It’s the last week of the regular season in the North Coast Section, so let’s take a look at how the playoff brackets are shaping up. I’m not going to get into predicted the order of the seeding. If recent history is any indicator, the seeding will be completely unpredictable anyway. But I will provide an idea of who should be competing for a title when the playoffs begin next week. Remember, teams need to be above .500 (not at .500 like in football) in either their overall or league record or in games within the division (and for out of section teams, if the school’s enrollment would place them in their division, they can count those games).

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Also receiving votes: None.  Records are through Sunday. The East Bay Boys Basketball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group East Bay.

The Oakland Section has revised its playoff system for this season, creating a new way to determine which two teams earn the section’s bids to the NorCal playoffs.

The teams from the Oakland Athletic League will still compete under the same format. No. 3 will play No. 6 and No. 4 will play No. 5 in the first round of the playoffs. The 3/6 winner advances to face No. 2 and the 4/5 winner plays No. 1 in the semifinals and those winners meet in the championship game.

The tweak comes in that the loser of the OAL championship game will then meet the champion of the Bay Area Charter School Athletic Conference. The winner of that game earns the Oakland Section’s second NorCal berth. The BACSAC is a league made up of school East Bay charter schools that a few years ago were added to the Oakland Section. For more info on the league, visit www.bacsac.org.

The dates for all of these games are: First round — Saturday, Feb. 23; Semifinals — Tuesday, Feb. 26; OAL championship — Thursday, Feb. 28; BACSAC champ vs. OAL runner-up — Saturday, March 2

Also receiving votes: Mt. Eden (16-4, 4 points).  Records are through Sunday. The East Bay Boys Basketball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group East Bay.

Also receiving votes: None. Records are through Monday. The East Bay Boys Basketball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group East Bay.

In addition to the events being held on Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday, Piedmont High is hosting its usual event two days before on Saturday. Here’s that lineup of games:
Noon: College Prep vs.Marin Academy
1:30 p.m.: Acalanes vs. Liberty
3:15 p.m.: St. Mary’s vs. Moreau Catholic
5 p.m.: Piedmont vs. Marin Catholic
6:30 p.m.: Mt. Eden vs. Montgomery
8 p.m. Miramonte vs. San Marin

Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for seniors, $3 for children or students and free for Piedmont High students with ID card.

The Martin Luther King “I Have a Dream” Classic showcases each of the Oakland Athletic League boys basketball teams. It’s on Monday, Jan. 21 and this year will be played at Oakland’s Merritt College. Here’s the slate of games:

Noon: Fremont vs. Kipp King

1:30 p.m.: Castlemont vs. Grant, Sacramento

3 p.m.: Skyline vs. University-San Francisco

4:30 p.m.: Oakland Tech vs. Pinole Valley

6 p.m.: Oakland vs. Castro Valley

7:30 p.m.: McClymonds vs. San Leandro

Admission is $10 for adults. Ages 6-17 are $5 and children 5-and-under are free.

Also receiving votes: Berkeley (7-8, 1 point), Freedom (10-6, 1). Records are through Saturday. The East Bay Boys Basketball Poll is voted on by the prep sports staff of Bay Area News Group East Bay.

The MLK Classic, an all-day event put on by De La Salle, is back for another year. The Jan. 21 event will feature six boys basketball games at Berkeley’s Haas Pavilion. Here’s the lineup:

10:30 a.m. – Palo Alto vs. DeAnza

12:15 p.m. – Analy vs. Campolindo

2 p.m. – Palma-Salinas vs. St. Patrick-St. Vincent

3:45 p.m. – Sacramento vs. Bishop O’Dowd

5:45 p.m. – Salesian vs. De La Salle

7:30 p.m. – Newark Memorial vs. Deer Valley

TICKETS: You can save a little cash by buying presale tickets at the De La Salle bookstore from Tuesday, Jan. 15 through Friday, Jan. 18.  Bookstore hours are 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Presale general admission (bleacher) tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for children, students and seniors. Reserved chair backs are $15 (includes all-day in and out access) and courtside seats are $20 (also includes in and out access). General admission tickets can also be bought online here: http://prepmo.com/tournaments/4

Tickets can also be purchased at the door, but prices are a little higher. General admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children/students/seniors. Chair backs are $20 and courtside seats are $25.

Gates open at 10 a.m.

Castro Valley is expecting a sell out for Friday’s West Alameda County Conference Foothill League boys basketball game with Bishop O’Dowd at 7 p.m.. The school will hold a presale on Thursday from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on campus in room 607. Tickets are $4 for students and $6 for adults. No passes will be allowed to gain admission into the game.