Lakeville North at No. 8 Bloomington Kennedy
7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 28

The South Suburban Conference may be the toughest circuit in the state this winter, and it starts with these two programs and No. 1 ranked Eastview. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see all three in the Class 4A state tournament field, as all are in different sections — Lakeville North in Section 1AAAA, Bloomington Kennedy in Section 2AAAA and Eastview in Section 3AAAA. Before then, though, there’s the matter of deciding who wins the conference title. Eastview holds a slim lead on the other two, which makes Tuesday night’s game between North and Kennedy a key one for keeping pace. The Kennedy machine keeps on rolling despite the graduation of All-Stater Jade Martin and the transfer of two top young players to other programs. Coach Quintin Johnson still returned All-Staters Kenisha Bell (20.2 ppg) and Tonoia Wade (17.1 ppg) to lead the way.