1) Warren Central (17-1) - 1/10 92-65 W at Hopkinsville, 1/13 54-39 W at #2 Bowling Green, 1/14 90-51 W Lebanon (TN) (at Greenwood)    
Previous Rank: 1    
This Week: 1/17 vs. #3 South Warren, 1/20 at #3 South Warren, 1/21 at Evangel Christian    
    
2) Bowling Green (16-4) - 1/10 68-63 W #4 Franklin-Simpson, 1/13 39-54 L #1 Warren Central, 1/14 67-54 W Pope John Paul II (TN) (at Greenwood)    
Previous Rank: 2    
This Week: 1/17 vs. Muhlenberg County, 1/20 vs. #12 Greenwood, 1/21 at McCracken County    
    
3) South Warren (14-2) - 1/9 65-45 W #17 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/13 66-49 W #13 Greenwood    
Previous Rank: 3    
This Week: 1/17 at #1 Warren Central, 1/20 vs. #1 Warren Central    
    
4) Franklin-Simpson (8-6) - 1/10 63-68 L at #2 Bowling Green, 1/13 38-54 L Lexington Catholic (at Owensboro SportCenter)    
Previous Rank: 4    
This Week: 1/17 vs. #12 Greenwood, 1/20 at #15 Logan County    
    
5) Barren County (12-7) - 1/10 60-49 W #5 Monroe County, 1/13 56-39 W at #14 Glasgow, 1/14 69-59 W at #12 Russell County    
Previous Rank: 6    
This Week: 1/17 at Pulaski County, 1/20 vs. #17 Allen County-Scottsville    
    
6) Warren East (8-6) - 1/13 73-43 W #17 Allen County-Scottsville    
Previous Rank: 7    
This Week: 1/17 vs. #18 Foundation Christian Academy, 1/20 vs. #13 Glasgow, 1/21 vs. Daviess County    
    
7) Todd County Central (11-7) - 1/13 70-48 W #15 Logan County    
Previous Rank: 8    
This Week: 1/16 vs. #10 Metcalfe County, 1/20 at #9 Russellville    
    
8. Monroe County (11-6) - 1/10 49-60 L at #6 Barren County, 1/13 69-64 W #16 Cumberland County    
Previous Rank: 5    
This Week: 1/16 vs. #11 Clinton County    
    
9) Russellville (5-10) - 1/13 40-56 L at Paducah Tilghman    
Previous Rank: 9    
This Week: 1/16 at #16 Cumberland County, 1/20 vs. #7 Todd County Central    
    
10) Metcalfe County (6-10) - 1/12 68-69 L at Edmonson County    
Previous Rank: 10    
This Week: 1/16 VS. #7 Todd County Central, 1/21 at Adair County    
    
11) Clinton County (9-8) - 1/10 70-49 W #16 Cumberland County, 1/13 53-36 W at #12 Russell County    
Previous Rank: 11    
This Week: 1/16 at #8 Monroe County, 1/21 vs. Madison Southern    
    
12) Greenwood (5-14) - 1/10 84-81 W Butler County, 1/13 49-66 L at #3 South Warren, 1/14 66-97 L Christ Presbyterian Academy (TN)    
Previous Rank: 13    
This Week: 1/17 at #4 Franklin-Simpson, 1/20 at #2 Bowling Green, 1/21 vs. Campbellsville (at John Hardin)    
    
13) Glasgow (5-10) - 1/13 39-56 L #6 Barren County    
Previous Rank: 14    
This Week: 1/16 vs. #18 Foundation Christian Academy, 1/20 at #6 Warren East    
    
14) Russell County (6-11) - 1/10 46-56 L at #17 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/13 36-53 L #11 Clinton County, 1/14 59-69 L #6 Barren County    
Previous Rank: 12    
This Week: 1/17 at Casey County, 1/19 at Taylor County, 1/21 vs. #16 Cumberland County    
    
15) Logan County (6-11) - 1/10 53-29 W #18 Foundation Christian Academy, 1/13 48-70 L at #8 Todd County Central    
Previous Rank: 15    
This Week: 1/17 vs. #17 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/20 vs. #4 Franklin-Simpson    
    
