U-HIGH CHRISTMAS TOURNAMENT TIPS OFF TODAY

The Show Me Center will be buzzing with activity from early this morning until late tonight as the 54th annual University High School Christmas Tournament gets under way.

Sixteen area boys basketball teams will take part in eight first-round games today. After a day off Sunday, the tournament resumes Monday. The semifinals are set for Tuesday, with the finals Wednesday.

Scott City -- which has won just one U-High championship, that coming in 1963 -- is the No. 1 seed. The Rams sport a perfect 7-0 record and have rarely been challenged this season.

"It's an honor for us to be the No. 1 seed and I think it shows that our program has earned a lot of respect," said Scott City coach Derek McCord, whose Rams have been among the area's top teams for the past several seasons. "But we know that being the top seed doesn't guarantee anything. We've still got to do it on the court."

The Rams are one of two undefeated teams in the tournament, the other being Woodland, which is seeded fifth. Jackson is the No. 2 seed, with Kelly third and defending champion Charleston fourth.

Cape Central earned the sixth seed, with Scott County Central seventh and Notre Dame eighth.

Advance heads up the bottom eight at No. 9, followed by Oran, Leopold, Bell City, Delta, Oak Ridge, Chaffee and Meadow Heights.

Today's first-round schedule looks like this: Scott City vs. Meadow Heights (9 a.m.), Jackson vs. Chaffee (10:30 a.m.), Kelly vs. Oak Ridge (noon), Charleston vs. Delta (1:30 p.m.), Woodland vs. Bell City (4:30 p.m.), Cape Central vs. Leopold (6 p.m.), Scott Central vs. Oran (7 p.m.) and Notre Dame vs. Advance (9 p.m.).

There will also be eight games Monday, beginning at 9 a.m.. If the seeds hold true to form, then four interesting quarterfinal matchups would feature Scott City vs. Notre Dame, Jackson vs. Scott Central, Kelly vs. Cape Central and Charleston vs. Woodland.

The semifinal round, beginning at noon Tuesday, will feature six games, including the championship semifinals at 6 and 7:30 p.m.

The tournament will conclude Wednesday with the four trophy games, starting with the consolation final at 3 p.m. The fifth-place game will be at 4:30, with the third-place contest at 6 and the championship matchup at 7:30.

"I think the tournament is really pretty wide open," McCord said. "I think quite a few teams have a legitimate chance to win, probably more than in most years. We should have some really good second-round matchups and a lot of times that isn't the case."

University High Tournament

Today's First Round Games

(Seeds in parentheses)

9 a.m. -- (1) Scott City vs. (16) Meadow Heights

10:30 a.m. -- (2) Jackson vs. (15) Chaffee

Noon -- (3) Kelly vs. (14) Oak Ridge

1:30 p.m. -- (4) Charleston vs. (13) Delta

4:30 p.m. -- (5) Woodland vs. (12) Bell City

6 p.m. -- (6) Cape Central vs. (11) Leopold

7:30 p.m. -- (7) Scott Central vs. (10) Oran

9 p.m. -- (8) Notre Dame vs. (9) Advance