NCS boys basketball playoffs 2026: What to know after Sunday’s seeding meeting

OPEN DIVISION: IS SALESIAN INEVITABLE?

The boys Open Division is set. 

Clayton Valley, De La Salle, Moreau Catholic, Marin Catholic and Dougherty Valley have all had great seasons thus far, but can any of these teams beat top-seeded Salesian?

The Pride have quietly been the East Bay’s most dominant team, defeating every team in their way in league play while picking up wins over some of the nations’ best teams in a jam-packed nonleague schedule. Salesian is making its fifth appearance in the Open Division playoffs, looking to win its second title in the last three seasons. 

Should any of these teams beat Salesian in this year’s playoffs, it would be quite the upset. 

Led by Stanford-bound guard Elias Obenyah, Sacramento State football commit Carlton Perrilliat Jr., steady point guard Isaiah Davis and do-it-all wing Leon Powe III, the Richmond school will be the heavy favorite to win the bracket. 

Salesian breezed through the Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division, beating opponents by an average of 26 points across 12 games. Salesian has also picked up wins over Modesto Christian (twice), Folsom, Monterey Trail, St. John Bosco, Damien, Bishop Gorman and La Mirada – all teams that are at the top of their respective sections. 

If seeds hold, Salesian will face Clayton Valley for the NCS title – a game that will pit two of the best defensive teams in Northern California against each other. For what it’s worth, Clayton Valley played Salesian in a preseason scrimmage and lost by two. 

The Open Division’s top seed has gone on to win the section title every season but one since the division was created in 2020. There has never been a repeat champion. 

But even so, Salesian has proven it is the top team in Northern California. 

With Salesian’s dominance, the question might not be if Salesian wins an NCS title, but by how much? 

EBAL PILE UP IN DIVISION I

The parity in the East Bay Athletic League has led to multiple teams being placed in the Division I bracket. 

Six teams will represent the EBAL in the Division I bracket with Amador Valley earning the highest seed at No. 2. Eight teams made the NCS postseason with the league’s top two teams, De La Salle and Dougherty Valley, being pushed into the Open Division. 

Granada (3), Dublin (5), Monte Vista (6), California (7) Livermore (10) and Amador Valley each garnered at least 14 wins this season. 

Despite the familiarity, the Division I bracket is loaded with other NCS powerhouses that can beat any of the EBAL teams on any given night. 

Bishop O’Dowd earned the bracket’s top seed and has all the tools to win a section title. North Bay representative Archie Williams is No. 8 and has been solid all season, coming in third in the always tough Marin County Athletic League. Other teams like Acalanes (9), Berkeley (12) and Campolindo (14) have proven to be upset threats all throughout the regular season. 

Since the Open Division was implemented, a team from the EBAL has won the Division I crown three of the last five seasons. In that time period, Dougherty Valley won three, Clayton Valley captured two and De La Salle has claimed one – all three teams are in the Open Division this season.

BUZZER BEATERS

The most interesting first-round matchup in the Open Division could be between De La Salle and Moreau Catholic as the two private-school powerhouses have never played each other in the MaxPreps era (since 2004). Sophomore star Brendan Williams and shifty point guard Isaiah Clendinen will go up against De La Salle’s vaunted front court and the EBAL regular season champions. De La Salle will try to defend the NCS Open title it won last season over Salesian. 

Can Acalanes finally beat Archie Williams? The Dons were bested by the San Anselmo school twice in the regular season, losing by four in their first matchup in Lafayette and 13 in their second at the Bambauer Classic. Acalanes will travel to Archie Williams on Tuesday. 

Elsewhere in Division I, there will be two playoff matchups of teams from the same league. No. 10 Livermore will travel to No. 7 California to try and avenge a 10-point loss from just over three weeks ago. Thirteenth-seeded Freedom will try to upset No. 4 Liberty in a third matchup. The Falcons played Liberty to a five-point loss in December, then were blown out by 19 points on the road on Jan. 23. 

In Division II, University-San Francisco got the top seed. The Red Devils were slated to be the last team in the Open Division until Dougherty Valley upset De La Salle in the EBAL tournament championship on Friday. No. 3 St. Mary’s-Berkeley could be the team that dethrones the San Francisco school with Division I prospects Donovan Mikel and Christopher Baltrip on its roster. The Panthers will open with Pittsburg in the first round. 

Two small East Bay private schools highlight the Division III bracket. Antioch’s Cornerstone Christian (No. 2) and Dublin’s Brave Christian (No. 5) have been dominant in their respective leagues all season and boast all the talent to get to the section finals. Both schools will have to dethrone top-seeded Branson, which has been a perennial powerhouse in the North Bay. 

With the NCS stretching from the Bay Area all the way to the Northern border of the state, there will inevitably be teams which will get the short end of the travel stick. In Division IV, No. 9 Head-Royce will make the six-hour, 363-mile trip from Oakland to Del Norte High in Crescent City for its first-round game. In Division V, Berean Christian will make a five-hour trip to Arcata High School. Miramonte will also have a long trip, traveling to St. Bernard’s High School in Eureka for a Division III playoff game.