16) Cumberland County (5-11) - 1/10 49-70 L at #11 Clinton County, 1/13 64-69 L at #5 Monroe County    
Previous Rank: 16    
This Week: 1/16 vs. #9 Russellville, 1/21 at #14 Russell County    
    
17) Allen County-Scottsville (2-13) - 1/9 45-65 L at #3 South Warren, 1/10 56-46 W #12 Russell County, 1/13 43-73 L at #7 Warren East    
Previous Rank: 17    
This Week: 1/17 at #15 Logan County, 1/20 at #5 Barren County    
    
18) Foundation Christian Academy (4-7) - 1/10 29-53 L at #15 Logan County, 1/13 59-20 W Metro Christian Academy (TN)    
Previous Rank: 18    
This Week: 1/16 vs. #13 Glasgow, 1/17 at #6 Warren East    

Notes:

-We had a full thread on the big game of the week, as #1 Warren Central visited #2 Bowling Green and came away with the 54-39 win. Central was held almost 21 points below their season average, just their second sub-60 effort on the year, but they responded by holding Bowling Green to their lowest home total in 14 years.

-After their 90-51 win over Lebanon (TN) on Saturday, the Dragons now have an eight game winning streak.  They average margin of victory during that streak? 29 PPG.  They have a rare (and weird) back to back against South Warren this week on Tuesday and Friday, and then have probably their most intriguing game left on the schedule when they visit BGP-ranked Evangel Christian on Saturday.

-Bowling Green tuned up for the game against Warren Central with a home matchup with Franklin-Simpson, where they extended their home win streak (at the time) to 23 in a row.  The Wildcats pushed the Purples, with the game tied going into the fourth quarter, but Bowling Green emerged with their 16th consecutive victory over Franklin, who they have not lost to since 2009.  They raised their all-time record against Franklin-Simpson to 98-54, their most against a single opponent in their history. They've won 31 of the last 36 meetings between the two teams.  They followed that up on Saturday with a big comeback against Pope John Paul II (TN) - they trailed 23-8 after the first quarter but won the final three quarters 59-31.  They too have a marquee game on Saturday, when they visit McCracken County in a BGP-ranked matchup.

-South Warren continued their stellar season with a pair of victories this week, including a 17 point win over district rival Greenwood.  The Spartans are now 14-2, which matches their win total for all of last season.  The Spartans had great balance in the win over Greenwood, with six players scoring between 7 and 12 points.  It was a perimeter kind of game for South, as they went 13/30 from deep, attempting only 19 shots from within the arc.  South has won seven consecutive true road games, but are heading into their toughest one of the year when they visit Warren Central, who have won 13 in a row at home and 26 of 28.  This is the toughest stretch of the year for South Warren, who will play Warren Central twice this week, followed by a week in which they'll visit former district rival Warren East, and then finally tormentor Bowling Green.  Even if they were to lose every game in that stretch, they are still strongly expected to surpass the team record for wins in a year, the 19 won by the inaugural South Warren squad.

-Checking in on the 16th District this week, Clinton County got a week they desperately needed, scoring two big wins over Cumberland County (70-49) and Russell County (53-36).  That raises their record to 4-3 in district play, with only their official contest against Monroe County on January 31st left to go.  It seemed unlikely they'd fall to the 4/5 game, but this makes it a virtual impossibility, requiring Russell County to win out while Metcalfe County would still need to pick up another win that wasn't against the Lakers. Cumberland County dropped another pair of games to fall to 0-5 - they're pretty much a lock for the 5 seed.  All told, Monroe leads the district at 5-0, Clinton County is 4-3, Metcalfe County is 3-2, Russell County 1-3, and Cumberland County 0-5.  Some of these teams may/will meet during the All "A" Region tournament this week, but they won't count towards the official standings.

