Class "A" first round matchup at 6:30 pm on Thursday.

 

Augusta makes its first trip to the Class "A" and the Panthers have their work cut out for them, with Owen County & Carson Williams as their opponent. Williams was one of 10 players selected to be on last year's All Bluegrass Preps team. Impressive work for a sophomore. As a junior, Williams is averaging 24.9 ppg & 14.3 rpg in leading the Rebels.

 

Jason Hinson's Panthers boast a trio of juniors who lead the team: guards Connor Maddox and Owens Crawford, along with versatile forward Camryn Snapp. Those kids played in the shadow of Brent Bach for a couple of years and have shown that Bach did not do it all by himself.

 

I really, really like this matchup and am looking forward to seeing it.

 

Who advances to the Quarterfinals and why?

Williams is a "very large", pun intended, problem for my Panthers and if they can hold him in check, I like our chances. I'll go out on a limb here and say that if we win game 1 we'll win game 2 and after that, anything can happen................:greedy:

I don't really know anything about Owen County except for what I've read about Carson Williams. And averages of 24 and 14 are quite impressive so stopping him should be a priority. As for Augusta, they are not the tallest or fastest but I'll put them up against anyone when it comes to heart. They are smart on both ends of the floor and find ways to win. They are not unbeatable but give them an opportunity to win and they'll be right there. I'm going to borrow from the UK schedule poster, heart over height. Panthers win.

Owen wins this one.

It will take multiple bigs to beat Owen. Rebs advance unless refs take him out of the game.

Both teams will have plenty of time to prepare..

Owen dodged a bullet in the 8th Region "A" Tournament, beating Gallatin County by only 2.

 

They had laid a running clock on the Wildcats earlier in the season.

 

Besides this near-miss, Owen County has been playing solid basketball all season.

How deep is Augusta? Do they play high pressure D? Man or zone? Who do they play between now and then? Owen has 4 games scheduled between now and then, including road games at Woodford Co and Grant Co.

 

Owen actually dodged the Gallatin Co bullet twice this year, both times in Warsaw coming down to a missed three by the Wildcats..sandwiched around that blowout that Mustang mentioned above. And, if I am not mistaken, Gallatin isn't a big team...maybe a 6-5 kid (McCubbin?). Could those games contain the blueprint for an Augusta win? They seem to be pretty good in late game situations.

Owens by 5

Gallatin at home are world beaters. On the road, not so much...

How deep is Augusta? Do they play high pressure D? Man or zone? Who do they play between now and then? Owen has 4 games scheduled between now and then, including road games at Woodford Co and Grant Co.

 

Owen actually dodged the Gallatin Co bullet twice this year, both times in Warsaw coming down to a missed three by the Wildcats..sandwiched around that blowout that Mustang mentioned above. And, if I am not mistaken, Gallatin isn't a big team...maybe a 6-5 kid (McCubbin?). Could those games contain the blueprint for an Augusta win? They seem to be pretty good in late game situations.

Wouldn't be surprised if Owen doesn't cancel against Grant. They always seem to cancel that road game, but they play them at home???

Bump.

 

Augusta by 1.

 

My apologies, Panthers.

Heart says Augusta; Head says Owen

 

I take Augusta in a barn burner by 2.

My heart says Augusta by 3 but my head says Owen by 8. I just don't know which one to follow :lol2:

Bump.

 

Augusta by 1.

 

My apologies, Panthers.

 

Well, crap!