The games to see Tuesday? It's not a short list

It won't matter what part of the region you're headed for tonight — if you're a basketball fan, you won't be far from a potentially good ballgame.
Finals are today for boys basketball teams at Bloomfield, Cabool, Cape Girardeau and Saxony Lutheran, and girls finals are today at Park Hills and North County.
That leaves a lineup of nearly 20 title games across the area today, along with semifinals in boys tournaments at Park Hills, Poplar Bluff and Rolla (for more than a dozen additional games).
The full schedule is on our Christmas tournament schedule page here. Until then, a few guesses on what to expect:

THE TOP DRAWS

• At Bloomfield, Bernie (8-1) and Portageville (8-0) have a potential date later in the Class 2 postseason, but their only regular-season matchup comes today for a Christmas tournament title. Portageville turned back Twin Rivers in overtime Monday; Bernie coasted past Dexter. Bernie's good, but Portageville won't struggle for two days in a row. Today: Portageville by 6 points.
• At Cape Girardeau, Scott County Central (9-1) and Notre Dame (7-4) will play a regular-season game in late January, so today's championship pairing is a preview of what's to come in less than a month. Scott County Central hasn't been tested yet in the Christmas tournament and defeated Charleston by more than 30 points Monday; Notre Dame won its semifinal against Jackson by 11 points. Notre Dame could benefit by getting the Braves frustrated early, but that doesn't happen often. Today: Scott County Central by 12.
• At Cabool, Eminence (9-0) rides an unbeaten record into today's final against Thayer (7-1) in a preview of a regular-season meeting Jan. 13. It's the same scenario as last year when second-seeded Thayer and top-seeded Eminence met with a similar result. Today: Thayer by 8.

ELSEWHERE

• At North County, the girls tournament ends with three title games today, including a championship matchup between Lesterville and St. Louis Miller Career Academy.
• At Park Hills, South Iron's early exit Monday leaves a pair of rivalries that double as semifinals: DeSoto faces Hillsboro, and Farmington plays North County. Finals are Wednesday.
• At Poplar Bluff, Southeast Missouri's three entries — Sikeston, NMCC and Poplar Bluff — all face consolation semifinal tests today, including a matchup between Poplar Bluff and NMCC at 7. Finals are Wednesday.
• At Rolla, Festus is in contention for a championship and has a semifinal date at 7:30 p.m.
• At Saxony Lutheran, the round-robin tournament ends with three finals today, including a championship between Saxony Lutheran and St. Louis Metro at 7:30.