Palmerton head boys basketball coach Joe Egan likes Lehigh to reach the Final Four in the upcoming “March Madness” tournament.

The Mountain Hawks meet Prairie View A&M in their play-in game tonight.

“Why not?” beamed Egan, who is confident Lehigh can win its first tournament game since 2012. “I attended all three of their playoff games, so I’m going to keep riding with them.”

Egan was among a sampling of local basketball coaches who provided their Final Four and overall champion from the tournament that will feature a full slate of games beginning Thursday.

Duke and Arizona are the heavy favorites among the court mentors, and — except Egan — they don’t see any heavy underdogs getting there.

Aside from Lehigh, Egan prefers Duke, Michigan and Houston with Duke cutting down the final nets.

“As much as I dislike seeing Duke win, they have to be my top pick,” noted Egan. “Michigan has been in consideration all season for the top team in the country. With Houston, defense travels and they’ve been knocking at the door for years.”

Northern Lehigh’s Jake Waylen has Duke, Houston, Arizona and Iowa State, with Houston beating Arizona in the final.

Lehighton girls coach Nadia Gauronsky is going with Duke, Florida, Virginia and Arkansas. She has Duke and Arkansas meeting in the final, with Duke winning it.

“I think Virginia is a sleeper,” said Gauronsky. “Duke is outstanding, and Florida is playing their best basketball.”

Pleasant Valley’s Joe Berezwick is leaning toward all four of the No. 1 seeds — Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida, and has Duke winning it.

But Berezwick sees Iowa State as a darkhorse.

Tamaqua’s Jim Barron has a similar foursome with Duke, Michigan and Arizona, but his sleeper is Illinois. He envisions Michigan beating Duke in the championship game.

Northern Lehigh’s girls coach Brandon Hibbler has Michigan State emerging along with Duke, Arizona and Michigan. The Bulldogs’ first-year mentor has Arizona over Duke in a close one, 72-68.

Weatherly’s Luke Medico also favors the top seeds in Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Houston.

“It’s been a pretty chalk year,” stated Medico. “Duke or Houston will end up on top.”

Panther Valley’s Pat Crampsie believes Iowa State can crack through along with Duke, Houston and Arizona. He has Arizona to capture its first title since 1997.

Lehighton’s Trevor Miller has also put his trust in Arizona along with Duke, Houston and Michigan.

Jim Thorpe’s Brian O’Donnell broke the trend and went with UConn, along with conventional picks Arizona, Florida and Michigan, but went with Arizona to finish on top.

O’Donnell is sticking to his guns.

“If anyone has burned me in all of my brackets over the last few years, it’s been Arizona,” reflected O’Donnell. “But I’m rolling the dice again with the Wildcats beating Purdue to make the Final Four.

“I have Arizona and Florida meeting in the finals with Arizona winning in a shootout. I think this is the year the Wildcats finally come out on top.”

Who do you like? It should be another interesting tournament with its share of upsets.