According to Salmen head coach Jay Carlin, it’s his boys. And one of his sons pointed it out, telling him, “You got smiles on all your kids’ faces. That’s probably a good thing.”

“They’re confident,” Carlin said.

That doesn’t mean their cocky. There’s really no way for them to be, what with playing the 4A defending champions and the only undefeated team in the class this year.

“It just comes down to us taking care of the basketball and getting good looks every time down,” Carlin said. “We’ve got to present some problems on the offensive end with their big guys having to step away from the goal and guard our guys.”

Peabody will outsize Salmen. Carlin knows that. The key will be for his offense limiting Peabody to one shot per possession, all while hitting a high percentage of shots on their end of the floor.

And in what has become the typical David vs. Goliath metaphor since January, Carlin said he hopes his team is the Giants from this year’s Super Bowl. He’ll certainly remind his team of that game.

“When the playoffs started, when we saw were No. 8, I said it will be the Giants against the Patriots,” Carlin said. “We’ll be the Giants. They’ll be the Patriots.”

Yet, Carlin’s Spartans will have one advantage the Giants didn’t have – home-court advantage.

“That was big,” Carlin said. “Getting to play at home is a big advantage, especially in basketball.”

Destrehan at Lafayette
Lafayette is 35-3 and hasn’t lost since Jan. 15. But the last time Destrehan played the Lions, the Wildcats lost by only six points.

That is giving Destrehan hope as it heads to Lafayette for Class 5A quarterfinal.

“We played them earlier in the year and lost by six,” Destrehan assistant coach Kurt Hargis said. “Our kids know what they do. They’ve tough. They play good defense. We know we can play with them.”

Destrehan fell 62-56 in that game at the Plaquemine tournament. It was part of a schedule filled with tough games, including a 9-point loss to O. Perry Walker and a 4-point loss to Helen Cox, both of which are still alive in the 4A playoffs. Cox boasts one of the nation’s top recruits.

So, whatever Lafayette throws at the Wildcats, they’re ready for it, even if the game is the first road playoff game since 2005.

“The two playoff games help, but I also think we played a very tough schedule with O. Perry Walker and Helen Cox,” Hargis said. “I think we’re ready for it.”

To win, Hargis said Destrehan will have to rely on not just the play of its inside men, but of its guards.

“If we can control the ball and then limit them to one shot, we can have a shot,” Hargis said. “We have to have solid guard play.”

Destrehan can expect a big anti-Wildcats crowd Friday night. That won’t bother them, however.

“Our kids like crowd, whether good or bad,” Hargis said. “They like the atmosphere of a big game.”