Winter sports action is set to heat up as high school basketball opens tonight.

The boys basketball schedule features some intriguing matchups between teams that are ranked in the preseason Times-Tribune poll based upon input from Lackawanna League coaches.

Scranton Prep gained the No. 1 position in the first ranking of teams. The Cavaliers were the overwhelming favorite to win the Lackawanna Division I title. They return their top two scorers in Bobby Casey and Tim Rose.

They will begin the year at the Xavier Center against Meyers, which won the

District 2 Class AA title last season.

Abington Heights, which held the top spot in the poll for the entire 2013-14 season, is in at No. 2.

As is tradition, the Comets, who won the District 2 Class AAA title last season, will play Holy Cross, which is ranked No. 4.

No. 3 Honesdale starts the season in the same position it ended last season. The Hornets are the preseason favorite in the Lackawanna Division II.

Dunmore will likely be shorthanded because the football team is playing in the PIAA Class AA semifinals Saturday. But the Bucks start the season at No. 5 and will open the season at No. 10 North Pocono.

Scranton is in at No. 6 and will play at traditional power Holy Redeemer.

Riverside is ranked at

No. 7 and will play on back-to-back nights. The Vikings are at Montrose tonight and will be at Bethlehem Liberty on Saturday.

No. 8 Lackawanna Trail will play in the Wallenpaupack Tip-Off Tournament tonight, while Mid Valley, which won the Lackawanna League Division III title last season, is at No. 9 and will play at the East Stroudsburg Notre Dame Tournament tonight.

Girls

The girls side of the equation will feature at least one top-10 matchup on the opening weekend as No. 4 North Pocono will host No. 6 Riverside on Saturday afternoon.

The top team in the poll, Dunmore, will be the last into action, as the Lady Bucks host Valley View on Sunday afternoon.

Second-ranked Holy Cross visits Mountain View tonight, while No. 3 Scranton Prep starts its season on the road Saturday afternoon at Bethlehem Catholic.

Honesdale is No. 5 in the preseason and the Lady Hornets debut Saturday night at Wyoming Valley West.

The seventh and eighth teams in the poll could square off before the end of the weekend.

No. 7 Wallenpaupack hosts East Stroudsburg Notre Dame in the Wallenpaupack Tip-Off Tournament. The other semifinal of that tournament has No. 8 Western Wayne playing Carbondale.

Ninth-ranked Montrose tips off tonight at Valley View, as does No. 10 Abington Heights, which plays at Hazleton in the Lady Cougars’ tournament.

BOYS TOP 10

Rec Last Rank

1. Scranton Prep 21-3 2

2. Abington Heights 26-2 1

3. Honesdale 21-5 3

4. Holy Cross 22-7 4

5. Dunmore 15-10 8

6. Scranton 9-13 NR

7. Riverside 17-9 9

8. Lackawanna Trail 11-12 NR

9. Mid Valley 23-5 5

10. North Pocono 6-17 NR

GIRLS TOP 10

Rec Last Rank

1. Dunmore 27-3 2

2. Holy Cross 19-9 6

3. Scranton Prep 27-2 1

4. North Pocono 18-5 7

5. Honesdale 15-8 T8

6. Riverside 12-12 NR

7. Wallenpaupack 21-4 4

8. Western Wayne 10-12 NR

9. Montrose 20-6 5

10. Abington Heights 16-11 T8