1) Bowling Green (10-3) - 1/2 65-59 W Spencer County (at South Oldham), 1/3 67-44 W Bullitt East (at South Oldham), 1/4 75-66 W Holmes (at South Oldham)

Previous Rank: 2

This Week: 1/7 vs. #7 Barren County, 1/10 vs. #3 Greenwood, 1/11 at Muhlenberg County

 

2) Warren Central (7-4) - 1/2 64-50 W Bullitt East (at South Oldham), 1/3 68-72 L at South Oldham, 1/4 70-71 OT L Spencer County (at South Oldham)

Previous Rank: 1

This Week: 1/6 vs. #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/9 at #16 Warren East, 1/11 at #7 Barren County

 

3) Greenwood (8-6) - 1/3 57-64 L Harvest Prep (OH) (at Holy Cross), 1/4 73-68 OT W Cardinal Stritch (OH) (at Holy Cross)

Previous Rank: 3

This Week: 1/7 at #15 Todd County Central, 1/10 at #1 Bowling Green

 

4) Glasgow (7-7) - 1/3 52-47 W #7 Barren County

Previous Rank: 4

This Week: 1/7 at #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/10 at #6 South Warren, 1/11 vs. #15 Todd County Central

 

5) Logan County (10-3) - 1/3 75-42 W #15 Todd County Central

Previous Rank: 5

This Week: 1/7 at Daviess County, 1/10 vs. #14 Russellville, 1/11 vs. Shelby County (at Russell County)

 

6) South Warren (9-5) - 1/3 57-65 L Beech (TN) (at Graves County), 1/3 41-59 L at Graves County, 1/4 68-60 W Calloway County (at Graves County)

Previous Rank: 6

This Week: 1/10 vs. #4 Glasgow

 

7) Barren County (7-5) - 1/3 47-52 L at #4 Glasgow

Previous Rank: 7

This Week: 1/7 at #1 Bowling Green, 1/10 vs. Adair County, 1/11 vs. #2 Warren Central

 

8) Clinton County (11-5) - 1/3 57-53 W at #17 Cumberland County, 1/4 48-34 W at Pickett County (TN)

Previous Rank: 8

This Week: 1/7 at #11 Russell County, 1/10 vs. #13 Metcalfe County

 

9) Allen County-Scottsville (7-5) - 12/30 65-60 W at Bullitt Central

Previous Rank: 9

This Week: 1/6 at #2 Warren Central, 1/7 vs. #4 Glasgow, 1/10 vs. #12 Monroe County

 

10) Franklin-Simpson (6-6) - 1/3 75-44 W at #14 Russellville, 1/4 59-53 W Muhlenberg County

Previous Rank: 10

This Week: 1/7 at Hart County, 1/10 at #15 Todd County Central

 

11) Russell County (6-7) - 1/3 44-45 OT L at #13 Monroe County, 1/4 54-41 W Buckhorn (at South Laurel)

Previous Rank: 11

This Week: 1/7 vs. #8 Clinton County, 1/10 vs. #17 Cumberland County, 1/11 vs. Daviess County

 

12) Monroe County (4-7) - 1/3 45-44 OT W #11 Russell County

Previous Rank: 13

This Week: 1/7 at #17 Cumberland County, 1/10 at #9 Allen County-Scottsville

 

13) Metcalfe County (7-6) - 1/4 67-69 L Butler County

Previous Rank: 12

This Week: 1/7 vs. Green County, 1/10 at #8 Clinton County

 

14) Russellville (4-6) - 1/3 44-75 L #10 Franklin-Simpson

Previous Rank: 14

This Week: 1/7 vs. Caverna, 1/10 at #5 Logan County, 1/11 vs. Edmonson County

 

15) Todd County Central (2-10) - 1/3 42-75 L at #5 Logan County

Previous Rank: 15

This Week: 1/7 vs. #3 Greenwood, 1/10 vs. #10 Franklin-Simpson, 1/11 at #4 Glasgow

 

16) Warren East (1-9) - No games scheduled

Previous Rank: 16

This Week: 1/6 at #17 Cumberland County, 1/9 vs. #2 Warren Central, 1/11 vs. Rockcastle County (at Russell County)

 

17) Cumberland County (3-10) - 1/3 53-57 L #8 Clinton County

Previous Rank: 17

This Week: 1/6 vs. #16 Warren East, 1/7 vs. #12 Monroe County, 1/10 vs. #11 Russell County

 

Notes

-I knew coming into the week that the potential was going to be there for a flip between 1 and 2 with Bowling Green and Warren Central playing two common opponents in the three day showcase at South Oldham. While Bowling Green didn't play the host as Central did, the two common opponent comparison went decisively to the Purples. Bowling Green smacked Bullitt East and Spencer County around - albeit letting Spencer County come back from a large deficit to make it a six point final. Warren Central struggled with Bullitt East for a while before settling in for a 14 point win, but fell in overtime to Spencer County, and with that, this simply had to be done.

