The start to high school basketball area play along with some key matchups among ranked teams highlights the New Year.

Below are five games to watch in the Birmingham area this week.

MOUNTAIN BROOK (14-5) AT CLAY-CHALKVILLE (13-7) — BOYS

Day/Time: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

The skinny: Class 6A, non-area game. Second-ranked Mountain Brook has wins against Class 7A sixth-ranked Thompson along with Vestavia Hills with quality losses to Class 7A top-ranked Huntsville and third-ranked Central-Phenix City as well as three out of state teams. Creighton signee Ty Davis (17.1 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds) and John Carwie (8.3 points, 3.1 steals) lead the Spartans. Unranked Clay-Chalkville has a quality win over eighth-ranked Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa and overtime loss to Class 7A Vestavia Hills. Devon McKinnon, Kevin Kirk and Victor Odiari lead the Cougars.