Surprises have been few so far

Before the season, as they always do, coaches talk about who they think will be the top teams in the area. For the most part, their predictions are correct. And so far this season, the boys basketball power rankings haven't shifted, as the teams expected to dominate this season have done just that.

Tampa Prep, which has advanced to four state tournaments since 2007, is undefeated at 22-0 and should enter the state tournament with a perfect record unless rival Berkeley Prep plays spoiler. The Terrapins are 8-0 in Class 3A-District 8 and will host the district tournament.

Jesuit coach Neal Goldman said this year's squad would be the best he has coached during his long career with the program, and his Tigers have lived up to the hype. Jesuit is 20-1, and its only loss was in a tournament in California. The Tigers are undefeated in Class 5A-District 11.

Sickles, which saw its streak of five consecutive district championships end last season, is atop Class 6A-11 with a 10-0 record.

Though Cambridge Christian graduated its top two scorers and said goodbye to coach Scott Thompson, the Lancers are on track for their fourth state region playoff appearance as the regular season champion of 2A-8 with a record of 8-0 and 18-2 overall.

Then there are teams like Wharton, Chamberlain and East Bay, which have suffered district losses but have maintained an overall dominance in their district.

But, as these coaches have come to expect, domination during the regular season doesn't have much bearing on what happens in the district tournaments, which are set to begin Feb. 6. Let's just call it February madness.

Over the past few seasons, there have been some upsets in the district tournament.

Here are a few examples:

• 2010, fourth-seeded Tampa Bay Tech upsets No.1 Plant City in the district semifinals, 58-52, to advance to the district final, where the Titans lost to Newsome.

• 2008, No. 3 Plant City breaks a 15-year slump of not reaching the district final by beating No. 2 Sarasota Riverview in the semifinals.

• 2007, No. 4 Middleton upsets No.1 Plant in the semifinals and No.2 Chamberlain in the championship to win the program's first title since school reopened in 2002.

The following is the list of district tournament sites for this season:

Class 8A-7 at Durant: Alonso, Bloomingdale, Durant, Newsome, Plant and Wharton.

Class 7A-8 at East Bay: Brandon, East Bay, Hillsborough, Plant City, Riverview and Tampa Bay Tech.

Class 7A-9 at Chamberlain: Chamberlain, Freedom, Gaither, Steinbrenner and Wiregrass Ranch.

Class 6A-11 at Sickles: Armwood, Jefferson, King, Leto, Sickles, Strawberry Crest.

Class 5A-11 at Blake: Blake, Jesuit, Lennard, Middleton, Robinson, Spoto.

Class 4A-9 at Berkeley Prep: Berkeley Prep, Sarasota Booker and Tampa Catholic.

Class 3A-8 at Tampa Prep: Bishop McLaughlin, Brooks-DeBartolo, Carrollwood Day, Seffner Christian, Tampa Prep.

Class 2A-8 at Academy at the Lakes: Academy at the Lakes, Bayshore Christian, Cambridge Christian, Citrus Park Christian, Tampa Bay Christian.