Today’s overall top 10 games
BOYS
BATESVILLE AT NO. 2 JONESBORO
WHERE Don Riggs Hurricane Gymnasium, Jonesboro
RECORDS Batesville 4-7, 0-0 5A-East; Jonesboro 9-3, 0-0 5A-East
COACHES Batesville: Chad LaRose; Jonesboro: Wes Swift
NOTEWORTHY This will be the conference opener for both teams. … Batesville has dropped three of its last four games and is coming off a 59-44 setback at Greenbrier. … Jonesboro’s Jesse Washington earned all-tournament honors for his performance at the Arby’s Classic in Bristol, Tenn. The Golden Hurricane finished sixth at the event.
NO. 3 LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL AT FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE
WHERE Kaundart Fieldhouse, Fort Smith
RECORDS Central 7-5, 0-0 6A-Central; Northside 7-9, 0-1 6A-Central
COACHES Central: Brian Ross; Northside: Eric Burnett
NOTEWORTHY Central had its game against No. 1 North Little Rock canceled Tuesday. … The teams split a pair of meetings last season, with both winning by four points on their home floors. … The Grizzlies were outscored 40-22 in the second half in their 75-52 loss to Bryant on Tuesday.
NO. 4 BENTONVILLE AT NO. 5 BENTONVILLE WEST
WHERE Wolverine Arena, Centerton
RECORDS Bentonville 9-4, 0-1 6A-West; West 10-4, 0-1
COACHES Bentonville: Dick Rippee; West: Greg White
NOTEWORTHY These rivals are coming off losses in their first 6A-West games. Bentonville was handled by Springdale Har-Ber (56-44) while West was beaten by Fayetteville (57-46). … The Tigers had won 19 consecutive regular-season conference contests before the loss to HarBer. … Bentonville won both meetings by an average of 11.5 points last season.
NO. 6 MAGNOLIA AT CROSSETT
WHERE Eagle Arena, Crossett
RECORDS Magnolia 10-0, 1-0 4A-8; Crossett 5-8, 0-1 4A-8
COACHES Magnolia: Ben Lindsey; Crossett: Marland Smith
NOTEWORTHY Magnolia hasn’t dropped a regular-season conference game since Feb. 1, 2019 – a 59-55 loss to Monticello. … Smith is in his first season at Crossett after spending the previous five years at Dermott. He took over for Dominic Lincoln, who’s now the head coach at Alma. … The is the final game of a four-game road swing for Magnolia.
WEST MEMPHIS AT NO. 7 MARION
WHERE Patriot Arena, Marion
RECORDS West Memphis 8-4, 0-0 5A-East; Marion 8-3, 0-0 5A-East
COACHES West Memphis: Irving Clay; Marion: David Clark
NOTEWORTHY Clay was hired at West Memphis during the offseason after Marcus Brown left to become an assistant coach at Murray State. … The Blue Devils had lost three games in a row until whipping Memphis (Tenn.) Mitchell 7141 on Dec. 30. … Marion won all three head-to-head matchups last season.
CARDINAL HAYES (N.Y.) AT NO. 8 LR PARKVIEW
WHERE Wolverine Arena, Centerton
RECORDS Cardinal Hayes 7-0; Parkview 9-2
COACHES Cardinal Hayes: Joe Lods; Parkview: Scotty Thurman
NOTEWORTHY This game is a part of the HoopHall South Classic. … Lods has been coaching at Cardinal Hayes since 2009, taking over after New York Hall of Famer Tom Murray stepped down after 40 seasons. … Parkview is looking to get back in the win column after losing to No. 6 Magnolia in last week’s King Cotton.
HARRISON AT NO. 10 FARMINGTON
WHERE Cardinal Arena, Farmington
RECORDS Harrison 9-6, 2-0 4A-1; Farmington 16-1, 2-0 4A-1
COACHES Harrison: David Stahler; Farmington: Johnny Taylor
NOTEWORTHY Stahler has won 358 games as head coach of the Goblins. … Farmington, which captured last year’s game 72-66 on the road, is on a sixgame winning streak following Tuesday’s 56-32 win at Prairie Grove. … Harrison has been victorious in five of its last six games. The Goblins’ only setback during that stretch was a 79-77 loss to Bergman in the Lendel Thomas Classic.
