A chance for the real Jackson and Sikeston to step forward

It doesn't get much better than a showdown featuring the No. 1 and No. 2 boys basketball teams in Southeast Missouri. It happens for the second time of the season Tuesday.

No. 1 Sikeston goes to No. 2 Jackson in a rematch of Jackson's 74-69 overtime win in the SEMO Conference Tournament on Dec. 6 at Sikeston's field house. Sikeston was also part of this season's only other matchup of teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the SemoSportsWeb Top 25; in that one, No. 2 Sikeston rolled past No. 1 Notre Dame in the SEMO Conference third-place game.

Sikeston has held mostly steady since a 2-1 run through the Poplar Bluff Showdown just after Christmas, with all of its wins coming against teams that have been in the Top 25 much of the season (Charleston, Fredericktown, Scott City and Farmington).

Since winning its Christmas tournament, Jackson owns wins over Woodland, Notre Dame and Poplar Bluff, with a pair of blemishes to Jefferson City and Parkway South.

A few other things to look for this week:

• South Iron gets its unbeaten record tested Tuesday against Lesterville, then again Saturday against Potosi. The Panthers' matchup against Bell City on Feb. 2 has the potential to be one of the region's top small-school pairings of the season.

And speaking of South Iron: If the Panthers keep winning, do they have a claim to the No. 2 spot in the next poll behind the winner of Tuesday's Sikeston-Jackson showdown?

• The girls game of the week: Fredericktown and Farmington are unbeaten in the MAAA large-school division, and on Thursday the teams meet for the lead in the conference and the top seed in the upcoming league tournament. It's one of several big events on this week's schedule; check the full list on our home page.

• Also on the home page, check out the latest (and exclusive) basketball galleries from SemoSportsWeb photographers. There are almost two dozen images from Saturday's West County-Park Hills Central game, plus more from Ste. Genevieve vs. North County, Bunker vs. Clearwater and Malden vs. Hayti. Click here so see the full list of sports and events photographed this season; we've posted images of 62 different area high school and college teams in 39 events so far since winter sports started in late November.

This week, look for galleries from Tuesday's Sikeston-Jackson game and the South Iron-Lesterville matchup, along with Ste. Genevieve-Farmington wrestling Tuesday and more later in the week.