There’s plenty of hype around the boys basketball City Showdown. It’s a matchup between a pair of Top 5 ranked teams. It’s the start of Sunflower League play. Of course, there’s bragging rights.

But players from both Free State and Lawrence High insist they will try to treat tonight’s City Showdown as any other game when they tip off around 7:30 at Allen Fieldhouse.

“We’ll come out and just play,” Lawrence junior guard Trey Quartlebaum said. “But we know to everyone else in Lawrence, it means a lot more than that.”

The Firebirds (1-0, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A) won their only game of the season against Liberty (Mo.) on Dec. 2. For the last two weeks, they’ve only had a chance to practice against themselves.

Despite winning the league title last season, Free State has lost eight consecutive games in the crosstown clash. The Firebirds don’t shy away from talking about the game, but they don’t see any point in worrying about the streak beyond just winning the game in front of them.

“We can only control what’s ahead of us in the future and this is a new team in a new year,” Free State coach Sam Stroh said. “I think the guys are obviously aware of it. But what happened in the past won’t dictate what happens (tonight).”

The Lions (2-2, ranked No. 5) lost their last two games in the Blue Valley Shootout, senior forward Anthony Selden said their loss to Grandview (Mo.) served as a wake up call to improve their defense. That was the main area of emphasis in practice this week.

Selden, who watched his older brother, Wayne, suit up for Kansas, said he learned last season that it’s a much different experience watching a game at Allen Fieldhouse compared to actually stepping on the court.

One of the biggest adjustments for players from both schools was shooting with the crowd behind the backboard. At most high school gyms, there’s a wall. At Allen Fieldhouse, there’s student sections.

“Last year at the free-throw line, I went up for a floater and I remember just looking at everybody,” Selden said. “It was crazy.”

Free State senior forward Jalan Robinson added: “It kind of got me. I missed like maybe my first five free throws in the first half. But since we’re already kind of used to it, I think we will be good during the game.”

Heading into the City Showdown, the Firebirds wished they had a couple of more games under their belt like most teams. Stroh said it wasn’t by design, but just how their schedule played out.

Even with only one game of playing alongside each other, the Firebirds, who will add transfer Reece White-Downing to the lineup, have been happy with how they’ve prepared.

“We’ve had a lot of practice but I think we’ve been focusing on ourselves and focusing on them,” said Free State senior Garrett Luinstra, who scored a school-record 36 points in the team’s opener. “I think we should be ready to go.”

For the Lions, they said there hasn’t been any talk of their winning streak among themselves, opting to focus on improving their play from last week.

“We’ve been working on defense a lot,” Selden said. “We’re better at talking, just better overall.”