It's survive and advance time for Carroll County's hoops teams

Hard to believe, but the basketball postseason is upon us.

Teams from across Maryland are switching into survival mode with sights set on winning a state championship. First up, the regional playoffs which begin Friday, February 25.

Let's take a look at the opening matchups for Carroll's teams. 

Girls Basketball

Francis Scott Key (14-8) has a bye in the Class 1A South Region and faces Pikesville in the second round March 1. The Eagles come into the playoffs on a four-game winning streak, and they've won 9 of 12 after a 5-5 start.

Liberty (13-8) and Century (12-9) have byes in 2A West. The Knights get Southern (Anne Arundel County) in the next round, and the Lions wait for the winner of South Carroll (7-15) vs. Winters Mill (2-16). The Cavaliers host the Falcons on Feb. 25 in their opening round game, and their two regular-season contests were decided by a combined three points. The Cavs won 32-31 on Jan. 10 and 42-40 on Feb. 15.

County champion Manchester Valley (20-2) has a bye in the 3A East Region. The Mavericks await the Centennial-Westminster (14-6) winner. The Owls host the Eagles on Feb. 25 at 5 p.m.

Westminster wants nothing more than to advance and get a third crack at Man Valley, which defeated the Owls twice in the last week.

Here's some highlights from the first Manchester Valley-Westminster matchup on Feb. 16, where the Mavs pulled away to win the county title.

Boys Basketball

In Class 1A South, Francis Scott Key (15-7) has a bye and gets the Chesapeake Science Point-Pikesville winner in the next round. The Eagles have lost three in a row after a five-game winning streak.

Century (19-3), the county champion, has a first-round bye in 2A West and the Knights wait for either Liberty (13-9) or South Carroll (10-12).

The Lions have the home game against the Cavs on Feb. 25 at 6, but South Carroll downed Liberty twice during the regular season. Their second game took place Feb. 4 and SC won 60-56 in overtime.

Winters Mill (13-9) also has a bye in the region, and the Falcons play at Southern-AA on Feb. 28.

In 3A East action, it's Man Valley (4-17) and Westminster (6-14) fixing to square off for a third time this season. Actually, for the Owls it will be for a third time in as many games.

They beat the Mavericks 51-38 on Feb. 16 and took them down five days later, 58-33. Westminster rides a three-game win streak into the regional playoffs.

We've got the CMSportsNet highlights from when Century recently beat Liberty on the road to clinch the Carroll County Athletic League title.