This is the final week of the regular season for girls and boys basketball.

District tournament play begins next week (Feb. 2-7), with quarterfinals on Monday (girls) and Tuesday (boys), semifinals on Wednesday (girls) and Thursday (boys), and district championships on Friday (girls) and Saturday (boys).

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) will have new rankings this week, which will determine the seedings for those tournaments.

In last Tuesday’s rankings, the highest-ranked girls team in the Mainstreet coverage area is Williston.

The Lady Red Devils, who improved to 14-2 following a 79-46 win at Newberry this past Friday, are currently ranked No. 22 overall in Florida and No. 1 in the Rural rankings.

Williston plays at Fort White at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and at GHS on Thursday.

Right behind Williston, which is No. 1 with a 22.115 rating and a 9.83 strength of schedule, is Wildwood, which beat Williston at home in last year’s region final.

Wildwood, which hosts 7A No. 1 Winter Haven (No. 5 overall) tonight, is also in the same district as Williston. The Rural No. 2 Wildcats (11-4) have a rating of 21.300 and an 11.79 strength of schedule.

Securing the No. 1 seed in the district tournament could go a long way in determining who would host another potential region final for the right to go to this year’s basketball state championships in Jacksonville.

“That’s big, because they know in that gym (Williston) anything can happen,” said Williston coach Willie Powers II. “They can throw it off the top of the lights and it’s going in that basket. Trying to get home court advantage really is important, and I mean that’s important for anyone playing with your own fans in the gym and being comfortable with your complex.”

Newberry, which dropped to 16-2, is ranked No. 9 in 3A, but they will be the No. 1 seed in 3A-District 3. The Lady Panthers, who are currently No. 2 in 3A-Region 1 behind Bolles (Jacksonville), have a big game at Buchholz at 7 p.m. on Monday.

Buchholz (16-5) is playing its best basketball with a season-best six-game winning streak following a 59-43 win at Eastside this past Saturday.

The Lady Bobcats (13.762 rating) are No. 13 in 6A and ranked 82nd overall in Florida. However, they are currently fifth in 6A-Region 1 with a narrow lead over Nease (Ponte Vedra) (13.284), Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (12.974) and Forest (Ocala) (11.272) in the top eight.

GHS, which lost to New Smyrna Beach in last year’s 5A state championship game, hosts Eastside on Wednesday and Williston on Thursday.

The Lady ‘Canes (9-8), although currently on the outside of the playoff bubble, could end up being the No. 1 seed 5A-District 2.

A district championship would put them in the postseason regardless.

Four district champions and four at-large teams from each region receive an invite to the FHSAA Regional playoffs for Classes 1A-7A, which begin on Friday, Feb. 13. The Rural Semifinals, which also begin on Feb. 13, take two district champions and two at-large teams from each of its four regions.

Newberry, which defeated state-ranked Williston, 66-51, on Friday, is the highest-ranked boys team at No. 6 in 3A and No. 13 overall in Florida.

The Panthers (15-2) went undefeated during the regular season last year before losing in the second round of the 3A playoffs to Florida High (Tallahassee).

Once again, they are seeded very highly at No. 2 in 3A-Region 1 behind Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville).

“Being in this position is very tough,” said Newberry coach Patrick Green. “I think last year, for the most part, we were able to fly under the radar, even though we had a good record. Even people in our own community didn’t believe in us until we got a chance to play against the Buchholz’s and the GHS’s, so different role this year. You’re not going to fly under the radar with anybody, and so I wanted to see how they handled this year. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”

Newberry, which lost at Buchholz, 59-52, last Tuesday, plays at GHS on Tuesday night. The game will be broadcast on Mainstreet (audio only) beginning at 7:15 p.m. with a 7:30 p.m. scheduled tipoff time.

The game is even bigger for the host Hurricanes (12-11), who stunned the Bobcats in overtime, 38-36, this past Friday at Bud Seymour Gymnasium.

Buchholz (15-6) is ranked No. 13 in 6A and No. 56 overall. The Bobcats are at No. 7 in a very competitive 6A-Region 1.

GHS, which has won six in a row, was ranked ninth in 5A-Region 1 heading into last week’s two games, which also included a 51-49 district win at 5A No. 13 Columbia (Lake City).

If the season ended today, based on last week’s FHSAA rankings, the Hurricanes would miss the playoffs. However, they are getting hot at the right time, and a district championship trumps a ranking.