article 4th Region Week 6 Review

ICYMI - Check out the All-2010s 4th Region Team here: http://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/4th-region-all-386018.html

 

1) Bowling Green (13-3) - 1/7 47-44 W #7 Barren County, 1/10 71-63 W #3 Greenwood, 1/11 68-55 W at Muhlenberg County

Previous Rank: 1

This Week: 1/14 vs. #5 South Warren

 

2) Warren Central (10-4) - 1/6 84-62 W #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/9 83-39 W at #16 Warren East, 1/11 58-46 W at #10 Franklin-Simpson

Previous Rank: 2

This Week: 1/16 vs. Knox Central (at Owensboro Sports Center)

 

3) Greenwood (9-7) - 1/7 84-47 W at #15 Todd County Central, 1/10 63-71 L at #1 Bowling Green

Previous Rank: 3

This Week: 1/13 vs. Hopkinsville, 1/17 at #14 Warren East

 

4) Logan County (13-3) - 1/7 72-47 W at Daviess County, 1/10 72-37 W #14 Russellville, 1/11 74-57 W Madison Central (at Russell County)

Previous Rank: 5

This Week: 1/18 vs. Madison Southern (at Southwestern)

 

5) South Warren (10-5) - 1/10 72-61 W #4 Glasgow

Previous Rank: 6

This Week: 1/14 at #1 Bowling Green, 1/17 vs. Christian County, 1/18 at Hopkinsville

 

6) Glasgow (9-8) - 1/7 61-42 W at #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/10 61-72 L at #6 South Warren, 1/11 56-37 W #15 Todd County Central

Previous Rank: 4

This Week: 1/13 at #8 Clinton County

 

7) Barren County (8-6) - 1/7 44-47 L at #1 Bowling Green, 1/10 68-34 W Adair County

Previous Rank: 7

This Week: 1/14 at #14 Warren East

 

8) Clinton County (13-5) - 1/7 49-45 W at #11 Russell County, 1/10 62-56 W #13 Metcalfe County

Previous Rank: 8

This Week: 1/13 vs. #6 Glasgow

 

9) Franklin-Simpson (8-7) - 1/7 74-63 W at Hart County, 1/10 55-42 W at #15 Todd County Central, 1/11 46-58 L #2 Warren Central

Previous Rank: 10

This Week: 1/14 vs. #10 Allen County-Scottsville

 

10) Allen County-Scottsville (8-7) - 1/6 62-84 L at #2 Warren Central, 1/7 42-61 L #4 Glasgow, 1/10 67-52 W #12 Monroe County

Previous Rank: 9

This Week: 1/14 at #9 Franklin-Simpson, 1/17 at Westmoreland (TN)

 

11) Russell County (7-9) - 1/7 45-49 L #8 Clinton County, 1/10 52-59 L #17 Cumberland County, 1/11 66-52 W Daviess County

Previous Rank: 11

This Week: 1/14 vs. McCreary Central

 

12) Monroe County (5-8) - 1/7 75-74 OT W at #17 Cumberland County, 1/10 52-67 L at #9 Allen County-Scottsville

Previous Rank: 12

This Week: 1/13 vs. #16 Russellville

 

13) Metcalfe County (8-7) - 1/7 51-40 W Green County, 1/10 56-62 L at #8 Clinton County

Previous Rank: 13

This Week: 1/13 at #17 Todd County Central

 

14) Warren East (2-10) - 1/6 73-69 W at #17 Cumberland County, 1/9 39-83 L #2 Warren Central

Previous Rank: 16

This Week: 1/14 vs. #7 Barren County, 1/17 vs. #3 Greenwood

 

15) Cumberland County (4-12) - 1/6 69-73 L #16 Warren East, 1/7 74-75 OT L #12 Monroe County, 1/10 59-52 W #11 Russell County

Previous Rank: 17

This Week: 1/16 vs. TBA

 

16) Russellville (4-8) - 1/7 64-73 L Caverna, 1/10 37-72 L at #5 Logan County

Previous Rank: 14

This Week: 1/13 at #12 Monroe County

 

