Central and Nashville, which are both state ranked, are the two local favorites in the Class 2A girls basketball regionals.
The playoff pairings for the two small-school classes were released on Friday.
Central (ranked seventh in the state in Class 2A) is seeded No. 1 at the Caryle Regional. They are 4-0 against the three next highest seeds — No. 2 Carlyle, No. 3 Columbia and No. 4 Wesclin.
The Cougars haven’t played fifth-seeded Sandoval or sixth-seeded Dupo.
Central and Carlyle will meet on Thursday at Carlyle High School in a Cahokia Conference matchup that could be a prelude to the championship game of the Carlyle Regional.
Nashville (ranked third in the state in Class 2A) is seeded No. 1 in the Pinckneyville Regional.
The Hornets have beaten second-seeded Freeburg, third-seeded Pinckneyville and fourth-seeded Sparta. They haven’t played third-seeded Red Bud or six-seeded Chester.
A Nashville-Freeburg final could be interesting because Nashville barely got past Freeburg 35-33 early this season.
The winners of the Carlyle and Pinckneyville Regionals wouldn’t meet until the championship of the Sesser-Valier Sectional.
Here are the regional pairings:
Girls Basketball
Class 2A
Carlyle Regional
Monday, Feb. 6
Game 1: (4) Wesclin vs. (5) Sandoval, 6 p.m.
Game 2: (3) Columbia vs. (6) Dupo, 8:10 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Game 3: (1) Central vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m.
Game 4: (2) Carlyle vs. Winner Game 2, 8:10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 9
Championship
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m.
Pinckneyville Regional
Monday, Feb. 6
Game 1: (4) Pinckneyville vs. (5) Sparta, 6 p.m.
Game 2: (3) Red Bud vs. (6) Chester, 8:10 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Game 3: (1) Nashville vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m.
Game 4: (2) Freeburg vs. Winner Game 2, 8:10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 9
Championship
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m.