GIRLS
NO. 7 LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL AT NO. 3 FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE
WHERE Kaundart Fieldhouse, Fort Smith
RECORDS Central 11-2, 0-0 6A-Central; Northside 14-0, 1-0 6A-Central
COACHES Central: Marlon Williams; Northside: Rickey Smith
NOTEWORTHY This is the second 6A-Central game for Northside, which doubled up Bryant 58-29 on Tuesday. … Central didn’t play on Tuesday because its game with North Little Rock was canceled due to covid-19 concerns. … The Lady Bears haven’t allowed more than 29 points in either of its last five games.
HARRISON
AT NO. 4 FARMINGTON
WHERE Cardinal Arena, Farmington
RECORDS Harrison 4-8, 1-1 4A-1; Farmington 17-1, 2-0 4A-1
COACHES Harrison: Stacie Klott; Farmington: Brad Johnson
NOTEWORTHY This is a rematch of last year’s Class 4A state title game, won by Harrison. The teams played four times in all last season, with each winning two games. … Klott replaced Kristian Williams as coach during the summer. … The Lady Cardinals have scored at least 60 points in 17 of their 18 games.
NO. 5 WEST MEMPHIS AT MARION
WHERE Patriot Arena, Marion
RECORDS West Memphis 9-3, 0-0 5A-East; Marion 10-5, 0-0 5A-East
COACHES West Memphis: Erica Leak; Marion: Shunda Johnson
NOTEWORTHY Both teams reached the semifinals of the state tournament a year ago despite each have below .500 marks. … Marion won four of its five games during the Sandra Meadows Classic last week in Duncanville, Texas. … Barring any schedule changes, West Memphis will alternate home and away games throughout the remainder of its conference schedule.
VALLEY VIEW VS. NO. 6 MELBOURNE
WHERE Swifton Gymnasium, Swifton
RECORDS Valley View 11-2; Melbourne 15-0
COACHES Valley View: Angie Ellis; Melbourne: Eric Teague
NOTEWORTHY This game is one of two semifinal matchups in the George Kell Classic. … Melbourne hasn’t lost since being beaten by Paragould in the second game of the 2020-21 season. … Valley View, which knocked off Tuckerman in the quarterfinals, hasn’t been defeated since losing to Southside Batesville on Dec. 14.
NO. 8 SPRINGDALE HAR-BER AT ROGERS HERITAGE
WHERE War Eagle Arena, Rogers
RECORDS Har-Ber 9-4, 1-0 6A-West; Heritage 10-4, 1-0 6A-West
COACHES Har-Ber: Kimberly Jenkins; Heritage: Josh Laymon
NOTEWORTHY Har-Ber has beaten three of the past three teams its faced, including Bentonville 66-51 on Tuesday. … Heritage, winners of six of its last seven contests, is playing four of its next five inside its home arena. … Carlee Casteel, a junior guard, scored 24 points in the Lady War Eagles’ 67-32 win over Springdale in their most recent game.
ALMA AT NO. 9 VILONIA
WHERE Eagle Arena, Vilonia
RECORDS Alma 7-5, 0-0 5A-West; Vilonia 9-2, 0-0 5A-West
COACHES Alma: Codey Mann; Vilonia: Jeremy Simon
NOTEWORTHY Vilonia put together perhaps one of its best games of the year when it beat Sylvan Hills 66-45 in a nonconference game three days ago. The win was its fourth in a row. … Five of the last seven games have gone in Alma’s favor. … The Lady Eagles won two games against the Lady Airedales by 23 and 35 points, respectively.
NO. 10 GREENWOOD AT RUSSELLVILLE
WHERE Cyclone Arena, Russellville
RECORDS Greenwood 9-4, 0-0 5A-West; Russellville 6-6, 0-0 5A-West
COACHES Greenwood: Clay Reeves; Russellville: Jae Kell
NOTEWORTHY Kell was head coach at both Warren and El Dorado prior to coming to Russellville. … Greenwood lost in the finals of the Beebe Classic to No. 9 Vilonia in its last game. … The teams are scheduled to face off again on Feb. 4.