TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

With all of this past weekend's wrestling festivities and a holiday weekend, I never did get around to posting here about basketball seedings. My apologies — hopefully you were able to follow some of the thoughts on Twitter (and if you're not on Twitter, honestly, what are you waiting for?).

But I do want to go through each of the five playoff divisions for boys and girls hoops. There are a couple of play-in games tonight and tomorrow, but boys action begins in earnest with tomorrow night's first round. The girls' first round is Wednesday.

It all leads to perhaps the biggest prep sports weekend of the year: March 2-3, when the section basketball finals are contested in Fresno's Selland Arena while the CIF State Wrestling Championships are here in Bakersfield.

So who gets to Selland? Let's take a look at each division.

DIVISION I BOYS (bracket)
Seeding second-guessing: Bullard and Buchanan were clearly the top two seeds; the decision worth your attention is Bakersfield getting a No. 3 over Central and SWYL champion Liberty, which fell to a No. 5. The Drillers benefitted from non-league victories over both the Grizzlies and Patriots. They then split with Liberty in SWYL play, so despite losing the title, Bakersfield gets the nod for No. 3. The other interesting part about this bracket is who's not in it: Stockdale, which gave Liberty trouble twice but won't participate because of a school rule that requires the Mustangs to be .500 in league to reach the playoffs.
Must-see matchups: There are six legitimate title contenders here, and while Bullard and Buchanan will be heavily favored to reach the semifinals, the other two spots will be up for grabs to the other four contenders. That means we get two great quarterfinals on Thursday: No. 5 Liberty at No. 4 Central and No. 6 Clovis West at No. 3 Bakersfield. After that, anything in the final four will be great stuff.
My final four: Bullard, Central, Bakersfield, Clovis West
At Selland (8 p.m. March 3): Bullard 71, Bakersfield 62. The Drillers are rolling and have the goods to become the very first Kern County Division I boys team to reach Selland in the eighth year the arena hosts the finals (hard to believe in and of itself) but a home-court edge and the prolific Armstead brothers, who moved from Chicago last summer, swing this one in the Knights' favor.

DIVISION I GIRLS (bracket)
Seeding second-guessing: Stockdale received the top seed over Hanford, and there's no question this was the biggest controversy to come out of the commissioners' seeding meeting Saturday in Porterville. The Bullpups cruised to last year's D-I title and have won 94 straight games against Central Section competition. So how could Stockdale get No. 1? Well, the last three years of Hanford's dominance didn't — and shouldn't — come into the argument this year, and the fact is Stockdale is also unbeaten against the section in 2011-12. The Mustangs also had a more successful out-of-section slate and played in a tougher league. Them's the facts. Does that mean Stockdale is the favorite now? I wouldn't go that far. Hanford will be the champ until it's knocked off, and this perceived slight might fire up the Bullpups more than ever. Of course, who's No. 1 and who's No. 2 doesn't matter all that much anyway — both should get to the finals, where home-court advantage doesn't exist.
Must-see matchups: Stockdale has an interesting path to the championship. First could be a quarterfinal against SWYL rival Centennial, which has given the Mustangs as many problems as anyone over the past two years. Then a semifinal against tradtional power Clovis West could loom — the Golden Eagles and Mustangs are used to meeting in the finals, but this one would only be to get there. Could Edison give Hanford problems in the other semifinal? Doubtful.
My final four: Stockdale, Clovis West, Edison, Hanford
At Selland (6 p.m. March 3): Hanford 65, Stockdale 54. It wouldn't shock me to see the Mustangs pull this off in what should be a rock-em, sock-em, up-and-down affair, but I'm not going to bet against what will be a 96-game section winning streak.

DIVISION II BOYS (bracket)
Seeding second-guessing: Not a whole lot to wonder about here. East getting a No. 3 was mildly surprising after the Blades struggled through non-league play. But they've won 10 of 11 and took all three from No. 5 seed Garces, so that quarterfinal home game has been earned. But Clovis North probably isn't thrilled about having to travel to Memorial for a possible semifinal.
Must-see matchups: A couple of quarterfinals have the potential to be really good, though young Garces is going to have to step its game up to hang in at Clovis North. Lemoore at East really intrigues me, though. The Tigers score off of turnovers and like to get up and down the floor. The Blades' strength is halfcourt defense and their weakness is turnovers. Seems like it plays right into Lemoore's hands, but without transition points, the Tigers are a longshot. A Clovis North-Memorial semifinal would be pretty great, too.
My final four: Memorial, Clovis North, Lemoore, Tulare Union
At Selland (8 p.m. March 2): Memorial 66, Tulare Union 60. Behind seven-footer Robert Upshaw, the Panthers have come a long way — from losing to Garces early — and are the favorites here.

