It's the final day of the high school basketball regular season, and there are some big games going on that will determine who goes to the state tournament and who stays at home.

The most intriguing match-up tonight will be the Broughton-Sanderson game. It's a rivalry renewed, and tonight it has more meaning than ever before.

The Capitals and Spartans are fighting for the final spot in the tournament from the Cap-Seven. The conference will put four teams into the state tournament, and Enloe, Millbrook, and Wakefield are all locks. That leaves one spot and two teams.

Both teams are 6-5 in the conference, and the last game was decided by just two-points. Broughton, right now, has the head-to-head advantage, but with a tied record and just one game to go, that won't matter.

This is a case where the loser stays, and the winner goes. It doesn't get much better than that!

The Greater Neuse River Conference is still up for grabs too. Southeast Raleigh and Smithfield-Selma are both clawing, trying to get into the state tournament. The Bulldogs just need to focus on getting the "W," and they should become a lock for the state tournament.

The odds are in favor of Southeast, but they will have a tough game on Friday. It's senior night for the Bulldogs, and they're hosting West Johnston.

The Spartans will host Clayton on Friday. The Comets are the No. 1 team in the Greater Neuse.

In the PAC-Six, Riverside technically can still sneak in the backdoor into the state tournament, but things are not looking good for the Pirates. There's still one spot open for a PAC-Six team after Southern Durham, East Chapel Hill, Hillside, and Northern Durham all sealed their bids, but there are two teams who can make it.

The leader over Riverside is Jordan. The Falcons have the lead over Riverside, and they are playing what has been an inferior Chapel Hill squad on Friday night.

The Teri-Eight Conference is pretty much a done deal. There's only one question: What is the order of the last three teams?

Middle Creek will get the No. 1 seed. Panther Creek will get the No. 2 seed. Those two play each other on Friday night, but the outcome will have no impact on seeding for the state tournament. The Catamounts, however, are the only team that has beaten Middle Creek this season.

The other three teams that will make the state tournament are Green Hope, Athens Drive, and Apex. Green Hope and Athens play one another on Friday night in Raleigh, but Green Hope beat the Jags handily earlier in the season at the Falcons' Nest. A win for Green Hope means they are the No. 3 seed, a loss could drop them to No. 5 depending on what Apex does.

The Cougars are playing Lee County on the road, a game Apex should win. Right now, it appears the Cougars will get the No. 4 seed.

Things are getting very interesting, and WRAL will be there the whole way. Look for extensive coverage this weekend and throughout next week of the conference tournaments, and that coverage will continue into the state tournament.

The thing to remember next week is that if a team that is not going to the playoffs wins the conference tournament, they go. That means one team has to drop from the ranks, and that will be the last team from the conference to get into the state tournament. In conferences with eight teams, that would be the No. 5 seed. In conferences with seven teams, it would be the No. 4 seed.