Wayne County travels to Southwestern tonight. They last played on December 13 at Wayne County and WC won 84-74, close enough that one could say that the home court edge was a decisive factor. WC is now 20-0 and SW has won 13 of their last 15 with their only losses to a good West Jessamine team (who has suffered losses to some tough competition) and a highly ranked Doss team. SW has definitely shown strong improvement during the season.

 

A win for WC extends their undefeated season and clinches a bye for them into their District Final. A win for SW would be a boost to SW's season, likely resulting in a tie for the District #1 spot (which would then be resolved by a coin flip) and allowing pundits to question exactly whether WC is as good as previously touted and likely resulting in an immediate drop from top ten status in the various polls & rankings.

 

WC obviously loves to push the pace of the game, averaging 82.0 PPG with an average victory margin of 21.5 PPG while SW is no slouch averaging 75.8 PPG with an average victory margin of 17.5 PPG. Unless whistles & fouls slow the pace the odds are favorable that this will be a high scoring affair, perhaps a very high scoring game with maybe both in the eighties or nineties.

 

What's the consensus here? Will WC manage to beat a very good and continually improving Southwestern at SW? Or will SW continue to build on their impressive record thus far and shake things up in the 12th Region?

 

It might be fair to say that tonight's games of WC at SW and the one further up the road pitting Boyle County vs. Lincoln Count (at LC) could very well be an preview of the teams most likely to make it to the Regional Semi-Finals. Certainly both will be excellent entertainment for any basketball junkie.

Wayne wins in a close one...79-75.

I think Wayne has bigger tests remaining than this one. Southwest appears to be a solid team but it's tough for me to believe that they are a top 20 caliber team. I think it woud be a surprise if Wayne doesn't win. I think they will do so by a comfortable margin.

 

Lincoln and Boyle should prove to be a much tighter game IMO.

Unless Kapinga moves back today, I don't think Wayne should lose this one. And if they do, maybe all the fuss will fade.

I think Wayne has bigger tests remaining than this one. Southwest appears to be a solid team but it's tough for me to believe that they are a top 20 caliber team. I think it woud be a surprise if Wayne doesn't win. I think they will do so by a comfortable margin.

 

Lincoln and Boyle should prove to be a much tighter game IMO.

 

Of course they have bigger tests remaining, they currently have three top 20 teams remaining on their schedule according to BGP, but that doesn't lessen the importance of this game to both schools.

 

The rankings support your statement regarding Lincoln but not Boyle which in my mind goes back to matchups again and whether a team is offensive-minded or not. Boyle isn't and I personally think that hurts teams such as them in the "objectively-based" ratings as I definitely consider Boyle one of the top 12th Region contenders).

 

But also - what you're not factoring in is that: (1) The intra-District competition - like Lincoln & Boyle, WC & SW play at least each twice each season; and (2) The long-time intense competition between Coaches Woods and Wright. Might not seem as significant to those of you up in the 45th District but for those of us here in the 48th every game is big and both teams approach it that way.

 

And I note that SW will be visiting Lincoln this coming Monday night and will visit Boyle on the 11th. I seriously doubt that either Coach Jackson or Coach Adams will be regarding them as lightly as you infer.

Lots of valid points but I think you, at least partially, are missing mine. My comments were meant as less of a slight to SW and more of a compliment to Wayne. Neither Lincoln nor Boyle boast 20-0 records and are in the top 10, so there's no way their coaches would overlook SW. I'm convinced Wayne is easily top 20, but not convinced SW is. So, Wayne should win this one, district and coaching rivalries and all.

 

You are dead on regarding match-ups, including style of play. Boyle's D and deliberate style give them a chance against some teams that, on the surface, you wouldn't think they'd beat. Also, Boyle has a kid that can change the game (defensively) in the lane. Not sure how much that affects Woods given his game, or even Blevins, but it could be a big factor for Stearns. And Boyle also has a kid in Tyler that's a tremendous shooter and can put up points in bunches. And a host of others that can knock down the outside shot. Deliberate style? Yes, but they can score the ball.

 

Likewise in the Lincoln v Boyle game. You can't argue the point that Lincoln's resume is better but Boyle presents match-up issues for Lincoln in the ways mentioned above.

With it pretty much a lock that the two teams will meet for a third time in the district finals I don't think either coach feels that this is a must win. They both know the next meeting will be the one to put everything into to get a shot at a better regional draw.