Prep playoffs highlight busy week

We’ve come to one of the best times of the year: the high school sports postseason.

For fall sports anyway.

There will be plenty of opportunities to take in playoff action all week.

So here’s a look at 10 things to keep and eye on this week in the world of sports:

Girls soccer

Kamiakin, Southridge and Connell are our remaining teams in the state tournament, which begins today.

Kamiakin plays host to Peninsula at 4 p.m. at Lampson Stadium; Southridge takes on Mt. Spokane at 5:30 p.m. at Spokane Falls Community College.Connell visits Cashmere at 6 p.m.

Winner will play in the state quarterfinals on Saturday.

No. 1 vs. No. 2

The top-ranked Kentucky men’s basketball team takes on No. 2 Michigan State in a rare 1-2 matchup.

Tipoff is 4:30 p.m. today on ESPN.

State volleyball

You’ll have to travel to Lacey or Yakima, but the best high school volleyball players in the state battle for a state title in six different classifications.

The Southridge Suns should be a heavy favorite in the Class 3A tournament in Lacey. This squad has a number of returnees from last season’s third-place team.

Southridge’s quest begins at 1:30 p.m. Friday with a first-round match against Bishop Blanchet.

Connell (1A) and Tri-Cities Prep (2B) will be playing at the Yakima Valley SunDome on Friday.

Championships in all tournaments are Saturday night.

Girls state swimming

Some of the Tri-Cities’ best girl swimmers and divers — among them Richland’s Lisa Bratton, Hanford’s Lisa Tixier and Southridge’s Danielle Freund — will compete at the state championships Friday and Saturday in Federal Way.

Preliminaries run all day Friday, with finals set for Saturday.

UW at UCLA football

The Huskies routed Colorado on Saturday night, and now travel to UCLA at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN2).

The big thing here? UCLA’s Myles Jack, the former Bellevue High School star who has started at linebacker as a true freshman for the Bruins.

Then, on Saturday night, Jack also played some tailback, rushing for 120 yards on six carries, with one a long TD run. Wow.

Prep football

The big ones start with Richland playing host to Skyview of Vancouver at 7 p.m. Friday at Fran Rish Stadium.

Follow that up with Moses Lake at Chiawana at 1 p.m. Saturday at Edgar Brown Stadium; then travel over to Kennewick, as Kamiakin plays host to Columbia River at 4 p.m. Saturday at Lampson Stadium. Winners advance to the quarterfinals.

Regina at Americans

Only home game this week for Tri-City is at 7:05 p.m. Friday.

The Ams have moved out of the cellar of the U.S. Division too.

Sprint Cup finale

What’s likely to be a coronation for Jimmie Johnson (again), the Ford 400 in Homestead, Fla., is the final race of the season. It starts at noon Sunday on ESPN.

Vikings at Seahawks

Could this be Percy Harvin’s season debut? Tune in at 1:25 p.m. Sunday on FOX.

Gonzaga basketball

It’s always fun to watch the Zags. Oakland visits at 5 p.m. Sunday on ROOT.

This story was originally published November 11, 2013 at 11:05 PM with the headline "Prep playoffs highlight busy week."