4th Region Week 5 Review

[DragonFire]

1) Bowling Green (9-0) - 2/1 88-50 W at University Heights, 2/2 63-27 W Christian County, 2/5 57-45 W #2 Warren Central    
Previous Rank: 1    
This Week: 2/9 at John Hardin, 2/12 at #7 South Warren, 2/13 at Elizabethtown    
    
2) Barren County (11-3) - 2/2 62-59 W Pulaski County, 2/5 65-62 W #3 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/6 63-53 3OT W #2 Warren Central    
Previous Rank: 7    
This Week: 2/9 vs. #7 South Warren, 2/11 vs. #5 Clinton County, 2/12 vs. #9 Glasgow    
    
3) Warren Central (4-3) - 2/5 45-57 L at #1 Bowling Green, 2/6 59-63 3OT L at #7 Barren County    
Previous Rank: 2    
This Week: 2/12 at Owensboro    
    
4) Allen County-Scottsville (9-3) - 2/2 76-59 W #9 Glasgow, 2/5 62-65 L at #7 Barren County, 2/6 85-27 W at Cloverport    
Previous Rank: 3    
This Week: 2/9 vs. #10 Russellville, 2/12 at Taylor County    
    
5) Clinton County (13-1) - 2/2 65-49 W #14 Cumberland County, 2/5 49-44 W at #16 Monroe County    
Previous Rank: 4    
This Week: 2/9 at #12 Metcalfe County, 2/11 at #2 Barren County, 2/13 at #11 Russell County    
    
6) Franklin-Simpson (5-1) - 2/4 63-47 W at #17 Todd County Central, 2/6 78-56 W #14 Cumberland County    
Previous Rank: 5    
This Week: 2/9 at #15 Warren East, 2/12 at #10 Russellville    
    
7) South Warren (6-3) - 2/3 54-45 W at Henderson County, 2/6 43-41 W at #6 Greenwood    
Previous Rank: 12    
This Week: 2/9 at #2 Barren County, 2/12 vs. #1 Bowling Green    
    
8. Greenwood (6-6) - 2/3 58-66 L Fern Creek, 2/5 41-43 L #12 South Warren, 2/6 72-63 W Murray    
Previous Rank: 6    
This Week: 2/9 at #16 Monroe County, 2/12 vs. #15 Warren East, 2/13 vs. Manual (at Iroquois)    
    
9) Glasgow (6-6) - 2/2 59-76 L at #3 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/4 77-69 W #8 Metcalfe County, 2/5 67-49 W Caverna    
Previous Rank: 9    
This Week: 2/8 vs. Edmonson County, 2/9 at #14 Cumberland County, 2/12 at #2 Barren County    
    
10) Russellville (5-3) - No Games    
Previous Rank: 10    
This Week: 2/9 at #4 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/12 vs. #6 Franklin-Simpson    
    
11) Russell County (5-9) - 2/2 57-40 W #8 Metcalfe County, 2/5 47-56 L at Adair County, 2/6 51-79 L at LaRue County    
Previous Rank: 13    
This Week: 2/9 vs. Danville, 2/12 vs. Rockcastle County, 2/13 vs. #5 Clinton County    
    
12) Metcalfe County (9-5) - 2/2 40-57 L at #13 Russell County, 2/4 69-77 L at #9 Glasgow, 2/6 59-54 W #16 Monroe County    
Previous Rank: 8    
This Week: 2/9 vs. #5 Clinton County, 2/12 at #14 Cumberland County, 2/13 vs. Wayne County    
    
13) Logan County (1-5) - No Games    
Previous Rank: 11    
This Week: 2/12 at #17 Todd County Central    
    
14) Cumberland County (1-11) - 2/2 49-65 L at #4 Clinton County, 2/4 59-71 L at Hart County, 2/6 56-78 L at #5 Franklin-Simpson    
Previous Rank: 14    
This Week: 2/8 vs. #16 Monroe County, 2/9 vs. #9 Glasgow, 2/12 vs. #12 Metcalfe County    
    
15) Warren East (0-2) - No Games    
Previous Rank: 15    
This Week: 2/9 vs. #6 Franklin-Simpson, 2/12 at #8 Greenwood    
    
16) Monroe County (2-10) - 2/2 67-21 W Foundation Christian Academy, 2/5 44-49 L #4 Clinton County, 2/6 54-59 L at #8 Metcalfe County    
Previous Rank: 16    
This Week: 2/8 at #14 Cumberland County, 2/9 vs. #8 Greenwood, 2/12 at Foundation Christian Academy    
    
