Heading into the final week of the regular season, there are clear favorites on both the boys and girls sides. The Cheverus boys and the Deering girls continue their undefeated dominance. Barring any huge surprises in the final two games, both teams will secure the No. 1 seed heading into the Western A tournament as they look to defend their respective state titles.

The final week provides some excellent matchups that will have major effects on the tournament seedings. The Cheverus boys still have to play Portland and Deering. South Portland also has remaining games with Portland and Deering. The Scarborough girls host Biddeford in their season finale – a game that could determine the No. 2 seed entering the tournament.

For games played through Jan. 31st

Boys basketball Front Five:

1. Cheverus (16-0): The Stags got a pair of big road wins during the week, defeating Thornton Academy by nine on Tuesday. It was the first game of the season in which Cheverus won by fewer than 10 points. On Friday, the Stags overcame an inspired defensive effort from South Portland to pull away in the final 10 minutes en route to a 52-39 win in front of a capacity crowd at Beal Gym. They’ll have to beat both their inter-city rivals one more time to run the table, but right now there’s no reason to think that won’t happen.

2. Westbrook (14-2): The Blue Blazes won twice during the week, easily defeating Massabesic and Gorham to move into the No. 2 spot. If they can take care of business at Bonny Eagle and at home against Windham in the season finale, they could lock up the No. 2 seed going into the tournament. Dominic Borelli has scored more than 20 points in three straight games. The 6’7″ junior is a tough matchup for any opponent, given his arsenal of moves inside and his soft touch from beyond the arc. He’s also fierce on the boards.

3. Thornton Academy (13-3): The loss to Cheverus drops the Golden Trojans one spot in the rankings. They bounced back with a 10-point win over Biddeford, overcoming a halftime deficit to put the Tigers away in the second half. They close the season with games against Kennebunk and Scarborough. The Trojans match up well with most teams, given their mixture of quickness and size.

4. South Portland (13-3): With Matt Lee lost for the year with a knee injury (suffered prior to the Red Riots’ first game against Cheverus, two weeks back), South Portland’s offense took a major blow. Lee provided a nice compliment to Keegan Hyland, the league’s top scorer. The two recent losses to Cheverus showed that Hyland can’t do it alone. In the latest, he managed 20 points despite being blanketed by multiple Cheverus defenders for much of the game. No other Red Riot scored more than five. South Portland led with three minutes left in the third quarter, but Cheverus embarked on a 13-0 run to take control. The Riots did defeat Portland by eight early in the week as Jon DiBiase made a pair of late 3s to help them pull away. South Portland’s defense is very good and will keep it in most games. When players besides Hyland make shots, the Riots are tough to beat.

5. Portland (12-4): The Bulldogs beat up on Deering on Friday (71-47), but still have not beaten a team above them in the Power Rankings. They get two more chances before the end of the regular season, with Cheverus and South Portland still on tap. A win in one of those games would be huge for Portland heading into the tournament.

The rest of the pack: Deering (11-5), Windham (10-6), Biddeford (8-8) and Scarborough (8-8) are locks for the tournament. … Windham has won five straight. … Biddeford has won five of seven. … Windham has won five straight and is 10-6. … Biddeford has won five of its last seven. … Gorham (6-10) and Bonny Eagle (5-11) look to be in good shape for the final two spots. They’ll face each other in the season finale. … Massabesic (5-11) could move into the final spot with a couple wins and Bonny Eagle losses. … Sanford, Marshwood, Kennebunk and Noble appear to be out of tournament contention.

Girls Basketball Front Five:

1. Deering (16-0): A 55-point win over Massabesic and a 30-point victory over Marshwood made up the Rams’ week. No opponent has been within 10 points of Deering so far this season. South Portland and Cheverus – both at home – are all that stand between the Rams and an 18-0 regular season.

2. Scarborough (14-2): The Red Storm has won seven in a row, all by double figures. The team visits Portland and hosts Biddeford to close the season. Two more wins would secure the No. 2 spot in the tournament; one more might do the trick. The Red Storm is better than it was when it lost to Deering by 10 on Jan. 8. How much better? We may get a chance to find out in the Western Maine finals.

3. Biddeford (13-3): The Tigers bounced back from a loss to Windham two weeks ago with a pair of 20-point wins this week, topping Gorham and Kennebunk, both at home. They move back up to the No. 3 spot. Their finale against Scarborough should be a good one.

4. Windham (9-7): After their big upset win over Biddeford three games ago, the Eagles were tripped up by Marshwood the next time out, falling 48-45 on the road. That’s been the pattern for Windham for much of the season – an impressive victory followed soon after by a lackluster defeat. The Eagles bounced back from the loss to Marshwood with a 25-point win over Massabesic. They’ll try to avoid a letdown over their final two games, coming against Bonny Eagle and Westbrook.

5. Noble (12-4): The Knights have won six straight. They are on the road at Sanford and Massabesic to close the season. They don’t have the signature wins that Windham does, but also have avoid the bad losses. It looks like only a few Heal Points will separate The Eagles and Knights in the final standings. Noble won by five when the teams went head-to-head in early January.

The rest of the pack: South Portland (10-6), Marshwood (9-7) and McAuley (9-7) would host a prelim game if the playoffs started today. Cheverus (8-9), Portland (7-9) and Sanford (7-9) would be their respective opponents. … Gorham (5-11), Massabesic (6-10) and Thornton (4-12) need to win out and get some help to have a chance at a playoff spot. … Bonny Eagle, Kennebunk and Westbrook look as though they will be left out of the postseason.