For both of Northside's basketball teams today, the task is relatively simple.

Beat city rival Southside at the Stubblefield Center, and the Grizzlies and Lady Bears will wind up with favorable seeds for next week's 7A State Tournament in Van Buren.

In the Grizzlies' case, they control their own destiny. A Northside win or a Cabot loss to North Little Rock gives the Grizzlies (19-7, 10-3) the No. 2 seed out of the 7A-Central, which means they would draw an opening-round bye at state and won't get to play until the 7A quarterfinals on March 3.

Northside came through with a big 65-52 win at home on Tuesday against Cabot, putting the Grizzlies up a game on Cabot for second place. North Little Rock is already assured of the No. 1 playoff seed out of the Central.

"If we take care of business (today) and get the second seed, we can get that bye," Northside coach Eric Burnett said. "Sometimes, that's good and sometimes it's bad, but I think my kids deserve to get the second seed, and if you get the second seed in this conference, that's really saying something, because this conference has been tough.

"For us to get the second seed, that would really mean something to us."

The Lady Bears (16-10, 9-4) also control their destiny in terms of landing a favorable state tournament seed. A win against Southside gives Northside the No. 3 seed, and if that's the case, the Lady Bears will open up state with a first-round game on Wednesday afternoon.

"Any time you play Southside, it's a big ballgame and you want to win," Lady Bear coach Rickey Smith said. "Give Southside a lot of credit; their program's taken a step forward this year and I like to think that we've taken a step forward in the last month or so, but it's a big game, we need to win and get some momentum going into the state tournament and have an opportunity to finish 10-4 in this conference, winning nine of your last 11 ballgames."

Northside remains a game up on Conway for third place. Both teams split the home-and-home. Conway wraps up its regular season today at home against Bryant, which is winless in conference play.