17) Todd County Central (3-8) - 2/2 42-51 L Christian Fellowship, 2/4 47-63 L #5 Franklin-Simpson    
Previous Rank: 17    
This Week: 2/12 vs. #13 Logan County, 2/13 vs. Dawson Springs    

Notes

-After continuing their onslaught through margins of 38 and 36 points early in the week, #1 Bowling Green finally looked slightly mortal.... for at least three quarters.  The Purples entered the game averaging 77.25 PPG but scored all of two points in the first quarter, trailing by as many as 11 in the second quarter.  It didn't last.  They led 24-20 at the half, but still just 37-32 entering the fourth before Turner Buttry scored eight points in a 10-2 Bowling Green run to put the game away.  The 57-45 result was still their closest margin of the year, but let that sink in - 12 points is their CLOSEST margin of the year from a schedule that includes top 20 teams Ashland (26 point margin) and Somerset (32 points on the road).  A big stretch is coming for the Purples in the next three weeks as they meet some true powers, starting with road trips to John Hardin and Elizabethtown this week.

-Meanwhile, the close result was seemingly going to ensure Warren Central stuck in the #2 slot, but Barren County had different ideas.  Both teams showed the wear of playing tough district games the night before, and frankly, the game was not pretty.  But after surviving regulation and letting two chances at the win slip through their fingers in the first two overtimes, Barren County finally got the stops they needed and put away Warren Central 63-59 in three overtimes.  The Trojans have rather quietly won eight games in a row, bouncing back to the #2 position despite the loss of their best player in Aden Nyekan.  Barren County got the win in large part due to a 22/25 performance from the foul line, overcoming getting outrebounded by 20.  It was the longest game in a decade for Warren Central, who went 2/22 from three and just 18/28 from the foul line.

-The night before the Trojans had another game that put a shot across the bow with a 65-62 win over ACS, avenging a loss earlier in the year.  It won't help them in district seeding thanks to the one-season change in rules, but the two results cement their dark horse status. 

-Most of the other results in the region went as expected with two very sizable exceptions.  The first was a South Warren victory over a fading Greenwood squad.  When the two met at South Warren a month ago, Greenwood put a running clock on the Spartans with a 79-46 victory.  This time around the Spartans held Greenwood to a single point in the fourth quarter, getting a game winner with just under 30 seconds remaining and preventing Greenwood from getting off more than a half court heave in their attempt to win, sealing a 43-41 victory.  That followed a nice 54-45 road win over Henderson County earlier in the week.  Like Barren County, the win did nothing to help them in district standings, which is a bit of a bad break.  Realistically, there is no path out of the 4/5 game for South Warren, who would need to beat Warren East (yes) and Bowling Green (uh, no) AND have Greenwood lose to Warren East to climb out of the bottom.  But the growth for the team has been impressive. 

-The other surprising result came in the Metcalfe County/Russell County tilt.  The game ultimately didn't really matter much as the two are already locked into playing each other in the postseason, but it was still very surprising to see Russell County hold Metcalfe County to a season low 40 points in the contest.  The Hornets shot 24.1% from the field, going 14/58 and only going 8/10 from the foul line.  That'll pretty much do it.  Russell County had won only three games since their season opener entering the game against Metcalfe, against teams that are a combined 3-33.  Two of those are in their first years playing in the KHSAA.  The Lakers were only 1/15 from three but were 23/36 from inside the arc, getting 21 points from Scott Hamm and 17 from Devonte Grayson, who was a perfect 6/6 from the field. 

-Looking forward, South Warren has themselves an interesting week.  They'll visit #2 Barren County on Tuesday before hosting #1 Bowling Green on Friday.  Good luck with that! #2 Barren County hosting #5 Clinton County is another game of intrigue this week.  Clinton County leads the region with 13 wins while Barren County is the only other one to reach double digit wins so far with 11. 

 

[Paul Dean]

According to the KHSAA if you are able to play your seed games, they are to count toward seeding, as I was told yesterday.  I think as of now Greenwood and South are tied.  It would be unfair not to do it this way considering the other team may have kids out with Covid, and lets face it some teams would not play twice on purpose.  No reason not to re-schedule games if you can prevent it.

