Winter break is coming to an end and high school basketball is kicking into full gear as teams are preparing to battle it out for the Republic Bank/Coca-Cola Louisville Invitational trophy. The tournament will host 20 teams from the sixth and seventh region at Bellarmine University ‘s Knights Hall from Jan. 9-14.

The top four seeds have a first round bye. Trinity has been crowned with the number one seed, followed by Bullitt East, Moore and Pleasure Ridge Park. Beth Haven, Western, Collegiate, Fern Creek, Fairdale, Southern, Doss, Male, Iroquois, Jeffersontown, Butler, Central, Ballard, St. Xavier, Manual and the tourney’s defending Champion Eastern fill out the rest of the bracket.

Eastern Eagles beat Ballard 71-63 in last year’s championship game and is seeded ninth this year. Eastern takes on a strong Butler squad in the first round. Without a doubt, Trinity is the clear cut favorite to win it this year. The Shamrocks are 10-2 on the season and are riding a wave of momentum after claiming the Republic bank holiday classic last week.  

Photo: Courtesy of http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/schools/high/eastern