It is the unknown that makes a Class B Eastern Maine Tournament matchup of a Camden Hills and Foxcroft Academy or an Erskine Academy and MDI so intriguing.

The teams don’t know each other. They don’t play each other. They don’t see each other.

But teams build reputations over the years and one thing certain is that top-seeded Camden Hills will put on a good show. The Windjammers, 16-2, have won back-to-back state championships and three in the last four years.

Camden Hills will blow into the Auditorium with a game played at almost a frantic pace. The Windjammers will play a tough, trapping full court defense that can harry even the calmest of players.

“I think we’re pretty talented,” Camden Hills Jeff Hart says. “I think we’re finding our way through this thing. We’re a lot better than we were at the start of the season.”

The Windjammers began the season in search of a leader after losing all five starters from last year’s team. They found one in sophomore Tim Stammen. Stammen has a versatile and unselfish game. An assist seems to make him as happy as nailing a 3-pointer. “He can do just about anything. He’s a good kid and a fun kid to play with,” Hart said.

The Windjammers will meet the winner of the Orono-Hermon preliminary game in the quarterfinals.

To beat Camden Hills, good guard play will be a necessity. Third-seeded Foxcroft Academy may just have the goods in guards Danny White, Josh Withee and Bobby Gilbert. And while the 17-1 Ponies rely on the steady play of Withee, the long-range shooting of White and the inside-outside game of Gilbert, they are balanced by having an excellent inside game.

Big men E.J. Imbert at 6-foot-6 and the 6-5 Brandon Hall provide the Ponies with a strong presence in the lane.

“I think we’re playing pretty well,” Foxcroft Academy coach Dave Carey said. “We’ve played a couple of good teams lately that played really well. We’ve taken their best shot.”

Carey also points out that his team has played well in the fourth quarter when the game has been on the line.

“”We’ve shot free throws very well in the fourth quarter and we’re taking care of the ball. I don’t think we’ve had more than five or six turnovers in a game lately,” Carey said.

The winner of the 13-5 Mount View of Thorndike and 7-11 Caribou preliminary game draws Foxcroft in the quarterfinals.

Sixth-seeded Mount View is led by the scoring tandem of Marc McCorrison and Roy Goodale who are averaging 17.4 and 15.6 ppg, respectively while 11th seeded Caribou’s John Chasse, Justin Cederman and Matt Nason can give defenses headaches.

Houlton closed out the season with wins over Hodgdon and Fort Kent to finish 10-8. The wins also secured a place for the Shiretowners in the tournament as the 10th seed.

“We’re happy to be in,” Houlton coach Sean Callahan said. “We’ve got a game to win to get to Bangor. That was our team goal at the beginning of the season. We’re one step away.”

The Shiretowners, led by 6-5 freshman phenom Mark Socoby will travel to Readfield to take on seventh-seeded Maranacook.

Callahan hasn’t seen the 12-6 Black Bears play but knows about the scoring duo of Charlie Calligan and Matt St. John who are average 14 and 12 points respectively.

“From what I understand they are something like Camden. They throw a lot of pressure at you. We might have a size advantage,” Callahan said.

The Houlton-Maranacook winner will play Erskine Academy of South China. Erskine finished as the EM second seed with a 15-3 record. The Eagles are led by Matt Donar who is averaging almost 19 points per game.

Mount Desert Island enters the tourney in the fourth spot with a 12-6 record. Coach Wilton Jones is happy his team doesn’t have to play a knockout game.

“I’m looking forward to the tourney but I’m glad I don’t have to play a preliminary game. There are some good teams sitting at nine, 10 and 11,” Jones said.

Jones also used one of the oldest coaching cliches about the tourney when he said “it’s wide open.” But, he really means it. “Some years you say that and don’t really mean it but this year the parity extends beyond the top eight,” Jones explained.

The Trojans will play the fifth-seeded Winslow in the quarterfinals.

Jones hopes his team’s balance between the inside play of Jake King (6-3) and shooting guard Kyle Jones, the coach’s son, will be able to get the job done.

The Trojans are also buoyed by the return of 6-4 senior Ryan Colbeth who Jones said is “almost 100 percent” recovered from a foot injury.

Jones may be one of the few coaches facing a KVAC opponent who knows something about the opposition. Jones said he made the trip to see 14-4 Winslow recently.

“They look pretty athletic. They’ve got some size. They don’t go very deep but they definitely look like a solid team. They’re going to be a tough team to beat,” Jones said.