was in response to a Nor Cal ranking in which they weren't on at all, not a state ranking. In terms of state rankings I'm sure Some teams were placed in divisions that didn't belong. Best case scenario if BOD and Oakland High win you could be looking at a D3 winner that beat the D1 winner. I'm also willing to bet at this point in the season BOD would beat a lot of OPEN teams also.

That a D4 quarterfinal loser (Piedmont) will hav beaten the D1 winner also. If Salesian wins open a D1 first round loser (St. Pats) will have beaten the Open winner.

But I do agree with you in the purest sense that Oakland should be ranked higher than most D2 teams.

 

[Paytc]

That's your opinion. Not sure how much thought was put into it but it is what it is. When I mentioned them being ranked higher it was in response to a Nor Cal ranking in which they weren't on at all, not a state ranking. In terms of state rankings I'm sure Some teams were placed in divisions that didn't belong. Best case scenario if BOD and Oakland High win you could be looking at a D3 winner that beat the D1 winner. I'm also willing to bet at this point in the season BOD would beat a lot of OPEN teams also.

I think the point is as I often say "any good team is capable of beating just about any other good team within reason." Of course some good teams, when healthy, finish the season stronger than many other teams do. And some teams are often over hyped and tend to fall short of expectations more times than not. That is why most ranking systems are typically far off when the list are put together. Because the teams with the brightest or cleanest uniforms, or team reputations, along with highest number of so call D1 players, get ranked higher. I try to put together a list that takes SOS into account and actual accomplishment. As well as taking into consideration how much better a team is ( the progression over the season) at the end of the season. I think the goal should be to aim at becoming a better team by the end of the season. Of course some peak earlier in the season and fade by the end of it for a number of reasons.

 

[ClayK]

The reason Oakland High wasn't ranked were losses to 17-7 Skyview out of Washington, Logan and Cosumnes Oaks. You'd pretty much have to rank Oakland behind Logan and Cosumnes Oaks in NorCal, and they were in the lower half -- and then there was the loss to Berkeley and the 22-point loss to McClatchy.

And the only really good win was the early one over O'Dowd.

Now, I'm not claiming Oakland isn't a good team, or that Orlando hasn't done a great job, but if you're doing rankings, you have to look at the overall body of work.

 

[ankleassassin]

As many issues that have gone on recently with the Oakland school district and the strike.... I am glad to see both of them weathering the storm and bringing pride to an already prideful city... Especially since the pros have done them dirty... not that i mind cuz i hate the raiders and warriors.

 

[Paytc]

The reason Oakland High wasn't ranked were losses to 17-7 Skyview out of Washington, Logan and Cosumnes Oaks. You'd pretty much have to rank Oakland behind Logan and Cosumnes Oaks in NorCal, and they were in the lower half -- and then there was the loss to Berkeley and the 22-point loss to McClatchy.

And the only really good win was the early one over O'Dowd.

Now, I'm not claiming Oakland isn't a good team, or that Orlando hasn't done a great job, but if you're doing rankings, you have to look at the overall body of work.

Good points. But I think CityBoy415 was arguing at the time when Oakland beat Odowd they should have been ranked higher than they were at that time. And I guess the fact that they ended up in the finals backs up the fact that despite the number of losses they must have either gotten healthy and/ or improved by season's end. Hopefully they win their final game. As I too appreciate the work Orlando has put in over the years.

 

[coach41]

Here are some quick thoughts on the games. Couple things that pop out. We have a #16 seed in the finals, two of the six divisions had #1 seeds advance to the finals and two Oakland Section teams will play on Tuesday

Division IV: #4 Oakland Tech at #2 Menlo-Atherton


Tiffany Sui and Stephanie Okowi are averaging double digits for the Bulldogs, which held all NorCal opponents to 51 points or less. Menlo-Atherton has won 10 of 11 games and beat Lowell (42-39) on Saturday after trailing 26-21 at halftime.

I was at the Lowell / MA game. Lowell had control of the game as they were up 32-21 in the 3rd quarter. Then somehow MA turned the switch on. They were suddenly up 36-35 after 3 quarters. Lowell didn't score a point in the 4th quarter until there were less than 2 minutes left. Lowell looked like their style of play caused them to run out of gas.

 

[CityBoy415]

The reason Oakland High wasn't ranked were losses to 17-7 Skyview out of Washington, Logan and Cosumnes Oaks. You'd pretty much have to rank Oakland behind Logan and Cosumnes Oaks in NorCal, and they were in the lower half -- and then there was the loss to Berkeley and the 22-point loss to McClatchy.

And the only really good win was the early one over O'Dowd.

Right and after the beat BOD they still weren't ranked lol. That ranking came out prior to any of those losses. Tonight they played for a D3 Nor Cal title and still weren't ranked :-(. Overall body of work counts but at the same time a lot of top teams have questionable losses this year. Now let's look at it. BOD is ranked top 10 (rightfully so) and Oakland High still isn't in anybodies top 20. I also think they should have been a D2 team this year but you have to play where your put. Congrats to them winning the Nor Cal D3 chip tonight