BASKETBALL : H.-W. SEEDED NO. 1 IN III-A 38 AREA TEAMS ARE IN PLAYOFFS.

Byline: Bill Schlotter Daily News Staff Writer

Mission League champion Harvard-Westlake was seeded No. 1 in Division III-A as expected Sunday as the Southern Section boys' basketball playoff pairings were announced.

The Wolverines (27-1), one of four area seeded teams, will open defense of their III-A divisional crown Friday at home against Northview (6-17) of Covina.

In all, 38 area teams are playoff bound.

Other seeded area teams are Tri-Valley League title winner Oak Park, seeded second in Division IV-AA; Foothill League champ Hart, seeded fourth in I-A; and Alpha League crown-winner L.A. Baptist, seeded fourth in IV-A.

First-round games are set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, but several area teams will need to win wild-card games to make it that far.

St. Francis and La Canada will play Wednesday for the right to meet Morningside, seeded second behind Harvard-Westlake, in a first-rounder. Providence must travel to Brethren Christian of Cypress on Wednesday to advance to a first-round Division IV-A matchup with Boys Republic on Friday.

In keeping with the new regional flavor of the playoffs, many area teams will play area opponents Friday.

In I-AA, Highland will play at Simi Valley. In II-A, Agoura will play at Moorpark and Burroughs of Burbank will travel to Newbury Park.

And in IV-AA, Crespi will travel to Oak Park.

A major second-round battle looms in Division IV-A. Provided they can get by first-round foes, Alpha League champion L.A. Baptist and Santa Fe League champ Bell-Jeff will meet in Tuesday's second round, with the winner likely to meet top-seeded Crossroads Feb. 28 in a semifinal. The Knights host St. Monica on Friday while Bell-Jeff will host Mojave.

Another interesting second-round possibility is Hart vs. Royal, the team that beat the Indians in the title game of their Hart Tournament back in December, in a I-A rematch.

The Indians will have to get by Warren of the San Gabriel Valley League and Royal will have to beat Channel League runner-up Rio Mesa to bring about that meeting.

Other first-round games set for Friday include Santa Monica at Palmdale and Hoover at Ayala in I-AA; Buena at Antelope Valley in I-A; Valencia at Compton and Santa Barbara at Burbank in II-AA; Calabasas at Dos Pueblos in III-AA; Chaminade at third-seeded Bishop Montgomery in III-A; St. Paul at Paraclete in IV-AA; and Boron at Montclair Prep in V-AA.

Only one team enters the playoffs undefeated, 22-0 Pasadena Poly, the No. 1 seed in Division V-AA.