article 7th Region Rankings (Updated as of morning of 12/22)

This is through December 21. I was going to wait until the completion of the KOB, but with the results so far, nothing much will change a team’s ranking much. This week there wasn’t a much of a shift hardly at all in the rankings. Completely different than what I thought would happen. Last week’s ranking in parentheses (). Next Rankings for 7th region will come New Year’s Eve at the completion of the Post-Christmas Tournaments.

1. Trinity (8-0) (1)

Still executing at a high rate and playing beautifully as a team. Notched huge wins against Owen Co. and Dunbar in the first two rounds of the King of the Bluegrass. They have cemented themselves as not only the best team in the region, but the best team in the state in my opinion. Let’s see if they can keep the streak alive against a very good Bullitt East squad tonight in the semifinals. They have at least two more games win or lose in the KOB, and play in the Traditional Bank Classic in Lexington next week where they should be favored. A loss tonight won’t change their number one status in the region this week.

2. Male (7-1) (2)

Male have a solid showing in the Best in Hoops Classic, finishing 3rd. Their only loss was to the eventual champion Oldham County in a close 4 point game in the semifinals. They go to the Lake Cumberland Holiday Hoops Classic next week, where they open up against a good North Hardin team that’s currently in the final four of the KOB.

3. Manual (7-3) (3)

Manual cemented their status as the #3 team in the 7th region polls with a runner up finish in the Best in Hoops Tourney. Had a tough blowout loss to Oldham County in the championship game (which is why I still have Male at #2), but had solid wins against Spring Hill, TN, and Lexington Catholic. Manual starts out with a very good Cooper team that knocked off Covington Catholic in their first game of the season in the first round of the City of Middletown Classic at Eastern High School.

4. Eastern (4-2) (4)

They notched a good win versus a solid, yet injury depleted Bryan Station team in the first round of the Woodford County Invitational Tournament. Play host Woodford County tonight in the quarterfinals, and finish that tourney this week. Start off with Elizabethtown in their own City of Middletown Holiday Classic.

5. Central (4-3) (5)

Pulled off a big upset in a high scoring shoot-out with Taylor County in the first round of the KOB, hitting 14 threes. However, they went completely cold in the second round game to Bullitt East last night. They get a very good Dunbar team tonight in the 5th round bracket. Next week they travel to Northwest Indiana to play a road game at top 25 (IN) East Chicago Central, and also play in the Gary Holiday Tournament in Gary, IN.

6. Ballard (4-4) (7)

After adding who Coach Renner calls his 2nd best player in Clivonte Patterson, Ballard seems to be hitting their stride as they have another weapon to go along with Wilson and Alvey. They dropped a heart breaking loss by way of a buzzer beater to North Hardin in the first round of the KOB, and notched a solid win to a very good Bowling Green team last night. They get Waggener tonight in the consolation bracket for 7th place. They travel to Tennessee next week to play in a very tough Next Level Hoops Fest field; hosted by TN state power Christ Presbyterian Academy.

7. Waggener (4-3) (6)

Dropped a tough game to a very good top 5 in KY Bullitt East team in the first round of the KOB. Also lost to Taylor County in the Consolation bracket, but they get to live and play another day by way of the brawl that happened with the Miami Sr. (FL) and Gainesville (GA) teams in their game and getting suspended for the remainder of the tournament. Waggener gets Ballard tonight for a chance to secure a solid win. They travel to Florida next week to play in the Pensacola Catholic High School Holiday Tournament.

8. Kentucky Country Day (5-1) (8)

They’ve only played one game this past week, and that was a 12 point win to 1-11 Atherton. Doesn’t move them up any or down. Have a good chance to climb the rankings with opportunities for wins against solid competition at the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic in Lexington next week. They open up with hometown Bryan Station in the first round.

9. Christian Academy (5-3) (11)

Notched big blow out wins against Whitefield Academy and Collegiate this past week. They also had a solid 11 point win against Anderson County in the first round of the Twin Lakes Classic yesterday. They finish that tournament this week; and play in the Henry County Invitational next week. They get host Henry County in the first round.

10. St. Xavier (4-4) (9)

They scored a win against struggling Atherton, and then got overmatched in their road trip to Park Hills, KY, against state power Covington Catholic (resulting in a 27 point loss). They also lost to a good Soutwestern team in OT in the Panther classic last night. They get a very good Hopkinsville team tonight. They travel to Bowling Green for the Meijer Holiday Classic next week, and open up with Barren County.

11. Portland Christian (4-4) (12)

Had a big loss to Moore, and blew out Covington Latin in the first round of the PCS Holiday Classic last night.

12. Brown (5-5) (13)

Won 2 out of 3 games in the Itty Bitty Tress and Trends Classic this past week.

13. Shawnee (1-4) (10)

32 point loss to Memphis Catholic in the Rumble at the Ridge knocks them out of the top 10.

14. Atherton (1-11) (14)

Tough week for Atherton, as they go 0-4 (since 12/16), and drop every game to St. X, KCD, North Oldham, and North Bullitt.

15. Seneca (0-7) (15)

Got blown out by Frankfort. I’m still giving them the benefit of the doubt because of their strength of schedule (as far as them not dropping) right now, but they will drop if they don’t win a game in their own Wes Unseld Classic next week.

16. St. Francis (2-8) (16)

Would’ve moved up with a couple of wins, but went 0-4 against sub-par competition this week. Lost to Evangel Christian, Eminence, Collegiate, and Beth Haven.

17. Walden (1-4) (16)

Wolverines are off until January 2, so they may not be moving anywhere anytime soon.