By GALE CAVNESS
pressbox1.com

With the prep basketball season heading into post-season play, hoops fans throughout West Tennessee could have a problem. Making a decision on which tournament to attend might pose quite a dilemma. There are a lot of strong teams between the mighty Mississippi and the Tennessee River separating the west end of the state from the middle portion. Numerous squads - both girls and boys - became regulars in the weekly Associated Press polls and have played themselves into high seeds at tourney time.

The polls, as history has often shown, are not always accurate when it comes to determining the best teams, but they do give a pretty good indication which teams are contenders instead of pretenders. But success in regular-season play only sets the brackets and sends everyone into a mad scramble to survive in the post-season. Then you can throw out the records, forget the rankings and let the games begin!

But, with so many quality clubs hoping to begin a trek that will eventually land them at the state tournament in Murfreesboro, fans may struggle when it comes to picking a tourney site to attend. Fans with specific loyalties, obviously, will make the necessary plans to follow their clubs wherever the brackets take them. But enthusiasts who enjoy the competition and have no ties have plenty of talented squads to pick from when it comes to settling into the gymnasium, ordering up some snacks and taking in the action.

My suggestion is to get court-side as often as possible! In District 13-A, competition begins at Huntingdon. The West Carroll boys and girls are the top seeds and received opening-round byes. Semifinals are Thursday and Friday. The girls’ consolation and championship rounds begin Saturday at 6. Boys will be presented hardware on Monday.

Peabody High School, in Trenton, will host the 14-A semifinals,=2 0consolation and championship rounds. Semifinal play begins Thursday. The higher-seeded teams entertain the low seeds in opening-round action which began on Friday. The Humboldt boys, the top seed, and second-seeded Lake County received byes. The Vikings, the district leader, rolled to the top of the AP poll and settled in for the long haul. Lake County got comfortable at No. 2 in the state-wide poll. Bradford is the girls’ top seed, and was a fixture in the state poll as well. Humboldt earned the second spot in the district.

In 15-A, the early-round games are at the sites of the higher seeds before the survivors converge on Adamsville for semifinal play on Thursday. Girls’ teams receiving the byes are No. 1 Scott's Hill and No. 2 Jackson Christian. Madison claimed the boys’ top seed with Trinity Christian taking the second spot. The girls’ consolation and title rounds at Mon., Feb. 23 at 6:30 and 8, respectively, The boys’ hardware rounds are at the same times on the following Tuesday. Memphis Manassas is the host for the 16-A event. The girls’ lower-seeded teams began play on Saturday. Top-seeded Middleton, which got a lot of support in the polls, will get the survivor of the (4) City University and (5) Middle College contest in a 5 p.m. clash on Tuesday. Boys’ openers are tonight with top-seeded Manassas to take the court on Wednesday. The girls’ consolation and championship contests are Thursday, beginning at 6 p.m. The boys’ consolation and championship tussles will be on Friday.

Chester County is entertaining the District 12-AA event, beginning with both girls’ and boys’ competition tipping off tonight. The Lexington girls, the fourth seed, meets (5) Camden at 6:30, followed (4) by Chester County’s boys and (5) Lexington at 8. McNairy Central is the girls’ top-seed and will get into action on Thursday. Bolivar, ranked among the leaders in the Class AA polls all season, tips off post-season play on Friday. The girls’ hardware rounds will be on Saturday, Feb. 21, with the boys wrapping it up on Monday, Feb. 23.

The District 13-AA tourney begins tonight, as well, with a pair of girls games. Second-seeded Obion County facing (7) Dyer County in a 6 p.m. clash. Martin Westview, the third seed, meets (6) Crockett County at 7:30. Top-seed Gibson County will play on Thursday against the winner of Tuesday night’s 6 p.m. clash between (4) Dyersburg and (5) Milan. Gibson County, Obion County and Westview have been ranked in the polls throughout the season. The Lady Pioneers, who are hosting the tourney, have spent much of the season on the heels of No. 1-ranked Marshall County.

Dyer County’s boys, the top seed, will wait until Friday before suiting up against the winner of Tuesday night’s 7:30 contest between (4) Gibson County and (5) Milan. The Choctaws were chasing Knoxville Austin-East in the state-wide polls throughout the campaign and moved to No. 1 when the Roadrunners dropped an ugly 109-67 contest to Bearden, the top team in Class AAA, in late January. When Obion Central, the third seed in the district, tripped up the previously unbeaten DC club by three (67-64) in the closing seconds of a road game a week later,20the Choctaws dropped back to second in the state rankings.

Martin Westview’s boys, the second-seed in the tourney, also received a lot of statewide support in the polls. They’ll begin post-season play Wednesday night against (7) Crockett County at 6 p.m. Closing out Wednesday night’s action will be the (3) Obion County boys and (6) Dyersburg. Consolation and championship rounds for the girls are set for Saturday night, beginning at 6. The boys’ consolation game and title tilt are scheduled for Mon., Feb. 23. Make your plans, grab some cash and get ready for the games! It’s tourney time!

Gale Cavness is a writer, photographer and columnist for pressbox1.com and may be reached at pressbox1@gmail.com.

(Editor's note: We had some server problems and computer problems at the time this column was written, but decided to post it as it was because it makes a point that there is plenty of basketball entertainment in West Tennessee and it's no better than during tournament time. The times and dates have passed, of course, but regionals are coming up and there is fully another week-plus of nearby action before teams head to Murfreesboro and the state championships).