The Maine Principals’ Association’s realignment for basketball has dramatically altered the state tournaments. More games in Bangor, less in Portland, but still a lot in Augusta. No more Class AA for the state’s largest schools, but there is a Class S for the smallest. Speaking of Class S, its quarterfinals have already started.

The new alignment should also make many of the regions more competitive, especially in the larger classes. We asked five Varsity Maine reporters which regions they’re most excited to follow over the next few weeks, and these were their answers.

B NORTH BOYS

The Northern Maine tournament in Bangor is something to behold, and Class B North has always brought together an interesting cross-section of teams. That’s truer than ever this February, with a pair of new additions from the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference giving the region unprecedented firepower.

First, there are the traditional powers. No. 2 Hermon (16-2) has returned to championship form following a few down years post-COVID. No. 4 Mount Desert Island (15-3) has one of the state’s premier scorers in junior James Witham, and the Trojans will play No. 5 Ellsworth (14-4) in the quarterfinals. If you’ve never seen an Ellsworth-MDI game, the rivalry is about as good as it gets in Maine high school basketball, and a do-or-die matchup at the Cross Insurance Center only heightens it.

Adding Cony and Gardiner to that group makes this tournament elite. The No. 1 Rams (16-2) and No. 3 Tigers (15-3) have been near the top of Class B North all season. Fans in eastern Maine who have yet to see Cony freshman phenom Carter Brathwaite will get a chance when the Rams face Presque Isle in the quarterfinals. Sixth-seeded Erskine Academy (14-4) is also new to Bangor, and the Eagles, who face Gardiner, are seeking their first tourney win since 2012.

— Mike Mandell, Morning Sentinel

B NORTH GIRLS

The Class B North tournament should be one of the most hotly contested girls basketball regions in the state.

One of the stories of the season has been the rise of Gardiner (17-1), which earned the No. 1 seed. This is a different Tigers team than the group led by now-UMaine center Lizzy Gruber in the early part of the decade. It’s a team that prides itself on its defense and takes advantage with transition baskets. Any of the starters, from Molly Takatsu to Zoey Sullivan-Brennan or even 6-foot-3 freshman center Alexa Quintana, has the ability to lead the Tigers in scoring.

The wild cards are the Penobscot Valley Conference teams — No. 2 Old Town (14-4), No. 4 Presque Isle (13-5), No. 5 Hermon (10-8), No. 6 Mount Desert Island (12-6) and No. 7 Ellsworth (11-7) — which battle each other and see very little Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference competition during the regular season. Of that group, Hermon has the most cross-class experience. The Hawks lost to both Gardiner and Lawrence during the regular season.

The tournament is off to a rocking start, with No. 9 Cony (11-8) pulling off a 72-59 win over No. 8 Erskine Academy (14-5) in the preliminary round on Tuesday. Erskine, the regional runner-up last year, was expected to be a dark horse. Though the Rams are young, they are led by a pair of strong sophomores in Kya Douin (14 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and Gabby Vachon (7 rpg).

— Dave Dyer, Kennebec Journal

A SOUTH GIRLS

The thinking before the season was that doing away with Class AA was going to take a tournament without much parity and turn it into a hotly contested A South region. Has it ever.

Each of the top four teams in A South has reason to think it’ll be the team cutting down the nets at tournament’s end. Top seed Cheverus (17-1) has dominated all year, and the Stags boast A South’s top offense (63 points per game), one of the state’s best scorers in Kylie Lamson (20.2 points), and a deep roster of players who can each step up with a perfectly timed big night.

But the most dangerous team might be No. 3 South Portland (16-2), the 2025 Class AA champion. The region’s top defensive team (31.3 points) has lost only to Cheverus and held leads in both games. Or maybe it’s No. 4 Biddeford (15-3), perhaps the most skilled team in the bracket and the one team to actually beat Cheverus (by 14 points, no less). Or maybe it’s No. 2 Sanford, given that the Spartans (16-2) have been knocking at the door for years, swept two regular-season games against Biddeford and led early in the fourth in its loss to South Portland.

And who’s to say No. 5 Windham, No. 6 Westbrook or No. 7 Thornton Academy don’t have something to say about this? The semifinals and final will be fun basketball.

— Drew Bonifant, Portland Press Herald

A SOUTH BOYS

From the moment the Maine Principals’ Association agreed to create a large-school classification that put 16 teams from the SMAA into A South, this tournament has been eagerly awaited. It’s a return to Class A basketball pre-2016, with the Portland schools (plus high-powered Windham) back with the rest of their traditional rivals.

The regular season has only heightened the anticipation, especially when the MPA determined that the basketball-friendly Portland Expo would host the quarterfinals and semifinals. A clear top three has developed: top seed Windham (16-2), winners of the final two Class AA championships, followed by No. 2 Sanford (17-1) and No. 3 South Portland (15-3). Those teams are ranked third, first and fifth in the latest Varsity Maine basketball poll.

But the rest of the field is dangerous. It’s not hard to picture senior-laden Portland (13-6) upsetting South Portland in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The teams split in the regular season. No. 8 Scarborough (12-7) played Windham to a three-point loss. No. 4 Thornton Academy vs. No. 5 Cheverus seems a likely nailbiter. Sanford played great all season and is a highly skilled, cohesive group. But none of the Spartans have neutral-site tournament experience, and they’ll have a size and strength disadvantage against No. 10 Bonny Eagle in the quarterfinals. Whichever teams makes it to Cross Insurance Arena for the regional final will have earned it.

— Steve Craig, Portland Press Herald

A NORTH BOYS

Just because No. 1 Camden Hills (17-1) went undefeated against its Class A counterparts and is heavily favored to win the region doesn’t mean the next week-and-a-half will be easy for the Windjammers and Mr. Maine Basketball semifinalist Nolan Ames (26.5 ppg).

Games against No. 2 Edward Little (14-4) and No. 3 Brunswick (14-4) went down to the final possession, and both of those teams would love a second shot in the regional final. The Red Eddies, led by Mr. Maine Basketball semifinalist Akol Maiwen (22.9 ppg), and the Dragons, seeking their first playoff win since 2016, would meet for a third time if they get through the quarterfinals. The Red Eddies won both regular-season games, but the second meeting, on Jan. 27, went to overtime.

Another factor to watch is how well Edward Little, Brunswick, No. 4 Bangor (10-8) and No. 5 Lewiston (10-8) adjust to the Augusta Civic Center after playing most of their recent tournament games in Portland or at non-neutral sites. Could past experience in Augusta be enough to propel Mt. Blue (sixth, 10-8) or Hampden Academy (seventh, 9-9) to a quarterfinal upset?

— Cooper Sullivan, Times Record