Call it the Chatard City Curse.

Bishop Chatard hasn't won a game in the boys City Tournament since 2001, and it's 1-10 in the event over the past decade. The Trojans (7-1) will look to snap that streak when they open this year's event against Manual at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Tech.

"It's been really frustrating," said coach Chris Quinn, who is in his third season as head coach. "We haven't played great early on the last few seasons, then we go to the City Tournament, think it's a good (opportunity) to get things going, and we've been one-and-out. One of our main goals (this season) is to show up and play our best."

Manual is 1-6 entering its game with Northwest tonight, but Chatard has lost to a team with a worse record five times during its current City slump.

The Trojans have had decent teams in recent years. The past five squads that have gone one-and-out include a sectional, regional and state champion, and Bishop Chatard is a combined 118-88 during that stretch.

The 2003 Class 3A state title team lost only two games, but one of them was to Cathedral in the City Tournament in which the Trojans blew a double-digit halftime lead.

"I think it's about attitude and having the right mind-set going into it," Quinn said. "These guys are very hungry. Every time they step on the floor, they believe they're going to win no matter who they're playing. Hopefully that new attitude and the mind-set of these guys can carry over into the City Tournament and we'll have some success."

Bishop Chatard, which plays University tonight, will have its second-best record -- the 2002-03 team was 9-0 -- entering the event during the drought.

The team has been prone to slow starts due to the success of the football teams, but this year, Tyler Kleinschmidt (a team-high 14.4 points per game) and Joe Holland (5.1), starters in both football and basketball, are a bit fresher.

They each took on less of a workload this fall in football on Chatard's state championship team.

Quinn also has six players, including three starters, that didn't play football, creating a foundation in preseason practice that was able to work the members of the football team in seamlessly. Bishop Chatard is deep, with four different players leading the team in scoring in eight games and the bench producing an average of 28 points.

"If we get that first win, I think we'll have some success," Quinn said. "We just need to get over that hump."

This, however, is not a good year to count on a long tournament run as the event is as strong and deep as it's been in recent memory.

Cathedral (No. 3) and Northwest (No. 6) are ranked in The Associated Press Class 4A top 10, and Arlington is 11th. Those three schools have combined to win the past eight tournaments.

Chatard and Howe, however, are both receiving votes in the 3A poll, Broad Ripple is on a four-game winning streak, and Tech is off to its best start in more than a decade.

"It might be a little bit deeper," Arlington coach Larry Nicks said. "I think there are several teams that can knock anyone off on any night. Cathedral, Northwest and ourselves are the strongest teams, but other program could beat us and make it interesting."