I can hardly believe it is time to start the state basketball tournament.

But on Monday, the girls tournament gets under way and we are fortunate enough to have a pair of schools hosting the district round.

The Class B district will be at Niles and the Class C at Brandywine. Both tournaments start with the home teams hosting games Monday night.

The Class B opener should be a good one as rivals Buchanan and Niles take the court just one week after meeting the regular season.

Niles was able to hold on for a 50-44 win over the Bucks, who I am sure think they did not play their best basketball that night.

Actually, both teams felt that way and I fully expect them to give a much better effort Monday night.

Benton Harbor, South Haven, Berrien Springs and Coloma are the other teams in the Niles district.

The Comets are solid while the Tigers, Rams and Shamrocks have struggled this season.

The winner of the Niles-Buchanan game should have the inside track at the championship.

Meanwhile at Brandywine, the Bobcats will not be challenged in their opener against Eau Claire, which has struggled to score points all season.

Cassopolis is also in the Brandywine district and the Rangers will host Bridgman in the opening round Monday night.

Watervliet, New Buffalo and Hartford are the other teams in the district.

Brandywine should be considered the favorite in my estimation, but Hartford is solid at 16-3 and Watervliet could play a spoiler role.

Edwardsburg is the clear-cut favorite in the Paw Paw district as the Eddies are 17-1 heading into the week.

Every team in the district is from the Wolverine Conference, so there will be no surprises.

Edwardsburg takes on Paw Paw Wednesday night in the second game after Dowagiac takes on the winner of the Three Rivers-Vicksburg game.

The Wildcats are the greatest threat to upsetting the Eddies.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.