BOYS BASKETBALL

Full Court Press: Previewing boys region tourneys

Michael Odom
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
Justin Pankey (35) and the Humboldt Vikings haven't lost to a Tennessee team this year.

Region 7-A

Days: Friday, Monday, Thursday

Location of semis and final: Bethel University

Matchups: No. 1 McKenzie vs. No. 4 Halls; No. 1 Humboldt vs. No. 4 West Carroll; No. 2 Huntingdon vs. No. 3 Trenton Peabody; No. 2 Union City vs. No. 3 Dresden

Favorite: Humboldt. The Vikings haven’t lost to a team from the state of Tennessee yet this season.

Dark horse: Union City. The Golden Tornadoes took Humboldt down to the wire in the District 14-A championship this past weekend.

Notes: Last year, District 14-A swept District 13-A. If that happens, the semifinals and final will be played at Humboldt. There are no rematches from last year, and none of these teams played each other during the regular season. Humboldt and Union City have been mainstays in the region semifinals with each only missing one in recent history. McKenzie tried to improve its non-district schedule, so that the Rebels will be ready to try and win a region semifinal for the second time since 1998.

Region 8-A

Days: Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday

Location of semis and final: Jackson Christian

Matchups: No. 1 Middleton vs. No. 4 MAHS; No. 1 Mitchell vs. No. 4 TCA; No. 2 Riverside vs. No. 3 City University; No. 2 MASE vs. No. 3 Jackson Christian

Favorite: Mitchell: The Tigers are the three-time defending state champions, and they have the potential to win it all again.

Dark horse: Middleton. The Tigers have played a tough non-district schedule to be prepared for the teams from District 16-A.

Notes: Last year, the region quarterfinals had no upsets as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds advanced to the semifinals. None of the region quarterfinals are rematches from last year, and none of these teams played each other in the regular season. Memphis has two new teams in the region quarterfinals as MASE and City University were eliminated in the district tournament last year. TCA beat MAHS last year on a late shot, but MAHS was the team that eliminated the No. 3-ranked team in the state W.E.B. DuBois.

Javion Hannah (5) and Crockett County are scheduled to battle No. 4 McNairy Central.

Region 7-AA

Days: Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday

Location of semis and final: South Gibson

Matchups: No. 1 Crockett County vs. No. 4 McNairy Central; No. 1 Fayette-Ware vs. No. 4 Westview; No. 2 South Side vs. No. 3 Obion County; No. 2 Dyersburg vs. No. 3 Lexington

Favorite: Fayette-Ware. After forfeiting nine games and falling to the No. 6 seed in the district, the Wildcats battled back to win a second straight district title.

Dark horse: Dyersburg. The Trojans have lost two games all season. One of them just happened to come in the district title game.

Notes: Last year’s region championship was Fayette-Ware vs. Westview, and both went on to play in the Class AA state tournament. Now the two will play in the region quarterfinals with the loser’s season coming to an end. None of the four quarterfinals are rematches from last year, but Dyersburg and Lexington played twice this year with the Trojans winning both games. South Side is looking to make a seventh straight appearance in the region semifinals.

Region 8-AA

Days: Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday

Location of semis and final: Liberty

Matchups: No. 1 Haywood vs. No. 4 Raleigh-Egypt; No. 1 Sheffield vs. No. 4 North Side; No. 2 Liberty vs. No. 3 Craigmont; No. 2 Douglass vs. No. 3 Ripley

Favorite: Haywood. The Tomcats seem to have played their best basketball of the season over the last two weeks, and they will look for that to continue.

Dark horse: Douglass. The Red Devils have been ranked in the top 10 of the state all season, but they slipped in the district title game.

Notes: Craigmont is the defending region champion, but the team lost by one point at home in sectionals last year against Fayette-Ware. Haywood has made four appearances in the region semifinals over the past five years. Liberty is looking to make its ninth region semifinal appearance since 2005. Two years ago, both West Tennessee representatives at the Class AA state tournament came from this region, but no one from this region made state last year.

Other

Region 6-AA: No. 1-seeded Camden hosts fourth-seeded Cascade on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The Lions went on the road last year in the region quarterfinals and lost to Marshall County by three.

Region 7-AAA: Hardin County finished third in District 13-AAA, and the Tigers travel to Bolton on Saturday. The other region quarterfinals are No. 4 Bartlett at No. 1 Brighton; No. 4 Munford at No. 1 Cordova; No. 3 Arlington at No. 2 Dyer County.

Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonson.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.