It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

When else can you drag yourself out of the snow and cozy up in a high school gymnasium for six hours to watch Ypsilanti, Pioneer and Huron battle top-notch competition.

Holiday showcases. Ho ho ho.

Yes, while Santa puts the finishing touches on his own aggressive itinerary, I’m planning holiday travel around things like Friday night’s Romulus Holiday Classic. And next week’s girls and boys basketball tournaments in Chelsea and Dexter. And the Saline Holiday Showcase on Jan. 2.

Forget the roasted chestnuts and open fire. Give me a bag of popcorn and a full-court press any day.

Besides the day of gluttony in Romulus, it’s a light Friday night prep sports schedule as we head into the holiday lull. But there are just enough games to present our first high school basketball predictions column of the winter season. You can play along by filling out the polls listed below.

In my Ann Arbor News predictions swan song, I finished 53-17 (.757) during the 2008-09 basketball season.

BOYS BASKETBALL Ypsilanti vs. Southfield Lathrup (at Romulus): Getting the Romulus Holiday Classic started at 4:30 p.m., the Phoenix meet up with Lathrup star Roy Marble Jr., who is following in his father’s large footsteps to Iowa. The 6-foot-5 Marble is Lathrup’s primary ball handler this season, so he’ll be pestered frequently by Ypsilanti’s strong guard rotation led by Kyle Woodyard and Jevonte McGuire. Lathrup, 58-50

Pioneer vs. Detroit Henry Ford (at Romulus): Pioneer gets the 6:10 p.m. tipoff against a Henry Ford team that has a quality win over Clarkston on a neutral court on its way to 3-0 start. This will be a big test for an inexperienced Pioneer team that already has a home-court win over Gabriel Richard on its resume. Henry Ford, 52-46

Huron at Romulus: The marquee game (9:30 p.m. tipoff) of the Romulus showcase features two teams looking to join the conversation about the state’s best teams. Romulus made its case by beating defending Class A state champion Detroit Pershing 96-95 last week. Now it’s the River Rats’ turn. Huron, 88-85

Skyline at Central Academy: One of only three varsity games on the Skyline schedule this season, the young Eagles should have an edge on the perimeter with guards Theron Wilson and Jordan Woods. But Central Academy’s 6-foot-6 Sami Shalabi could give them trouble inside. Skyline, 52-46

Saline at Novi: In our print edition, I erroneously stated that Saline was looking for its first win. Not true. Apologies. The Hornets (1-2) beat East Lansing in their season opener. It is still true that Saline will have to slow down 6-foot-8 Samer Ozeir to get their second win of the season. Ozeir is averaging 22 points and 12.5 rebounds for the Wildcats. Novi plays at Livonia Churchill Thursday night, so Saline should have fresher legs. Novi, 65-59

GIRLS BASKETBALL Pioneer at Saline: Pioneer got a big head start in the Southeastern Conference Red Division title race by beating defending champ Temperance Bedford on Tuesday. The Pioneers (3-1) had their best defensive effort of the season, holding the Kicking Mules to 12 first-half points. That could be bad news for a Saline (2-3) team averaging 36.2 points. Pioneer, 49-40

Lincoln at Ypsilanti: Both of these teams handed Willow Run a loss earlier this season, so let’s consider this game the Ypsilanti city championship. Ypsilanti, 41-37

Dexter at Chelsea: Always an entertaining rivalry, the Bulldogs and Dreadnaughts battle in a key Southeastern Conference White Division matchup before the holiday break. (And a short break it will be for them, since they both host tournaments Dec. 29-30). Dexter, 50-47

Now it's time for you to play along ...

BOYS BASKETBALL

GIRLS BASKETBALL