Welcome back to the March Madness edition of the Shootaround, your place for Marion Patriot basketball during league action, and into the state tournament. Speaking of the state tournament, it's impossible to have a basketball blog around this time of year and not touch on it. Currently, the Marion Lady Patriots are engaged in a fight for their lives to make this year's 16-team field at Searcy. At the time of this writing, Marion and Nettleton are in a flat-footed tie for the fourth and final state tournament berth from the 5A East with identical 6-5 records in league action. Further complicating matters, the Lady Pats and Lady Raiders split their season series with each winning at home. That takes us to the second tiebreaker, which gives Nettleton the nod in the event of a tie. Marion beat Nettleton by four points in overtime in January, while Nettleton bested Marion by 19 points just last week. The second tiebreaker takes into account which team beat the other by more points up to 10 points, so that's a check for Nettleton. Helping Marion's cause somewhat are remaining games with Paragould and Valley View, teams that Coach Shunda Johnson's club has already beaten this season. However, Marion's next game, home against 5A East champion Greene County Tech, complicates the equation a touch. The Lady Golden Eagles have won their first 11 league games this season, and while many of them have been close when a team is on a winning streak like that, you know they recognize how to maneuver late in competitive environments. Marion and Tech played a classic ballgame in January in Paragould that had the Lady Eagles survive Marion by a single point in the end. Should the Lady Pats get over the hump and top Tech on Friday, there's an excellent chance that they could run the table finishing out and go 9-5 inside the 5A East. Everything is in play right now for Marion, including winning out and finishing as high as second in the 5A East with some help. The Lady Pats could win out and miss the cut altogether. Right now, the Lady Pats are only focused on trying to win the last three league games and letting the chips fall where they may. Marion and Nettleton's closing schedules match up favorably, as Nettleton hosts Batesville on Friday, February 16 before playing next Tuesday and Friday at Valley View and Searcy, respectively. The Lady Pats host Tech on Friday before traveling to Paragould on Tuesday and hosting Valley View on February 23 on Senior Night. Fasten those seatbelts, it's going to be a photo finish on the girls side. On the boys side, it's a little easier, but not without intrigue. Marion hits the late stages of league action with an impressive 9-2 mark in defense of its 2023 5A East conference title. While Marion's girls need to finish ahead of Nettleton to outkick the Lady Raiders into the state tournament, the Marion boys actually own the tiebreaker against the Nettleton guys. Marion ripped the Raiders by nine points in January at home while Nettleton slipped Marion by seven points in Jonesboro. So should the Pats and Raiders finish tied in the standings, it would be Marion getting the slight nod over Nettleton, which is a big deal. You never want to look too far ahead, but Marion has already beaten Greene County Tech and Paragould decisively this season, but February 23 could be the date of the most intriguing game in the state that night as Valley View invades Fidelity Bank Arena for Marion's Senior Night. The Blazer boys have beaten Marion the past two meetings, and Valley View is very much alive for a conference title, and if that fails, then a No. 2 playoff seed. A Valley View victory likely would push Marion into a third-place 5A East finish and an increasingly difficult first-round state tournament game. Marion's last three 5A East games, and every game at the state tournament, will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. CLASS 5A STATE TOURNAMENT DATES While we don't know the exact conference finish, or seedings yet, we do know when the Marion teams will be in action at the state tournament already. On the girls side of the bracket, the East's No. 4 seed would play at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 28 at Searcy's Lion Arena. The East's No. 4 seed would play at 1 p.m. on February 28, and the second seed from the 5A East would play at 7 p.m. on February 28. Marion can not finish as the East's No. 1 playoff seed. The Marion boys have clinched a spot in the state tournament, and the Patriots can not finish lower than the No. 3 playoff seed, even should they lose their last three games. As such, should Marion repeat as conference champion, the top-seeded Patriots would open their run at the state tournament at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 27. If Marion earns the No. 2 seed, then the Pats would play at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 28, and as the No. 3 playoff seed, Marion would play at 5:30 p.m. on February 28. POTENTIAL PLAYOFF TEAMS It's still so early to even worry about this with so many moving parts, but in this next section let's work under the assumption that the playoffs are starting today and what that field may look like. Let's start with the boys. 5A EAST 1 Nettleton 2 Valley View 3 Marion 4 W. Memphis Searcy is also in the hunt, but fading fast, so it seems like we have our four 5A East boys playoff teams, though the top three can shift and change in a number of ways. 5A CENTRAL 1 Vilonia 2 Maumelle 3 LR Parkview 4 Jacksonville/LR Catholic Marion will be matched up with one of these five schools in the opening round of the state tournament, we just aren't sure yet. As a reminder, the No. 1 seed from the 5A East would play the No. 4 seed from the central, and vice versa. 5A SOUTH 1 Benton 2 Pine Bluff/Lake Hamilton 3 Pine Bluff/Lake Hamilton 4 White Hall/Hot Springs On paper, this is the deepest, most complete conference in all of Class 5A what with last year's two state finalists (Pine Bluff and Lake Hamilton) duking it out with Benton, a school that missed the dance last year altogether. The consensus is that any of the top three teams can win this year's state title. It warrants mentioning that should Marion finish as the No. 3 seed from the East then the Pats could face Benton in the state quarterfinals. 5A WEST 1 Alma 2 Van Buren 3 Russellville 4 Mountain Home/Harrison This field is also virtually set in stone, with traditional rivals Mountain Home and Harrison racing for the league's last spot in the state tournament. Should Marion finish as the No. 2 playoff seed then the Pats would face the winner of the Alma-White Hall/Hot Springs contest. And now for the girls. 5A EAST 1 Greene Co. Tech 2 Searcy 3 W. Memphis 4 Marion/Nettleton We outlined the details earlier in this piece, and Marion could still climb as high as the No. 2 playoff seed, though it would require winning out and getting ample help. 5A CENTRAL 1 Vilonia 2 LR Christian/LR Parkview 3 LR Christian/LR Parkview 4 Beebe We know the four teams already, just waiting for seeds to come together. Marion already owns a pair of victories this season over Parkview, and Marion could play the other Lady Patriots should MHS get to the 2 or 3 seed. 5A SOUTH 1 Lake Hamilton/Benton/HS Lakeside 2 Lake Hamilton/Benton/HS Lakeside 3 Lake Hamilton/Benton/HS Lakeside 4 Sheridan Much to be decided down the stretch. If we are handicapping at this time, Lake Hamilton has just one league loss, Benton has two, and Lakeside has three. 5A WEST 1 Greenwood/Russellville/Mountain Home 2 Greenwood/Russellville/Mountain Home 3 Greenwood/Russellville/Mountain Home 4 Greenbrier/Van Buren/Harrison Nobody knows. This league boasts more parity than any league in the state. Greenwood is the two-time defending state champion, and Mountain Home beat the Lady Bulldogs at The Hangar in January.