Hoops time

If you're a basketball junkie, then this is your time of year.

And because the of the Sun Belt Conference tournament in Lafayette, you'll get an extra weekend of the boys state basketball tournament.

The girls take center stage at Hammond this week. While Iota gets the national love, the biggest shocker would be Southwood being denied another state title in 5A. With West Monroe knocked out early in the playoffs and three home games, the bracket opened up for the Lady Cowboys.

The boys will play their second-round games on Tuesday and quarterfinals on Friday. There are only a couple of teams playing in town on Tuesday - Fair Park and Airline. So far, Airline has been one of the bigger surprises in the tournament. Airline had to win a playoff to get into the field of 32, then the Vikings had to win at Destrehan to get this far.

The following weekend, the boys semifinals will be played in Lafayette. They'll take a break and come back the next weekend for the championships.

It ought to be some good basketball between now and then.