The new pod system for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association basketball tournaments will make its debut Monday with a slew of intra-conference match-ups in the first round.

Nine area teams were seeded in their respective brackets, which this year are broken up into four sections and the teams in each ranked No. 1 through 16.
In the 1A boys, Camden (16-7) will face a familiar foe when it hosts fellow Four Rivers Conference member Riverside (16-7) in the first round on Monday. Camden, which drew the No. 7 seed, won two of three games against the Knights, including a 43-39 win in the semifinals of the conference tournament on Thursday.

Three Northeastern Coastal Conference teams are in the 2A East Section. Pasquotank (14-9) leads the way as a fourth seed and will host No. 13 Northside-Jacksonville (16-7). If the Panthers win, they would also host a second-round game.

Northeastern (12-7) is seeded seventh and will host North Pitt (17-6) in round one. This will be the third straight season the Eagles and Panthers have met in the playoffs with Northeastern winning each of the first two.

Edenton (13-8) makes a return trip to the postseason as the 11th seed. The Aces will travel to No. 6 Topsail (13-8) on Monday.
In 3A, Currituck (3-19) was seeded No. 9 and will travel to No. 8 South Brunswick (8-12).

On the girls’ side, Perquimans (9-11) will also be taking on a Four Rivers foe in a 1A first-round game as it goes to No. 5 Southside (22-2).

In 2A, Pasquotank (20-3) is the No. 2 seed and could host the first three rounds. First, it must get past No. 15 Richlands (9-13) on Monday, then a potential second-round matchup with its nemesis Northeastern. The Lady Eagles (14-5) are seeded seventh and have won two of three games against the Lady Panthers, including a 65-50 win on Friday’s NCC championship game.

Northeastern hosts another NCC member Bertie (9-8) in the first round.

In 3A, Currituck (5-12) in ninth and will travel to No. 8 Eastern Wayne (12-11).

The first round of the state tournament is scheduled for Monday, with round two to follow on Wednesday and round three on Friday, all at home sites. The Eastern Regionals will once again be held on Fayetteville on Feb. 28 through March 3.