Most Class 4A and 5A boys' basketball teams in the state have a few games remaining on the schedule. And as the bubble-team talk heats up for the NCAA tournament, the equivalent is happening for the Utah high school tournament. The difference is, when it comes down to selection for the UHSAA tournaments, talk will be cheap and wins and losses are all that will resonate.

Utah high school tournament selection is an exact science predicated on wins and losses gained and suffered in region play. Although the big picture of who will play whom in the postseason is mostly clear throughout the state, it's now a matter of finding out who will play whom and where. The next two weeks will be a feverish fight for favorable seeding.

That's the case for the Highland boys' basketball team. In Region 6, Bountiful and Olympus sit fairly comfortably atop the standings with one region loss each. Highland, East and Woods Cross, however, are in a tangled mess at 4-4. Tooele could run itself back into the mix with a strong finish, but looks to be out at 2-5 and Stansbury is buried at the bottom with zero region wins. The last four games on Highland's schedule are critical to the Rams' seeding.

"We're probably playing for third place right now," coach Keith West said. "You want to get the best seed that you can."

If the Rams achieve a third-place finish, that would garner a home date with the fifth-place team in Region 7 -- right now that's either Mountain View or Timpanogos, both at 2-6 -- for a play-in game to the tournament. Slide to fourth or fifth place, it's a game at someone else's gym, either the third-place finisher from Region 5 or Region 8. Currently those teams are Box Elder and Uintah, respectively. In the worst-case scenario, the team crumbles down the stretch and doesn't have to worry about where, when or against whom it is playing.

Confused yet?

For a system with all qualifications being settled on the court, it's still a pretty head-scratch-inducing two weeks before the tournament begins. West knows that all his team can do is focus on its own basketball, considering it controls its own outcome, with two of its remaining games at Woods Cross and at East. Highland also visits Tooele and hosts Olympus. Against its remaining opponents, Highland is 2-2 on the season.

West is confident his team will do what is necessary to be seeded favorably. He just hopes his team can continue to tap into its potential, which he feels is done on some nights and not on others. Part of that is due to the process of finding his talent and how it all works together. What West has discovered is that an all-junior starting five might be the answer. Lew Evans has worked his way into the starting lineup and Charlie Morris has earned more minutes. Ben Johnson, Sam Orchard and Nate Fakafahua have been consistent all season long. But do they have enough experience to grab the third seed in Region 6 and then make a run in the playoffs?

"They're ready," West insists. "They're not juniors anymore. They've played a lot of basketball. They're in a position to cause some damage."