Today’s overall top 10 games
BOYS NO. 1 BENTONVILLE AT NO. 10 FAYETTEVILLE
WHERE Bulldog Arena, Fayetteville
RECORDS Bentonville 16-1, 10-0 6A-West; Fayetteville 17-4, 8-2 6A-West
COACHES Bentonville: Dick Rippee; Fayetteville: Brad Stamps
NOTEWORTHY Expect today’s game between these two to be a closer affair than Bentonville’s 24-point victory Jan. 15. … The Tigers haven’t lost in 11 games, with only three of those contests being won by less than 10 points. … Fayetteville has been on the winning side five times in its last six games. … Bentonville sophomore guard Jaylen Lee, who received an offer from DePaul last week, had 28 points in the Tigers’ earlier victory over the Bulldogs.
NO. 5 BRYANT
AT NO. 2 LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL
WHERE Tiger Fieldhouse, Little Rock
RECORDS Bryant 15-3, 7-3 6A-Central; Little Rock Central 17-4, 9-1 6A-Central
COACHES Bryant: Mike Abrahamson; Little Rock Central: Brian Ross
NOTEWORTHY Bryant has a chance at revenge after losing at home to Central on Jan. 12 in a game that went back and forth. … The Tigers suffered their first loss in conference play Friday when they were upset by Fort Smith Northside. The defeat also stopped Central’s 12-game winning streak. … The Hornets had seven players score at least five points in their 70-25 beating of Little Rock Catholic on Friday.
NO. 3 MAGNOLIA AT CAMDEN FAIRVIEW
WHERE Cardinal Arena, Camden
RECORDS Magnolia 15-0, 9-0 4A-8; Camden Fairview 9-7, 8-4 4A-8
COACHES Magnolia: Ben Lindsey; Camden Fairview: Josh Nix
NOTEWORTHY Magnolia drilled Fairview 9259 on Jan. 19. … The Cardinals have won five of their last seven since that 33-point loss. … Juniors Derrian Ford, Colby Garland and Devonta Walker combined for 68 of Magnolia’s 80 points in its victory over Monticello, which extended its winning streak to 46 games. Only West Memphis, Stephens and Delight have had runs longer than the Panthers.
NO. 4 NORTH LITTLE ROCK AT LITTLE ROCK SOUTHWEST
WHERE Gryphon Arena, Little Rock
RECORDS North Little Rock 14-2, 8-2 6A-Central; Little Rock Southwest 2-15, 1-9 6A-Central
COACHES North Little Rock: Johnny Rice; Little Rock Southwest: Chris Threatt
NOTEWORTHY With a little help from Bryant, North Little Rock can tie Little Rock Central for the top spot in the 6A-Central. The Tigers hold the tiebreaker. … Southwest’s worst beating this season came at the hands of the Charging Wildcats, 82-36, on Jan. 12. … Four of the Gryphons’ past five losses have been by 11 points or less. Southwest has dropped seven consecutive games overall.
NO. 6 MAUMELLE AT SYLVAN HILLS
WHERE Sylvan Hills Middle School, Sherwood
RECORDS Maumelle 14-2, 6-0 5A-Central; Sylvan Hills 16-3, 8-1 5A-Central
COACHES Maumelle: Michael Shook; Sylvan Hills: Kevin Davis
NOTEWORTHY The marquee game in Class 5A will pit two teams duking it out for the driver’s seat in the conference standings. … Maumelle’s only loss in the past two months was to Bryant. The Hornets have reeled off 11 victories in a row. … Sylvan Hills’ only loss in 2 1/2 months was to Little Rock Parkview on Jan. 26. … Junior standout Nick Smith averaged 39 points last week in a pair of victories for Sylvan Hills.
NO. 7 LITTLE ROCK PARKVIEW AT LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN
WHERE Warrior Arena, Little Rock RECORDS Little Rock Parkview 14-2, 7-1 5A-Central; Little Rock Christian 12-6, 2-4 5A-Central COACHES Little Rock Parkview: Scotty Thurman; Little Rock Christian: Clarence Finley
NOTEWORTHY Christian can use a victory after losing its last two games to fall further behind in the 5A-Central standings. … Parkview held on to win the first game between the teams, 67-64. … The Patriots have won all four of their games since a loss to Maumelle in early January. … Parkview could be involved in a three-way tie for first place (in the loss column) in the league by the end of the night.
