As Nevada Union's varsity boys basketball team gears up for its Sierra Foothill League opener Thursday at Ali Gymnasium, the Miners know they're about to tip off against some stiff competition in the SFL.

Although the Sac-Joaquin Section has yet to release its annual league strength ratings, which help determine playoff berths through the section's power ratings system, it's a pretty good bet the SFL will be rated among the best leagues out there.

The section will release its first set of power ratings on Jan. 29.

Nevada Union's win over Ponderosa last week pulled Dale Latimer's Miners to an even 7-7 on the season, heading into SFL play. But before the league has even tipped off, it's pretty clear NU has a full plate with its SFL slate.

Three SFL teams enter league play with just three losses or less after the non-league portion of their schedules, with defending league champion Woodcreek (14-3) leading the way. First-year coach Paul Hayes hasn't let the T'wolves skip a beat since longtime coach Burnel Pinkerton stepped down after winning the Division II section title in 2010.

But since winning 13 of 14 to start the season, the Timberwolves have dropped two of their past three games, including a 68-67 loss to Laguna Creek (8-5) and a 61-57 defeat to Oakmont (11-5) last week in a rematch of the 2010 D-II title game.

If Woodcreek is knocked off from the top of the SFL standings this year, the top two contenders to take over for the T'wolves are Granite Bay (15-2) and Del Oro (12-3).

Since dropping a 74-68 loss to Franklin of Elk Grove on Dec. 3, Granite Bay ran off 13 straight victories before falling to Newark Memorial 64-62 on Saturday. Del Oro, which defeated NU 71-65 in the Kendall Arnett Tournament late last month, has won six of seven entering league play, including last week's wins over Lincoln (85-55) and Folsom (49-46).

Nevada Union's first SFL showdown will feature a Roseville team (7-9) that has hit the skids over the past month, dropping six of its last eight games. A win Thursday would get the Miners off to a strong start ahead of two tough games next week, at Granite Bay Tuesday and a home game against Del Oro Jan. 20.

As tough as the climb to the top of the SFL appears for Nevada Union's boys team, the Lady Miners face a similar challenge with its league opposition. The clear-cut favorite for the SFL crown is without a doubt defending champion Del Oro.

The Golden Eagles, who downed defending state Division I champion Oak Ridge 43-31 just last week, are off to an impressive 11-2 start. Del Oro's two defeats, however, didn't come against a team within the Sac-Joaquin Section. After a 9-0 start to the season, the Golden Eagles lost to a 20-3 team out of Georgetown, Texas by a 49-41 score and fell to Bishop O'Dowd out of Oakland 49-44 in the West Coast Jamboree late last month.

John McDaniel's Lady Miners enter league with a 10-8 record, which measures up well with two more playoff contenders in Woodcreek (11-6) and Rocklin (10-7). Two of Woodcreek's losses came against the Pioneer Valley League's Colfax and Rocklin, who has won four of its last five games, fell to Bear River of the PVL 61-55 last week.

NU opens its SFL season with trip to Granite Bay (0-13) set for Friday, followed a home game with Woodcreek on Jan. 19 and a road trip to Rocklin Jan. 21.

Pioneer Valley League

Easily the hottest team in western Nevada County, Jeff Bickmore's Bear River Lady Bruins have won eight straight games heading into next week's PVL opener.

The Lady Bruins (14-3) won their first six games of the season, before dropping three of four games in mid December. But once they began to hit their stride, they haven't tasted defeat since a Dec. 17 loss to Casa Roble (47-42) in the Del Oro Tournament.

Colfax (11-5) and Center (10-5) are likely the league's other top two contenders.

Colfax has won three straight games. And aside from a loss to Reno High (52-48), the Lady Falcons have won five of their last six games. Likewise, Center's Cougars enter the PVL hunt after winning four of their past five and eight of their last 10 games.

On the boys' side, Bear River (6-9) has dropped three of four games entering league action. After edging host Placer 70-68 in the second round of the Kendall Arnett, Duwaine Ganskie's Bruins dropped games to Del Oro (59-38) and to River Valley (60-56). Bear River gets its last tune-up Friday at Lindhurst prior to tipping off PVL play at Lincoln (6-9) Tuesday.

Colfax (11-4), which won the Kendall Arnett title, appears to be the favorite to take the PVL prize. The Falcons have won eight straight games including victories over larger schools such as Nevada Union, Roseville and Del Campo during that stretch.

Foothill (10-5) and Center (10-6) will also likely be in the title chase. Foothill is fresh off wins over Berkeley (65-61) and Bella Vista (63-35), as the Mustangs have won four of five. Center has won four straight games, including a victory over an 11-5 Division I Pleasant Grove team on Jan. 5.

Central Valley California League

Judging by their 6-10 overall record, Forest Lake Christian's Falcons might not seem like one of the top contenders for the CVCL crown in comparison to Victory Christian (10-5) and Sacramento Waldorf (10-4).

But FLC coach Dave Thomas is banking on his team's tough non-league schedule paying off during the CVCL season. Thomas hopes his Falcons learned through the lumps they took in a 4-10 start to the season, while playing larger schools.

So far, so good. Forest Lake Christian came out and dominated its first two CVCL foes last week, beating Foresthill (54-35) and Cristo Rey (66-23). But those two teams have combined to produce an 0-16 record thus far.

In addition to Victory Christian and Sac Waldorf, FLC (2-0) is also likely to face tougher tests when the Falcons take the floor against Delta (6-4) or Woodland Christian (5-10). Delta defeated FLC 61-52 on Dec. 30 in the Vacaville Christian Christmas Classic.

Tom Ritchart doesn't expect his Lady Falcons to be among the league leaders when the CVCL comes to a close in 2011, but he does expect his young Forest Lake Christian squad to make some strides along the way.

FLC (2-15) picked up its second win of the season last Friday with a 53-25 defeat of Cristo Rey, which snapped a string of 14 consecutive losses for the Lady Falcons. Forest Lake Christian (1-1 CVCL) is likely to face its toughest tests when squaring off with Sac Waldorf (10-5), Foresthill (9-2) and Victory Christian (9-7).