DIVISION II GIRLS (bracket)
Seeding second-guessing: This one is pretty much by the book. Garces beat Redwood early in the season, so the Rams are No. 2 — but it's worth noting that victory came with point guard Candace Wilkerson, who has since transferred.
Must-see matchups: If North can get by Frontier on Wednesday, a quarterfinal with Garces awaits that would be between the SEYL co-champions. The Stars beat Garces in one of the Rams' first few games without Wilkerson; when they played late in the season, Garces had adjusted and handled the Stars easily. If they do again, though, a marquee rematch with Redwood could be next. Would Garces and its thin bench be ready to roll to Selland?
My final four: Monache, Lemoore, Redwood, Garces
At Selland (6 p.m. March 2): Monache 71, Garces 65. No question the Marauders have the weakest schedule of any contender, but that didn't stop them from rolling to a title last year. I think Garces gets by Redwood in an instant classic in the semifinals but doesn't have enough juice left for the defending champs.

DIVISION III BOYS (bracket)
Seeding second-guessing: You're not going to hear a lot of complaints at the top, but I was a little surprised that Tehachapi only garnered a No. 7 seed. The Warriors' final-day loss to Bakersfield Christian might have cost them a line or two. It was also a bit strange to see Independence rewarded for a tough league but Frontier, which beat Bakersfield and Stockdale and played Independence tough twice, not given similar treatment.
Must-see matchups: Mt. Whitney appears to have an edge on the field, but the rest of this bracket is very even. Hoover-Frontier, Independence-Tehachapi and Mission Oak-Ridgeview quarterfinals would all be virtual toss-ups, and the semifinals will be fun, too.
My final four: Mt. Whitney, Frontier, Mission Oak, Independence
At Selland (4 p.m. March 3): Independence 61, Mt. Whitney 59. The Pioneers took this matchup by 12 the first time around, but the Falcons have been better tested down the stretch and could surprise the field here and win their first section title.

DIVISION III GIRLS (bracket)
Seeding second-guessing: Corcoran has the beef here — the Panthers were given the No. 4 seed behind Shafter despite an early head-to-head victory over the Generals — but other than that, it's pretty much chalk. And the top two teams appear to be much better than the field, so an argument about anything after that rings hollow.
Must-see matchups: The anticipated final between Ridgeview and Independence would be one of the best games of the weekend at Selland, bar none. These are rivals who know each other — and don't particularly like each other. Before that, I have a hard time getting excited about anything, though it could be fun to see how far Hannah Ramirez can carry Shafter and what happens in a possible Golden Valley-Corcroan quarterfinal.
My final four: Ridgeview, Golden Valley, Shafter, Independence. An all-Kern County final four isn't out of the question — three of those four are among the best teams in the county, regardless of division.
At Selland (2 p.m. March 3): Independence 66, Ridgeview 65. No doubt these two are the cream of the crop, and I'm calling for a mild upset.The Falcons lost a non-league game against Ridgeview, but it says here the Wolf Pack don't get so hot from the outside in the one that matters.

DIVISION IV BOYS (bracket)
Seeding second-guessing: Chowchilla vs. Kingsburg for the No. 3 seed and Corcoran vs. BCHS for the No. 5 both seemed like toss-ups, but the end result is that Chowchilla will have to prove its worth in a quarterfinal against BCHS, if seedings hold in the first round. Same for Corcoran against Kingsburg.
Must-see matchups: The two quarterfinals listed above would be good, as would Coalinga-Sierra. In fact, if you take out CVC, parity reigns in this division. In fact, don't eliminate the possibility of several first-round upsets. Taft is a very dangerous No. 12 seed with plenty of size and scoring sensation Caleb Lopez.
My final four: CVC, Kingsburg, Bakersfield Christian, Sierra
At Selland (noon March 3): CVC 70, Sierra 53. I'm tempted to take the Eagles through to the final for a MIlk Bowl rematch, but Sierra has been better throughout the year. Nobody's beating Grant Verhoeven and the Cavaliers either way.

DIVISION IV GIRLS (bracket)
Seeding second-guessing: It's a very even division, so it's hard to argue seeding either way. It appears that Lindsay is being punished an awful lot for a close loss to Sierra early in the year: That makes the Cardinals a very good No. 4 seed.
Must-see matchups: We're delving into the realm of teams I know less about, particularly because No. 14 McFarland is the only local in this bracket. It appears that just about everything could be contested in this bracket, though.
My final four: Sierra, Lindsay, Parlier, Memorial
At Selland (10 a.m. March 3): Lindsay 59, Parlier 55. A couple of semifinal upsets leave us with a couple of teams that got hot down the stretch.

DIVISION V BOYS (bracket)
Seeding second-guessing: I won't waste too many wordss on teams I don't know, but when top seed Fresno Christian is 22-2 and the bottom three have won fewer than 10 games combined, I'd say the committee got it right here.
Must-see matchups: Tough to say. Northwest Christian is a complete unknown — the Guardians are in Bakersfield and I wasn't even aware they had a team — so it'll be fun to watch that quarterfinal with Tranquillity. Other than that, Fresno Christian has dominated the other teams in this division.
My final four: Fresno Christian, Northwest Christian, Riverdale Christian, Laton
At Selland (4 p.m. March 2): Fresno Christian 73, Laton 50. First matchup between these was a 20-point game at Laton, so bump it up for a neutral site.

DIVISION V GIRLS (bracket)
We're talking about a five-team bracket with no locals here, so I'm not going to waste your time and will go chalk with the final four.
My final four: Kings Christian, Laton, CVC, Immanuel
At Selland (2 p.m. March 2): Kings Christian 59, Immanuel 50.