You don't have to wait until the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament begins on March 20 to catch hoop fever.

March Madness has already arrived -- high school style.

Prep fans may not be equipped with office pools, but they will be treated to plenty of excitement for the next two-plus weeks.

Notre Dame's boys and girls, as well as Jackson's girls, passed the opening test for large schools by winning district titles last week. All three teams will face sectional challenges tonight and are just two wins short of trips to the final four.

All will know by Saturday night if they're Columbia bound.

Last week served as a quick reminder of just how exciting the journey can be. Notre Dame, playing host to its first basketball district ever, won the Class 4, District 1 title with two heart-stopping victories that weren't decided until the final seconds before deafening, capacity crowds. The Bulldogs trailed Sikeston inside the final 10 seconds before winning its semifinal 56-55, then broke a deadlock with four seconds left to defeat Dexter 81-78.

The Bulldogs face a towering task tonight in state-ranked De Soto, likely the tallest team in Missouri with three players around 6-foot-8.

Notre Dame's girls experienced the full thrill of postseason play last year by winning their first state championship in Class 2. A return trip to state looked highly unlikely when they opened the season with three straight losses and stood 3-6 on Dec. 19. More than two months later Notre Dame is the SEMO Conference champion, state-ranked and on a 14-game winning streak entering tonight's game with De Soto.

Jackson's girls won a big rivalry game with Central to earn its place in the playoffs. The Indians face Gateway Tech, a team it met in the 1997 Class 4 state championship game. Gateway won that meeting 42-41.

Small schools started their march this week with district tournaments. Leading the pack of local hopefuls is defending Class 1 boys state champion Bell City.

Paths may cross

Should Notre Dame's boys win their next two games, there's the possibility they will meet a team coached by former Central coach Rod Gorman in the semifinals. Gorman led Logan-Rogersville (26-2), ranked third in Class 4, to the District 10 crown last week.

Gorman coached Central for five seasons before departing after the 1995-96 season.

Spring practices begin

While Old Man Winter has held a grip on the area this year and has yet to release his hold, practices for spring sports began Monday.

Missouri teams will have three full weeks of practice in preparation for season openers, which begin March 24. The spring menu includes baseball, girls soccer, girls swimming, boys tennis, golf and track and field.

Serving his country

Levi Bollinger, an assistant for Chaffee's boys basketball team was called to active duty from Army Reserves this past weekend. Bollinger was reassigned to Iowa, where he awaits further training.

The Red Devils ended their season Saturday with a loss to Greenville in a Class 2, District 2 play-in game. It completed Bollinger's second season as an assistant.

"He's been a huge asset to our program, and our thoughts and prayers are with him," coach David Mirly said.

jbreer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 124