17) Todd County Central (2-13) - 1/7 47-84 L #3 Greenwood, 1/10 42-55 L #10 Franklin-Simpson, 1/11 37-56 L at #4 Glasgow

Previous Rank: 15

This Week: 1/13 vs. #13 Metcalfe County

 

Notes

-Bowling Green picked up their eighth, ninth, and tenth consecutive wins this week, though none were all that easily come by. Against Barren County to open the week, the Purples fell behind by 12 points in the third quarter, but managed to close that entire gap and take the lead by quarter's end, and survived a potential game-tying three pointer in the waning seconds of a 47-44 win. Against Greenwood it was the opposite - the Purples were dominant in the first half, and held a 20 point lead in the third. Greenwood managed to whittle that all the way down to two points in the final minute as they eschewed their three point attack and went straight at the rim. Isaiah Mason rescued the Purples with an and-1 to restore a five point lead, and Bowling Green held on for their 14th consecutive home win over Greenwood, and second in two weeks. Finally, Bowling Green had a tough time shaking Muhlenberg County all night, but closed the game on a 13-2 run in the final four minutes for a 68-55 win. They have another big district game this week, taking on South Warren - who they have never lost to in 23 meetings.

 

-Warren Central took the 2A Sectional crown this week, advancing with a 22 point win at home over Allen County-Scottsville, and holding off Franklin-Simpson in their second game at Franklin-Simpson this year in a 12 point result on Saturday. The latter game was of particular interest as the Wildcats gave Central trouble with their full court press, just as they did in their first game. Kobe Brents missed all of his three point attempts and Central was merely 4/16 from the perimeter in the game. Dre Boyd was hampered by foul trouble, going to the bench at the 6:22 mark of the second quarter with two fouls, and picking up his third on a charge just five seconds after re-entering just over four minutes later. And yet, the Dragons survived, and Boyd still managed his fifth straight 20+ point effort by dropping 23, playing the entire second half without a foul. They take on Knox Central in the 2A state quarterfinals on Thursday, and if they advance from there, likely will meet undefeated John Hardin in the semifinals.

 

-Logan County has now won nine straight games, and has been lighting up the scoreboard, with five straight games over 70 points. The Cougars are doing it with balance, as five players average between 9.4 and 12.8 PPG. They're shooting over 60% from two, and are a bit of a throwback in the modern era, with a higher concentration of shots inside than outside (64:36 ratio).

 

-Glasgow's poor injury luck caught them again. Tucker Kirkpatrick returned from a knee injury last week, but exited their loss against South Warren with a reaggravation of the injury. It was already tough to know exactly how much he'd play, and it remains to be seen what the impact of this is moving forward. Worse, starters Jaden Franklin and Landon Frasier exited and sat the entire second half. Franklin had knee soreness, while Frasier suffered a thumb injury. Those injuries, and uncertainty about the future, is a major factor in Glasgow dropping to sixth in the rankings.

 

-The 16th District race has been an intriguing one to watch. Clinton County has already wrapped up the top seed in the district tournament, with a 5-0 district record just six weeks into the year. However, four of those five wins came by a combined 18 points, with every team in the district coming within four of a win once. That's a dangerous cocktail for that 1/4 game in the postseason. Every other seed in the district is up for grabs. Metcalfe County is 0-4, but has a game against both Russell County and Cumberland County remaining. Cumberland County is 2-2 with games against Metcalfe County and Russell County remaining, while Russell County is 1-2 with one game remaining against all district opponents. It's not inconceivable we could see a three-way tie for second place. The 2/3 game is probably most important to Cumberland County, which has not advanced to a region tournament in 11 years - their only appearance since 1999.

 

-The All "A" Classic tournament gets going this week. With Glasgow's injury concerns, it is perhaps fair to consider them and Clinton County co-favorites. One of those teams will be gone after Monday, as they meet at Clinton County in round one. Glasgow is returning to the field for the first time since 2016, when they won the tournament. Clinton County has won the last two editions. Whichever teams survives that, they will be the only team in our top ten remaining in the field.

Bump.