Toughest high school basketball postseason brackets

Video: Toughest postseason brackets
Who has the toughest road to winning a state title?

With four of the nation's Top 10 teams set to collide Friday night in the semifinals, California's Southern Section Open Division Championships are garnering national interest at the moment.

But SoCal isn't the only hot spot when it comes to high-level postseason high school basketball.

Georgia, Illinois, Texas, and Washington are also home to tournaments that feature multiple nationally-ranked teams fighting it out for the same prize.

These five tourneys – there were 255 state championship tournaments across the country in 2015-16 – feature nearly a third of the Top 150 teams in the latest version of the MaxPreps computer rankings.

It's win or go home and there will be no participation trophies in these rugged brackets. California (CIF) Southern Section Open Division
Defending champion: Chino Hills
High School Top 25 teams: No. 2 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), No. 3 Chino Hills, No. 5 Mater Dei (Santa Ana), No. 9 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance)
MaxPreps Computer Top 100 teams: No. 21 Alemany (Mission Hills), No. 23 Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita), No. 29 Damien (La Verne), No. 47 Heritage Christian (Northridge), No. 49 Esperanza (Anaheim), No. 51 Roosevelt (Eastvale), No. 65 Redondo Union (Redondo Beach), No. 83 Long Beach Poly (Long Beach), No. 89 Centennial (Corona)
Breaking down the bracket: For the second year in a row, Southern California is home to the nation's toughest postseason tournament. Incredibly, a state champion won't be crowned but multiple teams will advance to the state playoffs and could meet again during that phase of the competition. All four teams ranked in the High School Top 25 won Tuesday night and will advance to an epic semifinal Friday night at the Galen Center.

See the bracket: Southern Section Open Division

Texas (UIL) Class 6A
Defending champion: DeSoto
High School Top 25 teams: No. 15 Klein Forest (Houston), No. 22 Skyline (Dallas)
MaxPreps Computer Top 150 teams: No. 24 Allen, No. 25 Wagner (San Antonio), No. 30 Cypress Falls (Houston), No. 45 Lakeview Centennial (Garland), No. 46 Guyer (Denton), No. 64 Cedar Hill, No. 66 Sam Houston Math Science & Tech (Houston), No. 73 Westlake (Austin), No. 90 Pearland, No. 126 Fort Bend Bush (Richmond), No. 128 Cinco Ranch (Katy), No. 137 Dawson (Pearland), No. 142 Westfield (Houston), No. 144 Midway (Waco), No. 148 North Crowley (Fort Worth)
Breaking down the bracket: With 128 teams in the field – including 11 of the Top 100 nationally – surviving and advancing is no easy task in Texas Class 6A. The last six big school champions in the Lone Star State have finished the season ranked among the Top 20 nationally, including Marcus (Flower Mound) teams featuring Marcus Smart and Phil Forte that finished No. 2 in back-to-back years (2010-11 and 2011-12).

See the bracket: Texas Class 6A

Georgia (GHSA) Class AAAAAAA
Defending champion: First year for AAAAAAA classification. Westlake (Atlanta) won the AAAAAA title last season.
High School Top 25 teams: No. 6 McEachern (Powder Springs), No. 18 Newton (Covington)
MaxPreps Computer Top 150 teams: No. 102 Norcross, No. 122 Pebblebrook (Mableton), No. 150 Wheeler (Marietta)
Breaking down the bracket: Georgia is a legitimate basketball power state and all six schools listed above have spent multiple weeks in the High School Top 25 this season. Wheeler has won five state titles since 2003 and may have the most talent on the roster of any team in the field. The first big showdown in the 32-team rumble comes Friday when Newton meets Westlake.

See the bracket: Georgia Class AAAAAAA

Washington (WIAA) Class 3A
Defending champion: Rainier Beach (Seattle)
High School Top 25 teams: No. 1 Nathan Hale (Seattle)
MaxPreps Computer Top 150 teams: No. 50 Garfield (Seattle), No. 80 Rainier Beach, No. 129 West Seattle (Seattle)
Breaking down the bracket: Garfield and Rainier Beach have combined to win eight state titles in the 2000s. But the arrival of Michael Porter Jr. and head coach Brandon Roy at Nathan Hale has shaken things up this season. After going 3-18 in 2015-16, the unbeaten Raiders will go down as one of the greatest teams ever from Washington if they can finish the job at the Tacoma Dome next week.

Illinois (IHSA) Class 4A
Defending champion: Curie (Chicago)
High School Top 25 teams: No. 23 Edwardsville
MaxPreps Computer Top 150 teams: No. 27 Simeon (Chicago), No. 38 Evanston, No. 53 Bolingbrook, No. 101 Whitney Young (Chicago), No. 138 Fremd (Palatine)
Breaking down the bracket: Another huge tournanment with 177 teams getting a dance card, this year's edition is a little more wide open than most in recent memory. Five different teams have spent time in the High School Top 25. Simeon was ranked as high as No. 4 nationally as recently as mid-January, hit a rough patch but now seems to be back on track at the right time.