Skyline vs. Pleasant Grove, Copper Hills vs. Davis, Viewmont vs. West Jordan and Lehi vs. Brighton are all upper bracket games today. The bottom bracket features Riverton vs. Clearfield, Jordan vs. Lone Peak, Weber vs. Alta and Northridge vs. Bingham.

With Skyline's injury concerns, Pleasant Grove's poor tourney track record and Davis playing in such a weak region, West Jordan is a slight favorite to emerge from the upper bracket. The talented Jaguars are playing their best basketball of the season with recent wins over Bingham and Riverton, and they'll surely get huge crowds supporting them at the E Center.

In the bottom bracket, the most interesting match-up is Clearfield-Riverton at 4:10 p.m. Clearfield leads the state in scoring defense and has won several games despite only scoring in the 30s. Riverton is another team that likes it low scoring, even though the 'Wolves have a much more potent offense than Clearfield. Every possession figures to be a battle in this game, and the outcome might come down to the final possession.

The last time the 5A state tournament was at the E Center back in 2006, Riverton advanced to the championship game and lost at the buzzer to rival Bingham. Both teams are hoping for a similar run this year, but Lone Peak is a daunting obstacle for both.

Assuming Riverton even beats Clearfield, it would likely face Lone Peak in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Bingham would face Lone Peak in Friday's semifinals if it's fortunate enough to get there, but actually beating the Knights is a major mental hurdle. Lone Peak has eliminated Bingham in each of the past two state tournaments.

Lone Peak's coach is really trying to grill into his players not to look past today.

"I do feel like there's more depth in 5A this year. I told my kids there's 16 teams in the tournament and each of the 16 are capable of winning one game," said Lewis. "For a No. 1 seed we have an awfully tough draw."

Perhaps the team flying under the radar more than anyone else is Region 2 champion Alta. Back in mid-December Alta lost at Lone Peak 53-48, a game that with better free throw shooting the Hawks probably would've won. While most teams might be intimidated to play Lone Peak, Alta already knows it matches up favorably.

E-MAIL: jedward@desnews.com