NO. 8 JONESBORO AT WEST MEMPHIS
WHERE Lehr Arena, West Memphis
RECORDS Jonesboro 15-3, 10-0 5A-East; West Memphis 9-9, 6-3 5A-East
COACHES Jonesboro: Wes Swift; West Memphis: Marcus Brown
NOTEWORTHY An 11-game winning streak has Jonesboro perfect in the 5A-East. … West Memphis, which lost to the Hurricane by 19 points last month, is improving. The Blue Devils’ last four victories have been by 17 points or more. … West Memphis senior guard Jordan Mitchell is averaging 22.7 points over his last four games. … Jonesboro’s next two games (Searcy, Little Rock Parkview) are at home.
BATESVILLE AT NO. 9 MARION
WHERE Patriot Arena, Marion RECORDS Batesville 13-8, 4-6 5A-East; Marion 15-2, 8-1 5A-East COACHES Batesville: Chad LaRose; Marion: David Clark
NOTEWORTHY Marion rolled over Batesville on Jan. 12, and will get the Pioneers at home before hosting Nettleton on Wednesday. … Batesville stopped its three-game losing streak last week by beating Paragould for a second time this year. … Marion’s final two road games of the season will be tough, starting with Greene County Tech on Friday. The Patriots will finish the regular season at Jonesboro.
GIRLS NO. 1 FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE AT MOUNT ST. MARY
WHERE McAuley Center Gym, Little Rock
RECORDS Fort Smith Northside 20-1, 10-0 6A-Central; Mount St. Mary 0-16, 0-7 6A-Central
COACHES Fort Smith Northside: Rickey Smith; Mount St. Mary: Lauren Lawrence
NOTEWORTHY Northside was pushed in its last outing against Little Rock Central before winning. … The Lady Bears’ 54-point victory over the Belles on Jan. 12 was their largest margin this season. … Mount St. Mary is looking for its first victory after losing to Cabot and Bryant last week. … The Belles have lost nine consecutive games to Northside.
NO. 2 BENTONVILLE AT FAYETTEVILLE
WHERE Bulldog Arena, Fayetteville
RECORDS Bentonville 14-2, 8-0 6A-West; Fayetteville 11-6, 7-1 6A-West
COACHES Bentonville: Tom Halbmaier; Fayetteville: Vic Rimmer
NOTEWORTHY Mathematically, this game isn’t for the 6A-West title. But if Bentonville wins, it’ll give the Lady Tigers a two-game lead, plus the tiebreaker, over the Lady Bulldogs. … Fayetteville can move into a tie with Bentonville if it wins. … The Lady Tigers had enough left in their tank to eek out a 72-66 victory on Jan. 15 at home vs. Fayetteville. … The Lady Bulldogs haven’t lost since the Bentonville game, winning five games by an average of 28.8 points.
NO. 3 MELBOURNE AT MARMADUKE
WHERE Chester Barner Sr. Gym, Marmaduke
RECORDS Melbourne 22-1; Marmaduke 24-4
COACHES Melbourne: Eric Teague; Marmaduke: Rick Smith
NOTEWORTHY Ex-conference foes renew their rivalry in a nonconference tilt in Marmaduke. … The last time Melbourne lost a conference game was on Jan. 16, 2019, to Marmaduke (63-53) when they were both members of the 2A-3. Since then, the Lady Bearkatz have won the past six meetings, including all four last season, en route to their second consecutive Class 2A state title. … Marmaduke is on a 10-game winning streak. … Melbourne has won its past 20 games.
VAN BUREN AT NO. 4 GREENWOOD
WHERE H.B. Stewart Arena, Greenwood
RECORDS Van Buren 8-13, 2-8 5A-West; Greenwood 17-3, 10-0 5A-West
COACHES Van Buren: Michael Kinny; Greenwood: Clay Reeves
NOTEWORTHY Greenwood has won 12 games in a row, and only one of those has been close (a 79-71 victory over Star City). The other 11 contests have been decided by at least 19 points. … Van Buren was blasted 64-27 by Greenwood last week at home. … A victory by both Greenwood and Vilonia, which plays Mountain Home, sets up a showdown for the conference title Friday night. … Van Buren has won just once in its past seven games.
