MLK Classic features solid hoops lineup on Monday (Jan. 21)

January 18, 2013 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


The annual Martin Luther King Basketball Classic is ready to roll again for the 10th year on Monday January 21 at three university venues in the Valley and Tucson. The games are a showcase to be sure, but also pack meaning as they count in their respective schools'  power-rankings that determine postseason berths.

Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University are the hosts. The ASU schedule features five games, UofA sked  shoehorns seven contests and Grand Canyon has two games.

Here are the schedules, teams' power-rankings record and where they stand in their respective divisions as of  Friday January 18:

ASU (Wells Fargo Arena): Noon -- Desert Vista (7-5, 23rd-D-I) girls vs. Mesa Mountain View) (10-2, 16th-D-I); 1:30 p.m. -- Paradise Valley boys (8-3, 3rd-D-II) vs. Coconino (12-2, 15th-D-II);  3 p.m. -- Highland boys (8-4, 17th-D-I) vs. Dobson (8-4, 12th-D-I);  5 p.m. -- Pinnacle boys (7-3, 18th-D-I) vs. Desert Mountain (10-1, 4th-D-I); 7 p.m. -- St. Mary's girls (11-0, 3rd-D-I) vs. Pinnacle (12-0, 6th-D-I). UofA (McKale Center): 11 a.m. -- Empire girls (3-6, D-III) vs. Desert Christian (12-1, 6th-D-IV); 12:30 p.m. -- Cholla boys (10-3, 16th-D-II) vs. Canyon del Oro (8-3, 13th-D-II); 2 p.m. -- Flowing Wells girls (9-1, 11th-D-II) vs. Salpointe (5-6, 29th-D-II); 3:30 p.m. -- Santa Rita boys (4-7, 36th-D-II) vs. Palo Verde (7-5, 26th-D-II);  5 p.m. -- Dobson girls (11-1, 5th-D-I) vs. Tucson 9-2, 14th-D-I);  6:30 p.m. -- Catalina Foothills boys (10-0, 1st-D-II) vs. Sabino (3-9, 39th-D-II);  8 p.m. -- Nogales boys (10-1, 11th-D-II) vs. Amphitheater (8-4, 17th-D-II). GRAND CANYON: 6 p.m. -- Millennium girls (9-1, 9th-D-I) vs. Westview (12-0, 2nd-D-I);  7:30 p.m. -- Westview boys (10-3, 16th-D-I) vs. Millennium (11-1, 7th-D-I).