There are 10 defending state champions in boys and girls basketball (five boys and five girls) in Divisions I, II and III heading into the opening rounds of  tournaments Wednesday Feb. 15 and Thursday Feb. 16.

The girls teams are St. Mary's, Tolleson, Seton Catholic, Window Rock and Valley Christian. The boys teams are Mesa Mountain View, Betty Fairfax, Amphitheater, Nogales and Holbrook.

Repeating is usually a difficult proposition. More more so this year there are fewer hoops titles available and some tournaments have more than one defending champ competing tin them.

If one were to place a wager on who would be the best bet to repeat this year, the choice would be  St. Mary's girls basketball.

Noone has beaten the Lady Knights this year. In-state foes or out-of-state opponents. Only one Arizona team defeated them last year (Pinnacle) on the way to the state title. With all of its key players returning, only one Arizona team has given them a run this season -- Chandler -- the team the Lady Knights beat for the 5A-I title last year. Only one of St. Mary's and Tolleson (the 5A-II champ the last three years) can repeat since both are in Division I.

Without St. Mary's in the Division I mix, it would be a wide open affair with seven or eight teams good enough to win and not much difference between them  -- Mesa Mountain View, Chandler, Red Mountain, Hamilton, Tolleson, Pinnacle, Dobson and Highland. The Lady Knights, however, are in the field and it would take a poor night from them and the best any of the others could muster to pull off an upset.

St. Mary's  has already defeated Chandler, Hamilton, Pinnacle and Tolleson. Dobson or Highland may get a crack at St. Mary's come the semifinals in the bottom half of the bracket. Mountain View and Red Mountain could get an initial shot at the Lady Knights if they advance to the title game, but face rugged roads. Chandler, Tolleson or Hamilton could get another chance if they survive the top half of the bracket that also includes Mountain View and Red Mountain.

The Division II girls tournament has a handful of contenders. This year, Seton is not the favorite, but is in the fray after moving up from 4A-II. Peoria, the top seed and No. 5 seed South Mountain, tare the best two teams in the top half of the bracket. Seton will have to battle with Flowing Wells, Palo Verde, Cactus and /or Saguaro to get an opportunity for a three-peat. Seton has beaten Saguaro and South Mountain and lost a game to each.

Going for a third straight title and up from 2A, is Valley Christian. The Lady Trojans won back-to-back 2A titles. and are now testing their mettle in Division III.  They will be pressed more in every round this year than their previous jaunts to 2A titles. The likes of 3A (now D-III contender Winslow) and Valley Sanders (up from 2A along with Valley Christiain) are in Valley Christian's half of the bracket . Page, Buckeye and Fountain Hills are the teams to watch up top.

Windown Rock, the 3A champ last year, is the No. 11 seed, but will have to get past Holbrook and a couple other reservation foes possibly to return to the title game. Window Rock has split two games with Holbrook and Valley Sanders, likely foes in the second and third rounds. Winslow and/or Valley Christian could stand in the Window Rock's way after that.

Of the five defending boys champs who have shots at repeats, three are in the same tournament this year. Division II houses 2011's 5A-II champ (Betty Fairfax), 4A-I champ (Nogales) and 4A-II champ (Amphitheater). Fairfax is apart from the other two lone in the top half of the bracket and has a good shot at reaching the final. Standing in the Stampede's way potentially are No. 4 Peoria, No. 8 Salpointe and/or No. 1 Arcadia.

Amphi and Nogales are in the bottom of the D-II bracket. Amphi should reach the semis, but will face solid opponents in either No. 2 Raymond Kellis, No. 7 Paradise Valley or No. 10 Nogales come Feb. 23.

Mesa Mountain View's first-round loss in its sectional to Desert Mountain last week has forced last year's 5A-I champs to play an extra game at state to repeat. The Toros should win their first game easily, but it's four tough ones after that -- No. 5 Desert Vista, likely No. 4 Gilbert and possibly a rematch of last year's quarterfinals with tournament-favorite Corona del Sol and then a title matchup. Mountain View has improved since early in the season, but likely not enough for back-to-back titles.

The Division I boys tournament isn't open and shut, but it also wouldn't be surprising to see the two most consistent teams -- No. 1 Corona and No. 2 Pinnacle clash in the title game on Feb. 25.

Holbrook, the defending 3A boys champ, is the No. 1 seed in the Division III tourney. D-III (3A) tournaments are virtually impossible to handicap. Holbrook has two wins in three tries against No. 3  Snowflake. No 5. Window Rock is not to be dismissed and Gilbert Christian, the No. 2 seed that hasn't lost a power-point game this season, is up from 1A trying to make a two-step jump in competition. The reservation schools always make a tournament interesting. Holbrook, Snowflake and Gilbert Christian serve to add a little more intrigue to the state's most popular tournament.