Believe it or not, the Maine high school basketball tournament has arrived. Early round action starts on Tuesday as teams from around the state pile into Bangor, Augusta and Portland for the premier playoff event in Maine high school sports.
This year’s tournament will look a little different after a statewide reclassification and the creation of a new Class S for small schools with enrollment under 100 students. That Class S action will be the first to get underway, with girls and boys quarterfinal games in both Bangor and Augusta on Tuesday.
The Maine Principals’ Association, which organizes the tournament, has several different ticket package options available for fans who want to attend multiple games in person. Single game tickets are also available through the venues: the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, the Augusta Civic Center, the Portland Expo and the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
For fans who won’t be at those venues in person, there will once again be several ways to watch the tournament online — and those options vary depending on the round.
Like last year, the initial quarterfinal round at the main venues will be broadcast live by the National Federation of State High School Associations Network. The subsequent regional semifinals and finals will be livestreamed by WHOU, and Maine Public will again broadcast the girls and boys state championship games in each of the five classes.
Both the NFHS Network and WHOU require subscriptions. Subscriptions for the NFHS Network and WHOU each cost $13.99 per month. It’s free to watch the 10 championship games on Maine Public.
The championship games will be available both on Maine Public’s TV channels and streaming on mainepublic.org.
North regional competition will take place in Bangor and Augusta, while the South regional games will be split between Augusta and Portland.
The Cross Center in Bangor will host Class B, C, D and S North action from the quarterfinals through the regional championships. Class B is the only state championship game being held in Bangor this tournament season. The Class C, D and S state championship games will be in Augusta this year.
The Class A North regional tournament will be in Augusta, and the Class A state title game is at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
In South regional competition, the early rounds of Class A and B games will be held at the Portland Expo. Class C, D and S South action will take place in Augusta.