NO. 5 NORTH LITTLE ROCK AT LITTLE ROCK SOUTHWEST
WHERE Gryphon Arena, Little Rock
RECORDS North Little Rock 15-5, 8-2 6A-Central; Little Rock Southwest 5-11, 1-8 6A-Central
COACHES North Little Rock: Daryl Fimple; Little Rock Southwest: Charlie Johnson
NOTEWORTHY North Little Rock picked up its biggest 6A-Central victory of the year Friday against Conway. … Southwest is coming off a loss at Cabot and is looking for its second victory in league play. … The Lady Charging Wildcats blew out the Lady Gryphons 81-23 when they met nearly a month ago, with four of North Little Rock’s starters finishing with at least 10 points.
LITTLE ROCK PARKVIEW AT NO. 6 LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN
WHERE Warrior Arena, Little Rock
RECORDS Little Rock Parkview 5-6, 2-2 5A-Central; Little Rock Christian: 17-1, 8-0 5A-Central
COACHES Little Rock Parkview: Lahoma Howard; Little Rock Christian: Ronald Rogers
NOTEWORTHY Christian ran away from Parkview on Jan. 15, beating the Lady Patriots 69-46. … The Lady Warriors got a battle from Sylvan Hills on Friday for a quarter until finding their rhythm to win comfortably and stay unbeaten in its last 12 games . … Parkview is in fourth place in the 5A-Central. … Junior forwards Sheridan Cross and Ashton Elley combined to score 37 points for Christian in its previous contest.
CABOT AT NO. 7 CONWAY
WHERE Buzz Bolding Arena, Conway RECORDS Cabot 8-14, 4-6 6A-Central; Conway 15-4, 7-2 6A-Central
COACHES Cabot: Jay Cook; Conway: Ashley Hutchcraft
NOTEWORTHY Conway’s lock on No. 2 in the 6A-Central was loosened after it lost 68-58 at North Little Rock. The Lady Wampus Cats will play at top-ranked Fort Smith Northside on Friday. … Cabot is playing better, having won two consecutive games after losses in the previous six games. The Lady Panthers hold the No. 4 spot in the conference. … Conway won 64-46 in the teams’ initial encounter.
SHILOH CHRISTIAN AT NO. 8 HARRISON
WHERE Goblin Arena, Harrison
RECORDS Shiloh Christian 15-6, 5-4 4A-1; Harrison 15-0, 9-0 4A-1
COACHES Shiloh Christian: Bryan Rooney; Harrison: Kristian Williams
NOTEWORTHY Harrison has passed every test thrown at it this year, including a 4443 squeaker over Shiloh Christian on Jan. 19. … The Lady Goblins lead Pea Ridge by a 1 1/2 games for the top slot in the 4A-1. … Shiloh Christian and Gravette are tied for fourth with identical 5-4 marks. … The Lady Saints have lost four times over their last seven games. … Harrison goes to Huntsville on Friday.
NO. 9 BATESVILLE AT MARION
WHERE Patriot Arena, Marion
RECORDS Batesville 18-1, 9-1 5A-East; Marion 9-12, 5-5 5A-East
COACHES Batesville: Stan Fowler; Marion: Shunda Johnson
NOTEWORTHY Batesville tasted defeat for the first time last week against a Paragould team that’s surging. … The Lady Pioneers still have a two-game lead on Jonesboro for first place in the 5A-East. … Marion is a game back of Nettleton for fourth place. … The Lady Patriots suffered a 31-point loss to Batesville in the teams’ first go-around.
NO. 10 VILONIA AT MOUNTAIN HOME
WHERE Bomber Gymnasium, Mountain Home
RECORDS Vilonia 19-2, 9-1 5A-West; Mountain Home 3-14, 2-8 5A-West
COACHES Vilonia: Jeremy Simon; Mountain Home: Dell Leonard
NOTEWORTHY Vilonia has to take care of business today before turning its attention to Greenwood. … Mountain Home ended a six-game losing streak Saturday by beating Van Buren. … The Lady Bombers were destroyed 60-37 by Vilonia when they played each other Jan. 12. … Vilonia has won its last six games and 17 of 18. … The Lady Eagles allowed just 36 points vs. Alma on Friday.