Basketball fans will get a double-dose of the Delphi- Carroll rivalry this season as the schools are slated for two regular season games, as well as a third potential match-up at Sectional tournament time.

In an effort to get back to an annual tradition from several years ago, the two schools added a "home-andhome" series to the season schedule in an attempt to better showcase the rivalry, increase home game gate attendance and reduce travel costs to an opposing school that would be further outside of the immediate area.

This season, the first meeting will feature a "doubleheader" with the girls varsity basketball teams tonight, Wednesday, at Carroll, with the girls contest starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by the boys game at 8.

For the past several years, the girls have had the Wednesday night date before Thanksgiving to themselves for their annual event, but with the addition of a second match-up to the boys' schedule, it presented an opportunity for both to share in the traditionally-heavily attended pre-holiday date as both boys teams' season opener.

Double-headers of this type have grown in popularity throughout the state in recent years and have become a featured marquis event for some schools.

Each team's faithful will have a chance for a preview of the 2008-09 boys campaign after the two schools split their head-to-head contests last season, with Delphi prevailing 67-65 in a hardfought regular season thriller, and Carroll taking the Sectional semi-final 53-38 en route to their Sectional championship.

Carroll boys head coach Jeff Hodson enters his eighth season at the helm at Carroll and 18th overall, coming off of last season's 10-13 record that was highlighted by a 56- 54 victory over Seeger in the Sectional finale.

Head Coach Brian Tonsoni is entering his ninth overall season and his third at Delphi with a young team hoping to improve upon last year's 6-15 campaign.

Both boys teams have already held their IHSAA-approved "controlled scrimmages," but Wednesday night's match-up will be the first game that officially counts on the season schedule.

The Carroll and Delphi boys Junior Varsity teams opened the season on Tuesday night at Delphi in another double-header with the girls which finished too late for print in this week's edition of the Comet.