Seeing as how this is a presidential election year, I thought in the spirit of debate we would open up a discussion about something that has become a recurring topic in some of the comments on my blog lately.

A few ground rules first. (1) No diverting from the topic. (2) Try, as much as possible, to leave your own feelings about a team or school, out of it. In other words, check your emotions at the door - or at least before your fingers start working the keyboard.

Alright, we good? Let's dive in. Here's the question:

Which would you rather be?
(A) Team that has steamrolled through it's tournament games;
(B) Team that has been involved with several highly contest match ups and come out victorious.

Now, the reason this conversation is relevant in the present is because tomorrow, the Brownsburg boys basketball team will face No. 1 New Albany, which is 26-0 on the year and have an average margin of victory of 22 points per game, in the Indiana high school state basketball tournament Class 4A semistate at Southport. The Bulldogs won their first three tournament games by 13, 17 and 17.

Does this mean that New Albany is just on another level? Certainly. But does it mean they can't be beat? No. As the old saying goes, any team can be beat on a given day.

But New Albany does present the argument for (A) above. The Bulldogs have been aggressive defensively; no school has scored more than 59 points on them this tournament. Plus, Jim Shannon's club is hungry in its own right, as New Albany has been close to advancing this far, but never made it out of regionals (two losses in the regional final in 2003 and 2007).

However, another group might argue that New Albany will eventually run into a team that gives them a close game. The question then becomes, how will the Bulldogs respond? Will they get tight? Will they wilt under the pressure?

The other side of this debate is just as intriguing. Brownsburg (20-5) has been in several see-saw battles this season and in the tournament.

Brownsburg has won its tournament games by 5, 7, 2, 4 and 4. The Bulldogs (yes, these two schools share a nickname) have been in pressure-packed situations throughout this postseason.

One could argue they are well-equipped at handling any situation that may arise this weekend, as evidenced by their nail-biting victories. Players like Julian Mavunga (who tallied 43 points and 30 rebounds last Saturday at regionals) and Gordon Hayward are building a reputation of coming through in the clutch.

Or you could argue that they've been flirting with the jaws of defeat. Or you could argue that they are tired and New Albany, by virtue of their blowouts, will have the fresher legs.

So what are your thoughts? Leave a comment below if you have more to say about this topic or would like to add to a point made already.

Personally, while I'm sure a little of both is true, I'm not sure which team is in the better position heading into tomorrow's showdown at Southport. I think they're both two great ballclubs and it should be a great game.

And no matter which team wins, I doubt this debate will be over anytime soon.

Be sure to check out HSSTM.com for all the high school happenings this weekend!