1) Tahlequah basketball — As both THS teams head to Tulsa tonight, both will be looking for some payback after an early-season sweep at the hands of Bishop Kelley. Both Tahlequah teams have improved since early December, but Bishop Kelley is still dangerous and tough to beat at home.
If the Tahlequah girls, ranked 17th in Class 5A, are to win, they'll have to shoot better than they did Tuesday night — 25 percent — in a 30-28 win over Coweta.
And let's say the Lady Tigers beat BK tonight, they could be staring down a potential six-game winning streak with three consecutive home dates (Pryor, Bartlesville, Skiatook) on the horizon before a road trip to Collinsville.
Even with a loss or two in that stretch, Tahlequah ought to be in good shape as playoff pairings and seedings are released in mid-February. The main objective is to avoid being a No. 4 seed in any of the four east-side regional tournaments.
As for the Tahlequah boys, they just need to win to feel good about themselves and to forget about Tuesday night's 50-48, overtime loss to Coweta.
My predictions for tonight: Tahlequah girls knock off Bishop Kelley 43-40, while the Tahlequah boys can't quite shake Tuesday night from their memory in a 58-51 loss at BKHS.
2) Hulbert basketball — Both Hulbert teams dive back in Big Six Conference — aka the Big Eight Conference a year ago before Keys became an independent and Boynton dropped its basketball program — tonight against Vian at Rider Fieldhouse. And that's where I'll be.
The Hulbert girls are currently on a three-game winning streak, thanks in large part to Allison Arnall, Lindsay Hutson and Lindsay Krueger. Arnall scores in double figures nearly every game, while Hutson and Krueger hover around the 10-point mark.
To beat Vian tonight, the Lady Riders will have to contain Leiloni Smith and Chelsie Drew — both dangerous scoring threats.
It should be entertaining watching Arnall and Drew go at it out on the perimeter.
The Hulbert boys, after an 0-5 2010 portion of the schedule, will be looking for win No. 3 on the 2011 side of the slate. The Riders, in fact, are aiming for their second straight win after beating Prue, 47-44, in the fifth-place game of the Kiefer tournament on Monday.
I'm interested to see how Terrance Blue has taken control of the reins since the departure of six seniors from last year's 2A state tournament team. Blue, Craig Potts, Ricco Wynn and Jake Teague have banded together to led Hulbert this season.
My predictions: The Hulbert girls are starting to find their stride as they win their fourth straight game in a 45-39 game, and the Hulbert boys win for the first time at home, 50-46.
3) Sequoyah and Keys basketball on the road — Both Cherokee County rivals will be on the road with Sequoyah venturing across Fort Gibson Lake to play Wagoner, and Keys will head east to Westville.
All four teams are in search of wins to strengthen postseason berths.
The game to watch out of those four will be the girls matchup between Westville and Keys. The two have already met — with Westville winning 64-57 in the Locust Grove tournament — and they could pair up again at some point in the playoffs.
4) NSU women's basketball — The men are off, so it's all about the women this weekend. The RiverHawks will host Texas Woman's at Jack Dobbins Field House in a key Lone Star Conference North Division contest on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Both teams are 4-1 in the North and looking at Central Oklahoma in the standings.
In the end, I would pick NSU's core group of players rather than Texas Woman's. I'll take Jasmine Webb, Taylor Lewis and Tosha Tyler or the Pioneers' Kayla Weaver, Brooke Shepherd and Jessica Hanna.
Plus, NSU can count on its bench if necessary. Alix Perkins, Sarah Green and Katy Harsen all provide good energy in reserve, and I think the starters feed off that a lot of times.
My prediction: NSU beats TWU, 68-58, to step up two huge games against UCO this week.
Also in case you missed it, the NSU women are ranked No. 1 in the South Central Region, which bodes will for the RiverHawks' chances of making the NCAA tournament. If NSU can maintain its top spot, the RiverHawks could campaign to host the South Central Regional, which includes the first three rounds of the national tournament.
NSU, however, might have to overcome some hurdles in hosting the regional. The most glaring obstacles would be the availability of hotel rooms and the capacity of Jack Dobbins Field House. But I've been told the NSU athletic department is trying to put together a solid bid in order to give the RiverHawks a true home-court advantage during the month of March.
Here's a quick look at top 10 in the South Central Region:
1. NSU; 2. Washburn; 3. Tarleton State; 4. NW Missouri St.; 5. Emporia St.; 6. West Texas A&M; 7. Central Oklahoma; 8. SE Oklahoma State; 9. Missouri Southern; 10. Texas Woman's.
5) OU, OSU, TU and ORU men's basketball — While Oklahoma looks to continue a recent string of solid play, Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Oral Roberts are all looking for wins in any way, shape or form.
OUSooners?
The Cowboys are licking their wounds as they head to Texas Tech. A win is a necessity in Lubbock, Texas, if NCAA Tournament aspirations are still on the docket for OSU.
Tulsa just needs to piece together a complete game. But it'll be hard to do when Conference USA leader, UTEP, arrives at the Reynolds Center. A win, however, could boost TU's spirits after a crushing loss to SMU on Wednesday.
Oral Roberts needs to win at IPFW to continue vying for the second spot in the Summit League. Oakland seem to have the top spot wrapped up.
6) OU/OSU women's basketball — It'll be Bedlam in Stillwater, and it ought to be a good one. Oklahoma is the only one ranked in the top 25, but OSU hasn't been too far off the top-25 pace throughout the season.
Enjoy the weekend and all the basketball.