 

-Bowling Green has now reeled off seven straight wins, and were impressive in each of their three wins this week. That contrasts with their performance in their home holiday tournament the week before, where they won every game but looked quite shaky at times. The team has experience but they're still remarkably younger experience - there's only two seniors on the team, and they are not the leaders. It appears they have settled in well, and they have scored 65 points or more in five of their last seven games. They match up with Barren County this week - the only region team outside the 14th District to beat Bowling Green in the last decade - and it is always a good benchmark for the team. Friday brings the all important rubber match with #3 Greenwood, and this one will count in the district standings. It's more important for Bowling Green than it is for Greenwood, for a loss would mean an 0-2 start in the official district standings. They haven't started 0-2 in the official district standings since 1995/96, prior to the seeded district tournament era.

 

-For Warren Central, they need to get healthy. The team is expected to have a nine man rotation, and that rotation has practiced together one time. Brents started the year on the shelf, then Muleka got hurt in Ashland, and now Wright is likely going to miss time with an ankle injury. The team ran into a three point buzzsaw in their two losses up at South Oldham, as South Oldham and Spencer County combined to shoot 22/48 (46%) against the Dragons, the driving force behind them allowing a season-high 72 and 71 points in the two losses. They had previously not allowed more than 59 points.

 

-Speaking of getting healthy, Glasgow got a big boost with the return of Tucker Kirkpatrick to the lineup. Kirkpatrick suffered a knee injury in the season opener, and while it remains to be seen how much floor time he can log, he came in during a the third quarter to knock down a three to tie the game against Barren County, providing a big psychological lift. Barren County led most of the game in the first three quarters, but Nik Sorrell had a personal 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter and staked the Scotties to a 46-40 lead, and the Trojans could not recover. The win moved Glasgow back to .500 and a 2-0 record in 15th District play.

 

-One of the more interesting off the radar stories is whether or not Metcalfe County will be able to notch their first winning season in nine years. They currently sit at 7-6, and they feature two of the most prolific scorers in the region. Boston Devore is averaging 20.8 PPG, and Peyton Dial has 16.5 PPG. The Hornets have been held below 60 points only three times all year, and have topped 80 three times. They may allow a lot of points too, but they are never dull to watch.They have a big game with Clinton County on Friday, who they fell to at home by a 53-49 score on December 13th, their season-low for points.

 

-With Russellville playing in (and losing) their first region game, Logan County is now officially the final unbeaten team in region play. They polished off Todd County Central by a 75-42 score to move to 2-0 in district play. Their road trip to Franklin-Simpson is probably their next actual region test (they play Russellville and Warren East in between), but there is a real chance they could run the region table into the postseason. Their most difficult region games remaining are likely games against Barren County, Glasgow, and Greenwood - all at home.

 

-The games this week most likely to impact the rankings: #16 Warren East at #17 Cumberland County (1/6), #8 Clinton County at #11 Russell County (1/7), #3 Greenwood at #1 Bowling Green (1/10), #4 Glasgow at #6 South Warren (1/10), #8 Clinton County vs. #13 Metcalfe County (1/10), #12 Monroe County at #9 Allen County-Scottsville (1/10). If you can only watch one, make it Greenwood at Bowling Green.

 

-On that Greenwood at Bowling Green game - another reminder that Greenwood has lost 13 in a row against the Purples at Bowling Green, the longest streak in the series. In fact, outside a four game span where Greenwood won all meetings from January 2006-December 2007, Bowling Green is 29-3 against Greenwood at home. They don't lose to them there very often. (Or to anyone - they're 128-18 there since early 2008.)

Edited January 6, 20206 yr by DragonFire

Great Report @DragonFire !

 

I got to make the BG vs Bullitt East game and thought BG looked good with the exception of being extremely thin down low. They seemed to have enough guards to move in an out when they needed to, but I believe F Huddleston played the whole game. I don't see that working out well against Warren Central. They had another big kid on the bench, but he never got in even in mop up duty. Thanks for the information!

Bump.