One of the biggest weeks for Hall County basketball begins today with the first round of the Lanierland tournament.

For the 52nd consecutive year, the tournament will be played in Hall County and feature a number of intriguing matchups.

On the girls side, Gainesville will kick off the tournament at 9 a.m. against Flowery Branch. North Hall faces West Hall at noon, Chestatee will take on Jefferson at 3:30 p.m. and East Hall and Johnson will finish the day at 6:30 p.m.

In the boys bracket, Flowery Branch and West Hall will play at 10:30 a.m., Gainesville takes on Johnson at 1:30 p.m., North Hall and Lakeview Academy will play at 5 p.m., and the East Hall boys will finish the day against Chestatee at 8 p.m. All first round games will be played at East Hall High.

Consolation games for losers will be played on Tuesday at East Hall and Wednesday at Johnson.

Semifinals will be played on the same days. The girls will play Tuesday at East Hall, and the boys will play Wednesday at Johnson.

Both girls and boys championships will be played on Thursday at Johnson. The girls will start at 6 p.m., and the boys will follow, tentatively, at 7:30 p.m.

HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING: Top-ranked Jefferson will play at the Pigeon Forge Southern Duals on Wednesday and Thursday to lead this week’s slate.

Johnson competes at the Walt Hennebaul Open at 8 a.m. today at Mill Creek, and Chestatee will host Franklin County at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Union County also hosts Hayesville (N.C.) today, and Dawson County will compete in a tri-match at Stephens County on Tuesday.

Commerce will compete in the Elbert County Duals beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, and Lumpkin County will travel to Franklin County on the same day.

Flowery Branch will round out the week in a quad-match at Milton. Adairsville and Mill Creek will also be present.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: After a close win over Southern Cal on Saturday, the Georgia men will try to build on the success with two games this week. The Bulldogs will host Mercer on Tuesday and Furman on Friday. Both will tip off at 7 p.m.

The women will play in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic today and Tuesday. The Lady Dogs will face Gonzaga and Montana State, respectively.

The Georgia Tech men will also play twice this week, against Alabama A&M today and Mercer on Thursday. Both games will be played at 7 p.m. at the Arena at Gwinnett.

The women will face Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Central Arkansas in the Bahamas Sunshine Tournament in Nassau, Bahamas, today and Wednesday.