The calendar is hurtling ever closer to February, and when that happens, you know that the Arkansas high school basketball scene is about to enter its most crucial stretch. This year is no different. The Marion basketball teams both finished 2-1 in an NBA-style three-games-in-four-nights stretch, and that record was crucial for many reasons. For the Marion ladies, big victories over Paragould and on the road at Valley View put the No. 21 Lady Pats squarely back in state tournament position ahead of Tuesday night's home date with Batesville. Marion then travels on Friday for the second meeting this season with No. 19 West Memphis in a rematch of what may have been the game of the year leading off the 5A East schedule back on January 5. Should the Lady Pats go 2-0 this week to improve to 5-3 in league action, Marion would allow itself then to finish as the league's No. 2 or No. 3 seed and get itself a slightly more favorable first-round matchup in the state tournament. Marion played arguably its best game since thrashing Class 6A power Bryant last Wednesday night at Greene County Tech, which checked in this week at No. 13 in the ScoreBookLive.com weekly Top 25 rankings and is leading the 5A East with a flawless 6-0 mark. The one-point defeat was devastating in the moment, but a sign that the Marion girls can compete with anyone, even in a back-to-back on the road in an arena that's always tough to play in. It looks like it's going to take an 8-6 mark to qualify for the Class 5A state tournament this season, but the Lady Pats seem to be rounding into shape. The Marion men's 2-1 mark a week ago launched with a pair of impressive routs of Paragould at home and at Greene County Tech before stumbling down the stretch in a 42-36 last week at Valley View. Tuesday's victory over Paragould was an example of Marion continuing to take care of business at home, and Wednesday's victory was promising because the Pats essentially dominating at Eagle Arena, which has given the good guys fits through the years. Some were surprised by the Valley View defeat, but the Pats led by five points early in the fourth quarter and just couldn't get any hoops down the stretch to add to the lead. What the Valley View loss means is that the 5A East conference title hunt on the boys side is in full swing. Marion and Nettleton boast identical 5-1 league marks right now, and though the Pats own the head-to-head tiebreaker for now over the Raiders, the schools play for a second time on Tuesday, February 6. Now may be a good time to mention that you can watch that game on MarionPatriots.com and the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. Valley View and West Memphis are just behind Marion and Nettleton at 4-2 in league action as this season's playoff field begins to take shape with Searcy in fifth place at 2-4, while Greene County Tech, Paragould, and Batesville are all struggling with one league victory apiece. Marion hosts Batesville tonight before traveling to Lehr Arena in West Memphis on Friday, February 2 for the second meeting this season with the Blue Devils in a game ripe with league title implications. RANKINGS RUNDOWN The Marion Lady Patriots check in this week at No. 21 in ScoreBookLive.com's weekly Top 25 rankings after being No. 18 a week ago. The Marion men dropped four spots in this week's SBLive Top 25 to No. 10 following the 2-1 run a week ago. Marion checked in at No. 10 in this week's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's weekly Top 10 ranking, and the Patriots tumbled to No. 4 in the ADG's weekly Class 5A Super Six ranking, down from second a week ago. GIRLS 5A EAST STANDINGS BEFORE 1/30 GAMES SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Greene Co. Tech 6-0 Searcy 5-1 W. Memphis 4-2 MARION 3-3 Nettleton 3-3 Valley View 2-4 Batesville 1-5 Paragould 0-6 Top four teams make state playoffs in Searcy BOYS 5A EAST STANDINGS BEFORE 1/30 GAMES SCHOOL CONF. RECORD MARION 5-1 Nettleton 5-1 Valley View 4-2 W. Memphis 4-2 Searcy 2-4 Paragould 2-4 Greene Co. Tech 1-5 Batesville 1-5 Top four teams make state playoffs in Searcy 5A EAST GAMES ON 1/30 Batesville at Marion Nettleton at Paragould Greene Co. Tech at Searcy Valley View at W. Memphis 5A EAST GAMES ON 2/2 Marion at W. Memphis Searcy at Paragould Valley View at Batesville Nettleton at Greene Co. Tech