53RD ANNUAL U-HIGH EVENT TIPS OFF TODAY; CHARLESTON TOURNEY FAVORITE

Basketballs are just about ready to start flying around the Show Me Center for the 53rd annual University High School Christmas Tournament.

The 16-team holiday hoops extravaganza gets under way bright and early this morning. By the time the Show Me Center closes late tonight, eight first-round games will have been played.

Charleston (6-1), which has won four of the past six championships, is the top seed, with Kelly (7-0) second, Jackson (4-2) third and Scott City (7-0) fourth.

Delta (6-1) is seeded fifth, followed by defending champion Cape Central (3-2), Notre Dame (2-3), Oran (3-3), Woodland (6-1), Scott County Central (4-2), Bell City (4-3), Advance (2-4), Oak Ridge (1-6), Meadow Heights (2-5), Chaffee (0-5) and Leopold (0-6).

First-round games today begin at 9 a.m. when Charleston plays Leopold. The rest of the early session features Kelly vs. Chaffee at 10:30 a.m., Jackson vs. Meadow Heights at noon and Scott City vs. Oak Ridge at 1:30 p.m.

The late session of the opening round begins at 4:30 p.m. when Delta plays Advance. After that, it's Cape Central vs. Bell City at 6, Notre Dame vs. Scott County Central at 7:30 and Oran vs. Woodland at 9.

Quarterfinals begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, with eight games on the schedule. If the seeds hold true to form, then some interesting quarterfinal matchups would feature Cape Central vs. Jackson, Notre Dame vs. Kelly and Scott City vs. Delta.

After a break from play Sunday, the tournament will resume Monday with the semifinal round featuring six games. Action starts at 1 p.m. and includes the championship semifinals at 7 and 8:30.

The tournament will conclude Tuesday with the four trophy games, starting with the consolation final at 4 p.m. The fifth-place game will be at 5:30, with the third-place contest at 7 and the championship battle at 8:30.

While most people are pointing to Charleston as a heavy favorite, Blue Jays' coach Danny Farmer said his team will have to come ready to play each game.

"You can't take anybody for granted or you can get beat," said Farmer. "Everybody will be looking to knock us off. We still have to go out and play hard or we'll get beat."