-Speaking of the "All A", the regional opens tomorrow at various sites around the region, before moving to the semifinals and finals at Monroe County on Thursday and Friday.  The draw is extremely top heavy, with Russellville checking in as the only team in our top ten from the bottom teams in the bracket. They open up on the road at #16 Cumberland County, and then will meet the winner of #13 Glasgow at #18 Foundation Christian Academy (I'll be blunt - that means Glasgow).  That's a very favorable draw to the finals for a team seeking their first region crown since 2017.  They have in fact not even won a game in the All A Region tournament since that year. Meanwhile, the top half of the bracket features four of our top five ranked teams in the field, and each game should be very competitive.  District foes Clinton County and Monroe County will open at Monroe - who will not have to travel in any game in their pursuit of the title.  Clinton County has won three of the past five regionals, advancing to the finals of the state tournament in 2021.  Meanwhile Monroe County is seeking their first crown since 2015, when they also advanced to the state finals.  These two teams played in Monroe County back on December 6th, with Monroe taking the 51-48 decision.  Two of the past three champions play in the other quarterfinal in the top half, as the top ranked team in the field Todd County Central hosts Metcalfe County.  The two teams don't play with great frequency - this is only the 12th matchup from the 97/98 season on - but they did meet in the "All A" last season, with Todd County Central taking a 72-67 decision en route to region title.  Todd Central enters the game as winners of seven of their last nine games, while Metcalfe County has dropped five of six.  It'll be interesting to see what role momentum plays.  My pick is Monroe County to take the title home, but anyone from that top half plus Russellville would not be overly surprising. 

 

Great information!

1.  Warren Central is the best team in this region by some margin.  As a Bowling Green fan I don't get any vitamin C boost when I say that, but just think it's just true this year.  Do I think BG can beat Central in a one game scenario?  Yes, but many, many things would have to fall their way.

2.  Bowling Green is a very good team.  But they seem limited.  Wardlow, Bailey and Ridder are very strong, and they have "some" depth, but had more earlier.  What happened to Trevy Barber and Elijah Starks?  Not in the know enough to know.  

3.  VERY odd to have back-to-back district opponents in the middle of the regular season.  Don't ever recall that.  Sucks to be South.

4.  Warren Central vs Evangel Christian on the road is a good test for the Dragons.

5.  Likewise, BG headed west to McCracken County who always plays well at home will also be a big test.

2 hours ago, Purple88 said:

Great information!

1.  Warren Central is the best team in this region by some margin.  As a Bowling Green fan I don't get any vitamin C boost when I say that, but just think it's just true this year.  Do I think BG can beat Central in a one game scenario?  Yes, but many, many things would have to fall their way.

2.  Bowling Green is a very good team.  But they seem limited.  Wardlow, Bailey and Ridder are very strong, and they have "some" depth, but had more earlier.  What happened to Trevy Barber and Elijah Starks?  Not in the know enough to know.  

3.  VERY odd to have back-to-back district opponents in the middle of the regular season.  Don't ever recall that.  Sucks to be South.

4.  Warren Central vs Evangel Christian on the road is a good test for the Dragons.

5.  Likewise, BG headed west to McCracken County who always plays well at home will also be a big test.

Elijah Starks isn't at Bowling Green anymore - he left the team and school at the end of December, and is at Warren Central now.  It's not clear whether he'll be eligible to play this year or basically before January 1 of next season, but he's off the table for the Purples.  Barber has been out with an injury for a while, but DG in his postgame indicated that he expects him back in the next game or two.  One of the things that DG was talking about in general is how little continuity the team has had this year between illnesses and injury, which is always especially difficult to overcome when dealing with a younger team. In general, the primary thing that is ailing Bowling Green in terms of a matchup with Warren Central is that they just don't have the same length to match the Dragons.  Ritter is the tallest player on the floor, and they've got a couple of other guys with some size like Lightning and Bratton (who did not play the other day), but the type of length that Central has is rare, and they're all pretty much guards capable of playing any spot 1-5.  That  makes it very tough for an undersized team to match up with them, and even press them, because Central can just throw over their press. 

In general, I agree with the sentiment that in a one-game scenario, it's entirely possible Bowling Green could win given the right circumstances.  After all, I feel they were in a similar spot last year in terms of their personnel (granted, with Mr. Basketball), and they were right there with the full strength Central team in the region finals.  But it would be tough to see the right things falling into place this year.  After this year, I don't know who is going to beat them for years. Central is going to have the better player next year in Unseld, but they're going to need a lot of guys to develop quick if they want to really be able to swing with a Bowling Green team that will suddenly be more experienced and veteran.