CIF-SS Basketball Wrap-Up: Prediction, Analysis for 12-Team Open Division Playoff

Senior Reporter Tarek Fattal predicts that the CIF Southern Section will take 12 teams into the Open Division this year.

La Mirada’s Gene Roebuck (left) and Redondo Union’s Hudson Mayes body up before an in-bounds play the Classic at Damien on Friday, December 27, 2024. / Tarek Fattal

Welcome to the 'CIF Southern Section Basketball Wrap-Up'.

Every week, High School on SI senior reporter Tarek Fattal will recap the CIF Southern Section's best basketball performances, notable headlines and scores - and of course - an updated boys basketball Top 25 rankings.

This week's wrap-up is highlighted by a breakdown and prediction of the 2026 Open Division playoffs; how a tragedy canceled the Mission League championship game; a look at the six selected All-Americans in the Southern Section; and how a community returned to normalcy in just one year after fired burned 25,000 acres and claimed lives in the Pacific Palisades.

FATTAL PREDICTS 12-TEAM OPEN FORMAT

High School On SI senior reporter Tarek Fattal breaks down his prediction of why the CIF Southern Section should take 12 teams to the Open Division playoffs.

• FULL STORY AND ANALYSIS

MISSION LEAGUE TITLE CANCELED DUE TO TRAGEDY

The Mission League boys basketball tournament championship game between Sierra Canyon and Notre Dame was canceled out of respect for a Sierra Canyon student who died early Wednesday morning from a car accident in Malibu.

A student at Sierra Canyon High School died in a car accident early Wednesday morning in Malibu. / Sierra Canyon

The game was scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Sierra Canyon to determine the league champion. Sierra Canyon was the No. 1 seed and Notre Dame was the No. 2 seed. Because the championship game won't be played, a league champion will not be crowned. However, both schools have agreed to submit the final league standings the way the two teams were seeded to begin the tournament.

• FULL STORY AND REPORT

SIX SOCAL PLAYERS SELECTED TO MCDONALD'S GAME

The McDonald's All-American game is known to display basketball's future stars. This year's 2026 edition will take place on Tuesday, March 31 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz.

Brandon McCoy Jr. of Sierra Canyon was selected to play in the 2026 McDonald's All-American game in Brooklyn. / Greg Fiore

Six players from the CIF Southern Section were selected to the prestigious game. Sierra Canyon had three of the six: Brandon McCoy and Maxi Adams from the boys' team, and Jerzy Robinson from the girls'.

• FULL 2026 ROSTERS

PALISADES WELCOMES BACK SPORTS AFTER FIRES

It's hard to envision the resilience of a community revealing itself in real time, but when you step onto the campus at Palisades Charter High School, it's easy to see.

• FULL STORY

Just one year removed from the Palisades Fire, which marked one of America's most devastating disasters, that caused more than 23,000 acres of damage and claimed 12 lives, the people of Palisades Charter beamed with pride this week as it hosted a wrestling match, a girls basketball game, and Thursday night's boys basketball game against league foe Fairfax.

As you walked through the campus toward the gym, there were students in the quad studying, boys throwing a football, and cheerleaders practicing their routines to the backdrop of rackets popping from an ongoing tennis training.

The campus is alive. It's energetic. It's amazing. It's back.

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