article 15th District Tournament Preview

[DragonFire]

The 15th District was one of those that was easy to get a handle on the top for most of the year. There was Barren County, and then the rest of the district. The Trojans won their first five district games and looked to be on their way to an undefeated slate. All but one of those wins were by double digits, but a home win over Monroe County in January required OT, and was the first sign of vulnerability for Barren. That vulnerability was exposed on January 25th when Glasgow blasted them by 14 points. It was a game that didn't ultimately matter for seeding purposes, but was a sign that Barren County could be beaten. And who should Barren County end up playing in the district tourney?

 

Glasgow.

 

To the matchups.....

 

16th District Tournament at Barren County High School

February 18th

#1 Barren County vs. #4 Glasgow - In 2009, this was the matchup in the district semifinals, only with the reverse situation. Then, it was Barren County that entered as the 4 seed and Glasgow was considered a dark horse candidate for winning the region. But Barren County stunned the region by knocking off heavily favored Glasgow to advance to the region tourney. This year is on more even ground that that matchup was. Glasgow has been uneven, but the Scotties have notched big wins over teams like Russellville and Wayne County, and of course the win over Barren themselves. Barren has the big win over Russell County as well as one over Bowling Green, but have had some real head scratchers, such as the loss to Glasgow, a near loss to Monroe, and especially a loss to Franklin-Simpson. But the Trojans are at home, just as they were in 2009 when they beat Glasgow. They won their home game against Glasgow this year. And they should win it again. Just don't be shocked if it goes the other way. Prediction: Barren County by 5

 

#2 Monroe County vs. #3 Allen County-Scottsville - Monroe County took their lumps in December, falling to both Barren County and Glasgow in the district, but January and February have been much kinder to the Falcons. They went 3-1 in the district in the new year, including sweeping their opponent Allen County-Scottsville. Monroe's only losses were to teams rated in the top 6 of the region, falling by 3 to Bowling Green, 3 to Barren in OT, and 15 at Clinton County in the All A Classic. AC/S is a team going in the other direction. After a respectable 7-3 start, the Patriots are 7-10 going into a week that will see them likely take losses to Warren Central and Russell County. There's a good chance they'll enter the postseason losing 4 straight and 6 of 8. Adding that plus Monroe's previous victories over them, it's an easy choice as to who wins. Prediction: Monroe County by 9

 

February 21st

Predicted Matchup #1 Barren County vs. #2 Monroe County - Win or lose, it may not matter what happens in the 15th District final. Come the region draw, either team will be hoping to draw a team from the 13th District to avoid the landmines of the 14th or 16th District. It didn't profit Barren County any last year when they ended up drawing Russell County and making a swift exit from the region tourney. Which isn't to say it means nothing in the moment. Barren County will be looking to win back to back districts, something they haven't done since 2003 & 2004. Monroe will be looking for their first district title since 2004 when they were in the 16th District, and a Falcon win would complete a four year run that saw every team win one district title. Monroe will face a tough task in beating the Trojans at home, where Barren County fell only once this season. The Falcons did have their better game against Barren there, but the Trojans will make it back to back and complete a three game sweep of the Falcons. Prediction: Barren County by 6

[Randy Parker]

Bump