Tuesday Hoops Preview: Final Three Weeks of Regular Season Begins

Mike Hammett - Tue 06:51 AM 02/05/2013

Salina Central at Hays – 5:50pm pregame, 6:00 tip on SportsRadio 1150 KSAL

Salina Central makes the trip west to meet Hays in a non-league match-up. Even though they are non-league games, there’s still a lot on the line for both Mustang squads.

The Mustang girls are 9-5 overall after Friday’s 43-31 loss to Newton. The Mustangs are fighting for a top-four seed in sub-state and a home game in the first round. Hays is coming off one of its best performances of the season, albeit in an overtime loss to Salina South last Tuesday.

The Mustang boys are 9-5 overall and meet a 10-4 Hays squad. The two teams sit atop the sub-state, and the winner will grab a valuable head-to-head tiebreaker should the two finished tied with the same record in the sub-state. This is the first year the two highest remaining seeds will host championship games in sub-state play.

Salina South at Newton – 5:50pm pregame, 6:00 tip on Y93.7

The Salina South Cougars re-enter AVCTL Division I play with league and sub-state implications on the line.

In the girls game, the 12-2 Cougars sit atop the sub-state, but face the 11-3 Railers. Both squads have two losses in the AVCTL, and the loser will likely be eliminated from the league championship race. The Railers are currently second in the sub-state standings behind Salina South. The Cougars won the first meeting by 10 in December.

In the boys game, the 5-9 Cougars and 4-10 Railers are in the middle of a fight with three other teams for a home game in the first round of the sub-state. A win by Salina South would give them back-to-back wins overall and a season sweep of the Railers. The Cougars defeated Newton 56-52 in overtime in December at Salina South.

Russell at Sacred Heart – 5:50pm pregame, 6:00 tip on Classic Hits 104.9.

The Sacred Heart Knights have not played at home since January 11th, but will get a chance to play three straight at home starting tonight with a visit from Russell.

In the girls game, the Broncos come in as one of the top teams in the NCAA at 12-4 overall and 5-3 in the NCAA. The Knights fell twice last week, coming up short against Southeast of Saline and Minneapolis to drop to 6-9 and 1-7 in the NCAA.

In the boys game, Sacred Heart is looking for its fourth straight win, and face a Bronco squad that has struggled this season. Sacred Heart is 10-6 overall, 6-2 in the NCAA while the Broncos are 1-15 overall and 1-7 in the NCAA.

Beloit at Southeast of Saline – 6:00 tip

The Southeast of Saline girls are looking for back-to-back wins as they host Beloit tonight. Southeast is coming off a non-league win over Chapman on Friday, and are now 9-6 overall and 4-3 in the NCAA. Beloit is 5-10 and 1-7 in the league.

On the boys side, Southeast will try to snap a two-game skid, falling to Sacred Heart and Chapman last week. The Trojans are 8-7 overall and 3-4 in the league, while Beloit is 13-2 overall, 7-1 in the NCAA and ranked third in Class 3A.

Marion at Ell-Saline – 6:00 tip

The Ell-Saline Cardinals will play back-to-back home games this week, playing two Heart of America League opponents. Up first is Marion.

The Cardinal girls picked up a win on Friday over Bennington to move to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the Heart of America League. Marion enters tonight’s match-up at 4-11 overall and 1-4 in the league.

The Cardinal boys pushed Bennington, but couldn’t knock off the undefeated Bulldogs. Ell-Saline is 6-8, 1-4 in the Heart of America League while Marion is 12-3 overall, 3-2 in the league and ranked eighth in Class 3A.