If the basketball playoffs started today ...

The N.C. High School Athletic Association state basketball playoffs are still a little more than a month away, but it's not too early to take a look at what potentially lies ahead for some of Iredell's teams.

Six of the North Piedmont Conference's 10 teams (boys and girls) automatically qualify for the playoffs. The crazy thing is that only the conference champions will play home games in the first round.

That's right.

The No. 2 seeds have to travel to the Catawba Valley Conference's No. 2 seeds due to seeding priority. Barring any upsets, seeds 2 through 6 from the NPC won't get to enjoy a homecourt advantage at all in the playoffs. That doesn't seem fair to Nos. 2 and 3, but that's the reality.

Anyway, the following is a look at first-round matchups for Iredell teams IF the playoffs started today. (And I think there's a good chance most of them will shake out this way in the end):

BOYS

Mooresville (9-5, 7-3 NPC) would be the No. 4 seed from the NPC. This is exactly where the Blue Devils want to be in mid-February. They would play the top 3A team from the split 2A/3A Southwestern Conference. Right now that's R-S Central. The Hilltoppers are 6-8.

Lake Norman (10-4, 6-4 NPC) would be the No. 5 seed from the NPC. This is not where the Wildcats want to be come playoff time. In order to advance to the second round of the playoffs, Lake Norman would have to beat the South Piedmont Conference champion. Folks, that's going to be Concord, the top-ranked 3A team in the state. The Spiders are undefeated right now.

Statesville (6-9, 3-7 NPC) would be the No. 6 seed from the NPC. Good luck. You get the Mid-Piedmont Conference champion in the first round. Right now that's ninth-ranked Ragsdale. The Tigers just took over the top spot in the MPC by beating fifth-ranked Trinity.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: North Iredell (2-8 NPC) and West Iredell (2-8 NPC) have a shot to overtake Statesville for the last playoff spot, but fifth place seems highly unlikely at this point.


GIRLS

Statesville (14-1, 10-0 NPC) would be the No. 1 seed from the NPC. The Greyhounds, ranked sixth in the state in 3A, would host the Mid-Piedmont Conference No. 4 seed in the first round. That most likely will be Trinity of Southwestern Randolph. Neither team is tearing it up. But the MPC does have two solid teams at the top in Ragsdale and Southeast Guilford, so Trinity and SWR would be battle tested. If it wins, Statesville would host a second-round game as well.

Lake Norman (11-4, 7-3 NPC) would be the No. 3 seed from the NPC. The Wildcats would travel to Asheville in the first round to take on the Mountain Athletic Conference champion T.C. Roberson. The Rams are 13-1 and ranked No. 5 in 3A.

North Iredell (8-5, 6-4 NPC) would be the No. 4 seed from the NPC. The Raiders would travel to Kings Mountain to take on the Mountaineers. Of all the possibilities for the Raiders -- minus missing the playoffs -- this would be the ideal scenario. As the No. 3 or No. 5 seed, North would be guaranteed a tougher first-round games.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: Mooresville (3-7 NPC) and West Iredell (1-9 NPC). Playoffs are a long shot for these two.