'Best Home Court In The North' Tournament

Whether you can believe it or not, high school basketball tips off around the state this Friday night. So, beginning today, The Ticket is tipping off a two-week tournament to decide the "Best Home Court In The North," and your votes will crown the champion.

It's a field of 32 schools, factoring in our listening range as well as program prestige, to begin the festivities this week.

The class breakdowns of the 32 teams include two AA schools, three A schools, 12 B schools, 11 C schools, and four D schools.

The first-round matchups were decided at random, with each of the 32 schools assigned a number, then the schools were drawn and paired off.

Here's the tournament's schedule over the next two weeks:

Week 1 (MON Dec. 6 to THU Dec. 9):

MON - Round of 32 (4 random matchups per day)

TUE - Round of 32 (4 random matchups per day)

WED - Round of 32 (4 random matchups per day)

THU - Round of 32 (4 random matchups per day)

Week 2 (MON Dec. 13 to THU Dec. 16):

MON - Round of 16

TUE - Quarterfinals

WED - Semifinals

THU - Final

And here are the remainder of this week's matchups -

TUE: Ellsworth vs. Presque Isle; Dexter vs. Hermon; Central Aroostook vs. Schenck; Mattanawcook Academy vs. Lee Academy

WED: Southern Aroostook vs. Belfast; Hampden Academy vs. Foxcroft Academy; Houlton vs. Calais; Stearns vs. MDI

THU: Bucksport vs. Machias; Old Town vs. Orono; Caribou vs. Lawrence; Jonesport-Beals vs. Nokomis

Now, it's time to show your school spirit and get the competition underway. Vote in today's first four matchups in the Round of 32 -

30 famous people you might not know were college athletes

Stacker dug deep to find 30 celebrities who were previously college athletes. There are musicians, politicians, actors, writers, and reality TV stars. For some, an athletic career was a real, promising possibility that ultimately faded away due to injury or an alternate calling. Others scrapped their way onto a team and simply played for fun and the love of the sport. Read on to find out if your favorite actor, singer, or politician once sported a university jersey.