Going into last week, 14 of the 16 teams who made the trip to Lexington had a chance to go back. As of now, only half that number have a chance to repeat:

 

Christian County (2nd)

Bowling Green (4th)

Taylor County (5th)

Doss (6th)

South Oldham (8th)

Mercer County (12th)

Elliott County (16th)

 

Tonight, 5 teams punched their ticket to Rupp

 

In the 7th Region, the Bruins of Ballard (27-6) will be making their 17th appearance in the Sweet 16 after a one year absence.

 

In the 9th Region, the Jaguars of Cooper (27-4) are making their 1st ever appearance in just their 9th year as a high school.

 

In the 11th Region, Scott County (29-5) is making their 15th overall appearance, 1st since 2014, and 5th as a representative of the 11th. The Cardinals' previous 10 trips to the Sweet 16 were as a member of the 8th Region.

 

In the 13th Region, the Black Bears of Harlan County (30-3) are making their 1st ever appearance in just their 9th year as a high school.

 

In the 15th Region, Pikeville (22-8) is making their 14th appearance and their first since 1999. The Panthers' 1st ever trip to the State Tournament was in 1922 from the 16th Region. Every trip since has been as a representative of the 15th.

 

More updates tomorrow following the conclusion of the remaining 11 Regional Title games.

South Oldham lost in the 8th Region semifinal, so we are now down to 6 teams with a chance for back-to-back trips to Rupp.

 

Of course, Bowling Green, Taylor County, Doss, and Elliott County would be more than repeat performers.

Collins (Martha Layne) wins the 8th Region. After a one year absence, the Titans (22-12) return to Rupp and it is their second appearance in the Sweet 16 in their 7 year school history.

Pulaski County (26-7) wins the 12th Region for the 5th time in school history and their first appearance since 1992.

In the only OT contest (so far) in the Regional Finals, Elliott County (25-3) wins the 16th Region. The Lions three-peat and have won the 16th for the 6th time. Their earlier 3 region titles also were a three-peat.

Scott (20-12) wins the 10th Region. This is the Eagles 2nd trip to the Sweet 16 and their first in the 10th. Their previous appearance was in 1989 as part of the 9th Region.

Fern Creek (32-2) wins the 6th Region preventing Doss from a three-peat. This is the Tigers 1st trip to the Sweet 16.

Taylor County (19-14) wins the 5th Region. The Cardinals completed their three-peat and will be making their 8th appearance in the Sweet 16. Their 1st appearance was in Region 6 in 1963, every one of them since has been in Region 5.

Hopkinsville (27-6) wins the 2nd Region. This will be Hoptown's 9th appearance at Rupp and this year makes 5 out of the last 6 as the representative of Region 2.

It took double overtime vs Knott County Central but Perry County Central finally won the game and the 14th Region championship for the first time since 2011, which is an eternity for the region's largest school. Final score 57-50.

Graves blew a 16 point lead but won in overtime 77-71.