SEC basketball: 1st place on the line

In a year of unusual parity, a flurry of close games and a fluid schedule, it has been a cloudy year in Southeast Conference basketball, but the league should see some clarity this weekend.

The top two teams in both girls and boys basketball will meet on the hardwood on Friday, meaning the top spot in the conference is on the line. There will be six total SEC games spread out over Thursday and Friday, with one game being held at each site.

The marquee game on the girls side is Fairfield (4-1) at Fort Madison (6-1). The Trojans will travel to the Hound Dome in search for revenge after the Bloodhounds knocked the Trojans out of first with a 42-36 road win on January 18.

The loss for the Fairfield girls snapped a 12-game winning streak over Fort Madison, and it catapulted the Bloodhounds to first place in the SEC. If the Trojans can find vengeance on Friday night, they'll be right back on top of the league.

The third and fourth place teams in the SEC girls standings also will play. Mt. Pleasant (4-3) will travel to Keokuk (3-2).

The Panthers had the Chiefs down seven points with just a few minutes to go when the two teams met in December, but Keokuk stormed back to win the game 38-37. The Chiefs have now beaten the Panthrs in seven-straight games.

Washington (1-6) will host Burlington (0-5) in another SEC girls game on Friday night. The Demons picked up their only win of the year against the Grayhounds on Jan. 4.

The Washington girls rallied in the fourth to beat the Grayhounds, 53-53 in their last meeting. It was their third win in a row over Burlington, and the fifth-straight single-digit game in the series.

While the Demon and Grayhound girls play for fifth, the boys' teams will be in Burlington with the top spot in the boys standings hanging in the balance.

The Burlington boys (4-1) won at Washington (5-2) 66-60 earlier this season. The Grayhounds have won the last two games in the season.

If Burlington can top Washington on Friday, the Grayhounds will have some distance in the SEC standings. A Washington loss would mean Burlington would move to two games above everyone else in the loss column.

Third-place Mt. Pleasant (4-3) will be looking for some revenge of their own when they host Keokuk (2-3) on Friday night.

The Chiefs beat the Panthers 61-40 in Keokuk when the two teams met earlier this year. That was Keokuk's third-straight win in the series and the sixth-straight game to be decided by 11 points or less.

The Fairfield boys (0-5) will be looking for their first SEC win on Thursday night. The Trojans will host Fort Madison (3-4) on night before the rest of the SEC games take place.

A short-handed Trojan boys' team lost 64-56 at Fort Madison on January 5. The Trojans won the last three quarters of that game, but couldn't overcome a 22-9 deficit after the first quarter.

Fort Madison has beaten Fairfield the last two times the teams have played. Before that, Fairfield was riding a five-game winning streak over the Bloodhounds.

Going into the weekend games, Fort Madison's Malarie Ross leads all SEC girls with 20.7 points per game. Mt. Pleasant's Tristian Shull leads the conference with 3.7 assists per game, and Mt. Pleasant's Andrea Lopreato leads the way with 10.1 rebounds per game.

Fairfield's Max Weaton is the leading scorer on the boys' side, at 20.1 points per game. Burlington's Brendon Hale leads the conference with 4.6 assists per game, and Fort Madison's Dayton Davis leads the league with 11.3 rebounds per game.