HoopsByUgland Open Division bracket predictions

The governing body of the Southland, the CIF Southern Section, announced the 16 teams that will make up next week's boys basketball Open Division playoffs.

Prior to that announcement, HoopsByUgland attempted predict which 16 teams would be in that field, correctly forecasting 14 of those 16 squads.

The two left out of those predictions, Santa Monica and Chino Hills Ayala, came as a surprise to many. The six-man Open Division committee instead opted for Santa Margarita - a team with nine losses and a third place finish in a down Trinity League - and Montebello Cantwell-Sacred Heart - a team with 10 losses and a fourth place finish in the Del Rey League.

But the committee has spoken and high school basketball players, coaches, media, parents and fans across Southern California must deal with it.

And since the HoopsByUgland team predictions went fairly well, its time to try to do the same for the bracket. Keep in mind that there's a rule in place that implores CIF to keep league opponents on opposite sides of brackets if possible. For example, Crespi and Alemany are both in the Mission League, so they must be placed on different sides of the bracket. You can find it below.

Top Bracket: 1 Chino Hills vs. 16 Santa Margarita 8 Alemany vs. 9 Inglewood 5 Centennial vs. 12 Compton 4 Mater Dei vs. 13 Cantwell Bottom Bracket 3 Sierra Canyon vs. 14 Los Alamitos 6 Redondo vs. 11 Crespi 7 Damien vs. 10 Roosevelt 2 Bishop Montgomery vs. 15 Orange Lutheran

Seeding predictions: 1. Chino Hills 2. Torrance Bishop Montgomery 3. Chatsworth Sierra Canyon 4. Santa Ana Mater Dei 5. Corona Centennial 6. Redondo Union 7. La Verne Damien 8. Mission Hills Alemany 9. Inglewood 10. Roosevelt 11. Crespi 12. Compton 13. Cantwell-Sacred Heart 14. Los Alamitos 15. Orange Lutheran 16. Santa Margarita