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As February draws near, high school basketball teams are making a final push toward earning a high seed for the state tournaments, or simply trying to qualify for the postseason.

Here are five boys basketball stories to watch this week.

WILL SANFORD LIKE THE EXPO?

The Class A South quarterfinals will be at the Portland Expo this season — semifinals, too, for that matter. The high-flying Sanford Spartans have an opportunity to get a feel for the Expo this Friday against the Portland Bulldogs (10-4).

Over the years, the Expo’s broader backgrounds have been uncomfortable for some teams and individual players known for their outside shooting. Playing a game there before the regional tournament should help the Spartans (13-1) get accustomed to the surroundings.

Making 3-pointers is a key part of Sanford’s offense, which emphasizes pace and shot attempts. The Spartans lead Class A South at 76.3 points per game.

Portland has the toughest defense in A South (45.1 ppg), more size than Sanford, and ball-hawking defenders, led by Loic Ramazani. The Bulldogs are third in scoring in A South at 63.7 points per game.

BIG EAST OR KVAC?

When it comes to B North, there is an alternating pattern at top of the Heal point standings, with Cony of the Kennebec Valley Conference ranked No. 1, followed by Hermon (Big East), Gardiner (KVAC) and Mount Desert Island (Big East).

This week, Hermon (13-2) and MDI (14-1) play for the second time this season. Hermon beat MDI in the first meeting. One of Hermon’s losses was to Gardiner. Cony (13-2) lost to Hermon.

Big East teams have won B North the past eight seasons, and went on to win seven of those eight state championship games (MDI in 2017, Hermon in 2018, Caribou in 2019, 2020 and 2025, and Orono in 2023 and 2024). But that was when Class B was the third of five enrollment divisions, and Cony and Gardiner were in A North battling the likes of Messalonskee, Brewer, Hampden Academy, and, in 2022, Cooper Flagg-led Nokomis. Now Class B is much deeper.

MORE FUN BASKETBALL

These next two weeks should provide an ample preview of what’s in store come state tournament time. Fans can hope the games they attend are as entertaining as the Class A South contest last Friday between Windham and South Portland, which Windham won, 70-64. Five players for each team scored in the first quarter. The sharing trend continued throughout. Windham had three players with at least 17 points and South Portland had four in double figures, with makes coming from all over the court via transition, patient sets and individual moves.

WHAT ABOUT KENNEBUNK?

The Rams have been a tough team to get a bead on, but they are firmly in the Class A South playoff picture with a 9-5 record heading into their game Tuesday at South Portland. The Rams had won three straight, including a 66-51 victory at the Expo against Portland. That followed a stretch of three straight losses, including a 58-29 defeat at Thornton.

Kennebunk’s results have hinged on 3-point shooting. Against Portland, Dylan Myhal made eight 3-pointers. Myhal also had seven 3s in a win against Cheverus, and Chris Thompson made six in Kennebunk’s most recent win against Falmouth. In the Rams’ losses, though, outside shots fell less frequently, including just one 3-pointer in the loss to Thornton.

VALLEY AT THE BEACH

Valley High is no stranger to travel, but making a trip to York County is unusual for the Cavaliers. Their boys and girls teams — two of the best small-school programs in Maine — will be at Old Orchard Beach on Wednesday. The Valley boys are 13-2 in the new S South division for schools with less than 100 students. Old Orchard Beach competes in Class D South and is 5-8, with seven losses to Class C schools.

Valley’s girls team is 14-1 and routinely wins games by 40 or more points. OOB, at 9-4, will present one of toughest tests of the season for the Cavaliers.