No, Edward Little coach Mike Adams did not look at the final Eastern Class A boys’ basketball Heal Point standings and have an anxiety attack. And no, Dirigo coach Gavin Kane doesn’t see his team being slotted atop the Western Class C tournament as a bad omen.

Edward Little and Dirigo earned the No. 1 seeds in their respective classes with the release of the final Heal Point standings on Sunday. Recent history has not been kind to either school when they have entered the tournament as the top dog, but neither coach would trade their perch for another.

“We’re proud to be the No. 1 seed going into the Western Maine tournament,” said Kane, whose team is No.1 for the third year in a row. “It has always been a goal of ours at the beginning of the year, and when you accomplish that, it means you had a very good regular season in a tough conference.”

“We’re excited. The kids have worked hard for this,” said Adams, whose team will play in its third consecutive Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship Monday. “These kids committed to the summer, committed to lifting, and we do it for a reason.”

In 2000, the Bryan Lambert-led Red Eddies were an unbeaten No. 1 when EL competed in Western A and fell to defending state champion Portland in the quarterfinals. Seven years later, Troy Barnies led another unblemished squad into the Augusta Civic Center, only to be knocked out by eighth-seeded Hampden Academy in the quarters.

EL (16-2) has since enjoyed some success on the Augusta Civic Center floor. They reached the regional final last year before losing to undefeated Bangor, and still have a strong nucleus remaining from that team led by Corey Therriault. But these Eddies, just like their predecessors, have also had to listen to whispers that they’re jinxed. Edward Little hasn’t played in a state championship since 1957.

“There’s no jinx or any of that. These are all different teams,” Adams said. “What’s gonna happen is gonna happen. We’ll come in and work just as hard as we did the first day of practice and hope everything works out. If it doesn’t, it’s not because of us being No. 1 or whatever else.”

Unlike their predecessors, the 2008-09 Eddies enter the tournament with a couple of losses, but like their forefathers, they also enter with the knowledge that they beat every team on their schedule. They avenged defeats to Brewer and Morse later in the season.

The Eddies earn a bye to the quarterfinals, where they will face the winner of the preliminary between No. 9 Oxford Hills and No. 8 Mt. Ararat. The Eagles swept both games during the regular season, including a four-point win in Topsham on Jan. 13.

Brewer and Morse enter the tournament as the second and third seeds, respectively. Morse awaits the winner of the preliminary meeting between No. 11 Leavitt (5-13) and No. 6 Mt. Blue (13-5).

The Hornets, who were 1-17 last year, finished this season strong under first-year coach Mike Hathaway, with two wins in their last three games. Wins over tournament teams Mt. Ararat and Cony, plus crucial victories over Skowhegan and in the season-finale over Oxford Hills, vaulted them past Skowhegan for the final spot. Mt. Blue struggled down the stretch, losing two of its last three, but the Cougars beat Leavitt twice this season by an average of 40.5 points.

Dirigo (17-1) has lived up to its top billing by reaching the Western C finals the last two years but lost to Boothbay in 2007 and eventual state champion Winthrop in last year’s regional championship. Kane thinks his team, led by Notre Dame-bound center Thomas Knight, will have a tough road back to this year’s regional.

“As a No. 1 seed, we may have one of the toughest quarterfinal matchups, with the winner of the Boothbay/Waynflete prelim,” he said.

“Many people feel that Wiscasset may have the most talent in the field from an offensive standpoint,” Kane added. “Traip is a solid team. Hyde may be the sleeper. Madison has had a great year and Winthrop can beat anybody on a given night.”

No. 7 Winthrop begins its title defense with No. 10 Hall-Dale in the prelims. The winner of that game meets No. 2 Wiscasset. St. Dom’s earned the No. 6 seed and meets Western Maine Conference rival Old Orchard Beach in its prelim. Livermore Falls won three of its last four to take the 12th spot in the bracket and will travel to No. 5 Madison in the prelims, while No. 14 Gould Academy faces No. 3 Hyde.

Mountain Valley snuffed Dirigo’s quest for a perfect regular season in their Mountain Valley Conference finale and secured the No. 3 spot in the Western B tournament in the process. The Falcons already know their quarterfinal opponent, No. 6 Lake Region, and will meet the Lakers at 11 a.m. on Valentine’s Day at the Portland Expo. Greely (16-2) earned the top seed and will take on the winner of the prelim between No. 9 York and No. 8 Gray-New Gloucester.

In Class D, Buckfield enters the playoffs as the No. 8 seed and hosts No. 9 Islesboro in a prelim. The winner will face top-seeded Forest Hills in the quarterfinals. No. 3 Elan has a bye to the quarterfinals, where it will face No. 6 Greenville.

Three of the four remaining brackets feature unbeaten No. 1 seeds – Deering in Western A, Camden Hills in Eastern B, and Fort Fairfield in Eastern D. Washington Academy (17-1) is the top seed in Eastern C.