[DragonFire]

@Paul Dean

If that's the case, I can tell you the people I have talked to here are unaware of it, which includes an AD and media.  In the 14th District, Warren East has managed to play one opponent - Bowling Green.  At current time Bowling Green and Warren Central are not scheduled to play again, and Warren East is scheduled to play Greenwood, South Warren, and Warren Central only once.  I can't imagine that if each team is not able to get in their full eight district games (and I see no reason to believe they will) that they will use the second game to seed any of them.  There's also this:

 

His subsequent tweet notes that it is in effect until further notice for the entire 20/21 school year. Now that was in July, but I have yet to find anything superseding that. The KHSAA has a tweet regarding that as late as November 18th:

 

Now I will also grant from the KHSAA bulletin posted on January 15th that this seems kinda confusing in light of those communications: "A reminder from the guidance document, if a district has voted to play multiple times for seeding, the first game played shall be the tiebreaking game in the seed pattern, regardless of previous decisions." So it at least talks about the first game being the tiebreaking game (which would be applicable here given Greenwood on the first game), but it still stops short of seeming to read like it eliminates the previous communication.  So I again have to defer to those I have talked to and just the reality that there is no way a second game is getting scheduled for many of these teams. 

 

[8th Region Warrior]

Other regions and districts are using the if you place twice scenario, it counts, I have been told that as well by other coaches.  I think the first one counts only if you can not play the second one for example.  I would think you are right that the second one is not being scheduled however if it is and you play it I am assuming it counts.  You would be essentially punishing teams that have had a run in with Covid, and having players out.  

[DragonFire]

10 minutes ago, 8th Region Warrior said:

Other regions and districts are using the if you place twice scenario, it counts, I have been told that as well by other coaches.  I think the first one counts only if you can not play the second one for example.  I would think you are right that the second one is not being scheduled however if it is and you play it I am assuming it counts.  You would be essentially punishing teams that have had a run in with Covid, and having players out.  

I guess my question is what do you do when not every team in that district plays their second game? Let's say, for instance, that Greenwood plays Bowling Green twice, South Warren twice, Central and East once.  They go 0-2, 1-1, 0-1, 1-0 in those respectively and finish 2-4 in district play.  Now say South plays Bowling Green once, Greenwood twice, Central once, and East twice, going 0-1, 1-1, 0-1, and 2-0 in those for a 3-3 record.  The key being that they played Warren East one more time than Greenwood (getting the advantage of an additional win and a much easier game) while Greenwood took on one of the top 5 teams in the state an additional time, getting saddled with an additional loss.  That's all hypothetical, because I don't know how all that plays out, but I would think if you can't balance the schedule by everyone playing in the district twice that you therefore can't count the second game.  I mean, talk about creating a scenario where someone wouldn't reschedule a second game.... why would any of these teams take a chance on playing Bowling Green a second time?

I'm asking again, but it just doesn't quite add up to me, personally.

[DragonFire]

https://khsaa.org/resources/Covid19/CovidResumptionofSports/ApprovedVersion/Winter/basketballcombined.pdf

Specifically the excerpt on page 7:

"DISTRICT SEEDING CHANGES FOR 2020-21 UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE➢If teams within a district play multiple times, the first game played shall be counted as the seeded game. (REQUIRED)"

[8th Region Warrior]

8 hours ago, 8th Region Warrior said:

Other regions and districts are using the if you place twice scenario, it counts, I have been told that as well by other coaches.  I think the first one counts only if you can not play the second one for example.  I would think you are right that the second one is not being scheduled however if it is and you play it I am assuming it counts.  You would be essentially punishing teams that have had a run in with Covid, and having players out.  

I think the second bullet under the listing is what is in question.  If games are cancelled it counts as a win and a loss for those teams. 

[southspartan]

I’m thinking WC is getting the short end of the stick on this season only got 7 games under belt BG will have 12 at end of Etown game.

Some teams have 14 games under their belt and have 16 I don’t know if it’s the Coach Unseld not trying to get fill in games I don’t see WC getting better without getting more games some teams are gonna have 20-25 games and teams like east and WC will struggle to get to 15 will hurt them come postseason time SRs are losing out.

[DragonFire]

They got a few added later in the schedule during these past few days, but I agree, they’re getting shafted a bit. I know they’re trying to get games on the schedule. For whatever reason, it does seem to me like Central has trouble with scheduling in multiple sports.