ESPN has Big Monday. Area basketball teams are facing Big Week.

Some key showdowns are on tap this week for both boys and girls high school basketball teams.

The top two boys games will be Tuesday in the Ohio Valley Conference and Southern Ohio Conference.

In the OVC, Chesapeake is aiming for an unprecedented eighth straight league title. The Panthers are off to a 3-0 lead and must be slowed down if anyone else is to have a chance.

Enter their arch-rival Fairland Dragons.

Fairland is 6-5 on the year and 2-2 in the OVC. Not only are the Dragons facing a must-win game, they have another interest in the game: Chesapeake is their arch rival.

Chesapeake won the OVC last year but lost its final league game at Fairland.

The game will be a contrast in styles. The Dragons rely on their strong outside shooting while the Panthers pound the ball inside with their height advantage.

Two teams unbeaten in the SOC meet as Symmes Valley, 7-3 and 6-0 in the SOC, plays at Green which is 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the SOC.

Snow wiped out an earlier meeting between the two teams at Symmes Valley, so their is another game to be played between the SOC co-leaders.

In the girls OVC race, Chesapeake and South Point share a one-game lead over Rock Hill and Fairland.

But Chesapeake hosts South Point Monday, and then Thursday Rock Hill is at South Point and Fairland travels to Chesapeake.

The Ironton Fighting Tigers and Lady Fighting Tigers are both independents, but the two teams are off to their best starts in years.

The boys are 9-1 under first-year head coach Roger Zornes, their best start since the 1979-80 season.

The Fighting Tigers have a home game Tuesday against pesky Wayne, W.Va., then play at South Point on Saturday.

Ironton is 6-1 this season against OVC teams including an earlier win over South Point. The only loss was to Chesapeake.

The Lady Tigers, 10-3 under first-year coach Amy Hughes, are off Monday but travel to rival Portsmouth on Thursday.