Lets face it. NewCath could not solve CovCath the last few years period. Team built around the "biggs". Now there is only one "big" left, and he has some pretty good talent around him. Win over Cooper last week (who beat CovCath earlier this year) shows they are again one of the 3-4 best teams in No. Ky IMO. Not sure too many on here would disagree with that statement. Plus I am bias... my nephews play on this team. Reason enough to believe they win Friday night.

 

They 100% are one of the top 3 teams in the 9th in my mind, no question. They are well coached, have a marquee player, an improving supporting cast, and a dead-eye shooter. Great ingredients. I think CovCath has occupied some space between their ears the last couple of years, and that may be different with this crop -- we'll find out on Friday night. Win or lose, at worst, NewCath is top 4 in the region, and again, when all is said and done, I think are clearly in the top 3.

 

I'm very much looking forward to that one on Friday night at BOK (BB&T).

Interesting.... just how does Cooper get ranked ahead of NewCath? Didn't they play last week? If I remember, NewCath was pretty impressive in that victory. I guess they will have to beat CovCath Friday night to get any respect. Different makeup to this years NC team then in the recent past; will be interesting to see how they match-up with the Colonels this time. Could be surprising...

 

NCC is close to being ranked and are very well respected. I think you could take out pretty much any team from 14-20 and not skip a beat. This has been a really hard season to rank teams.

Yes sir I have and I agree they are very talented but they don't seem very energized when playing big opponents and could be why they got beat by the best 2 teams they have played all year. But I agree 100% they are talented

All this talk about Mercer's strength of schedule. Funny thing is strength of schedule, and the results of those games, are exactly what determine the rankings for the CJ and Herald Leader polls - where Mercer is 1 & 2, respectively. Numbers aren't biased.....

All this talk about Mercer's strength of schedule. Funny thing is strength of schedule, and the results of those games, are exactly what determine the rankings for the CJ and Herald Leader polls - where Mercer is 1 & 2, respectively. Numbers aren't biased.....

 

Victories over KY opponents also plays into the equation and Mercer County has more of those than anyone else. Wins over out of state opponents don't factor into those ratings and there are quite a few teams at the top with multiple victories over out of state teams. Margin of victory is also a factor and Mercer County leads the state in margin of victory. Imagine if Mercer County was undefeated with Trinity or Bullitt East's schedule. They'd be the undisputed #1 team in the state by far.

Victories over KY opponents also plays into the equation and Mercer County has more of those than anyone else. Wins over out of state opponents don't factor into those ratings and there are quite a few teams at the top with multiple victories over out of state teams. Margin of victory is also a factor and Mercer County leads the state in margin of victory. Imagine if Mercer County was undefeated with Trinity or Bullitt East's schedule. They'd be the undisputed #1 team in the state by far.

 

Perhaps if Trinity or Bullitt East were undefeated with their respective schedule, they'd be the undisputed #1. But they're not.

 

Regarding out of state teams, as has been stated, there's no way of rating them to determine their relative strength, thus the reason they aren't included. Also, the fact Mercer has played 17 in state opponents to only 15 for another team does not (in and of itself) give Mercer an advantage in these rating systems. The volume of data (games) only serves to enhance the probability of the outcome being correct.

 

I'm not saying Mercer is the #1 team in the state. Maybe, maybe not. The point I'm making is that it shouldn't be lost on anyone that 2 systems that rank teams based on strength of schedule, along with performance against those teams, is spitting out that Mercer is either 1st or 2nd.

 

Is it better to lose to a top 10 team; or to beat a top 15 team by 4 points; or to beat a top 30 team by 25 poimts?

While we can disagree on this all day, the CJ and HL polls do this analysis for us using mathematics/statistics. They are objective equalizers.

Perhaps if Trinity or Bullitt East were undefeated with their respective schedule, they'd be the undisputed #1. But they're not.

 

Regarding out of state teams, as has been stated, there's no way of rating them to determine their relative strength, thus the reason they aren't included. Also, the fact Mercer has played 17 in state opponents to only 15 for another team does not (in and of itself) give Mercer an advantage in these rating systems. The volume of data (games) only serves to enhance the probability of the outcome being correct.

 

I'm not saying Mercer is the #1 team in the state. Maybe, maybe not. The point I'm making is that it shouldn't be lost on anyone that 2 systems that rank teams based on strength of schedule, along with performance against those teams, is spitting out that Mercer is either 1st or 2nd.

 

Is it better to lose to a top 10 team; or to beat a top 15 team by 4 points; or to beat a top 30 team by 25 poimts?

While we can disagree on this all day, the CJ and HL polls do this analysis for us using mathematics/statistics. They are objective equalizers.

 

 

The same HL poll that has Covington Catholic #1, Trinity at #6, Cooper at #25 and Holy Cross unranked? That's an objective equalizer?

 

I could be be mistaken but I always thought points scored and margin of victory factor into these ratings by Cantrall. I'd love to know the entire formula used to calculate these ratings. I'm not sure it has ever been known or discussed on here.

And again, for the record, I can likely make an argument for Mercer County being #1 in the state better than anyone else in the state who isn't from Mercer County. I KNOW how good this team is. I've watched this team for almost a decade now. From a rankings stand point it is super super hard to convince people just how good Mercer County is if they haven't seen them play and all they see is 20 point blowouts to teams that we all know are below average. Once Mercer County's schedule beefs up the argument becomes much easier to make on their behalf. Beating a now at full strength Wayne County in Wayne County makes a strong case for Mercer County.

Mercer will have their opportunities to prove their worth. I think they are one of the best if not the best team in the state, regardless of their opponents so far. Once they play at Wayne, Montegomery Co., at Lafayette, and at Southwestern, if they are still undefeated, that should silence the critics and they should be ranked No. 1 in the state.

On another note, what was the last team to win the Sweet Sixteen who was ranked number 1 in the BGP poll going into the Sweet 16?

On another note, what was the last team to win the Sweet Sixteen who was ranked number 1 in the BGP poll going into the Sweet 16?

 

Trinity in 2012.

 

 

 

Bullitt East was the final #1 in 2013.

Ballard was the final #1 in 2014&2015.