Top 5 high school basketball games during Week 9 of season

Milan’s Easton Yates (5) goes up for a layup against Bradford during a high school boys basketball game at Bradford on Jan. 3, 2023.

Oh, how nice the second half of the season has started. For the second straight week of picks, I went 4-1. My lone miss was Bradford’s one-point loss to Greenfield on Saturday.

So through eight weeks, I am now 22-7 (.759 winning percentage) overall.

AP RANKINGS: First Tennessee Associated Press state rankings for Jan. 9

RANKINGS: Fayette Academy girls enter West Tennessee rankings after Week 8

STANDINGS: Updated West Tennessee basketball district standings after Week 8

SCHEDULE: Gibson County area high school basketball schedule for Jan. 9-14

Here are the Week 9 games:

Huntingdon (17-1, 1-0 12-2A) at Gibson County (16-4, 0-0) Girls (6 p.m., Tuesday): Father (Mitch Wilkins) vs. son (David Wilkins) in an important District 12-2A battle. As both try to chase undefeated Westview, this series should decide the No. 2 seed in the district. Gibson County features junior Micah Hart, while Huntingdon will counter with Lilly Kee.

Odom’s Pick: Huntingdon

Bradford (4-11, 0-1 13-1A) at Gleason (10-5, 0-1) Girls (6 p.m., Tuesday): Both of these teams are coming off district losses. Neither team wants to start 0-2, so a win here is a must. Bradford is going to need four good quarters of basketball with a strong defensive effort to have a chance in this one.

Odom’s Pick: Gleason

Union City (4-13, 0-1 12-2A) at Milan (13-3, 1-0) Boys (7:15 p.m., Tuesday): The Bulldogs squeaked out a 40-37 win during the Christmas tournament. Union City is down two starters as Malaki Brooks has been out for a month and Ben Kail has been put on the injured list since the last meeting. Milan didn’t shoot well Friday at Westview, so the team will want to score better in this one.

Odom’s Pick: Milan

Middleton (10-1, 0-0 14-1A) at Humboldt (7-6, 0-0) Boys (7:15 p.m., Friday): The Vikings are looking to get back to the region tournament after missing last season. A big step forward would be to beat one of the top Class 1A teams in the state. But Middleton has only lost once this season, and it was by one point.

Odom’s Pick: Middleton

Gibson County (10-6, 0-0 12-2A) at Milan (13-3, 1-0) Boys (7:15 p.m., Friday): As if trying to get past Union City on Tuesday isn’t hard enough, the Bulldogs will turn around and play a Gibson County team they played for the Region 6-2A title last season. Gibson County post Ethan Turner will be a tough matchup for Milan, so the Bulldogs will need to be hitting 3s.

Odom’s Pick: Gibson County