My apologies for not posting last week. We are now halfway through the season and there are still just as many questions as at the beginning of the season. Elizabethtown and Taylor County continue strong play and have occupied the top 2 spots most of the season. Washington County and Central Hardin are still probably the two most individually talented teams in the region, but something just doesn’t seem to click on a consistent basis for them. Larue County and North Hardin are still a mystery to me. Some nights they look like they could be regional contenders and then some nights, they look like it might be a struggle to get out of the district, which should still be a concern for North, with the likelihood of having to play Central in the first round of the district. Caverna and Adair County are teams that I personally think are overachieving and will be teams that nobody will want to play come district time.

1.      Elizabethtown (12-5)

The Panthers hold onto the top spot, going 4-1 since the start of the new year. Two of those wins come against district rivals, North Hardin and Central Hardin. Etown looked fairly dominant in both of those wins. Their most recent loss came at the hands of Evangel.

2.      Taylor County (14-3)

Taylor County went 3-1 over the last 2 weeks. They defeated Larue County in the 2A sectional which was a big win for the Cards. They also picked up a win against district foe Marion County. They lost to McCreary Central in overtime in the 2A State Tournament.

3.      Washington County (12-6)

Washington County has had a good start to their new year. Going 4-1, including winning the 5^th Region All A tournament. They defeated Caverna to pick up the trophy. They had a 6-game winning streak snapped this past Saturday with a 9-point loss to Central Hardin.

4.      Central Hardin (10-8)

The Bruins picked up a nice win against Washington County on Saturday, but it’s been very inconsistent from one game to the next. Losses to district opponents North Hardin and Elizabethtown makes the Jan. 26^th rematch against North Hardin almost a must-win game.

5.      Larue County (9-6)

The Hawks have only played 2 games since the start of 2023. A 2-point loss to Taylor County and a dominant 20-point win against Garrard County. The Hawks return to the court with three games this week, hosting Butler County and district foe Hart County and then playing in the Nathan McCurry Classic at John Hardin against Madisonville-North Hopkins

6.      Adair County (12-4)

Adair County is on a 3-game winning streak, with wins over McCreary Central, Berea and Thomas Nelson. The Indians have 3 games against out of region teams this week.

7.      Caverna (14-6)

The Colonels are 4-1 to start 2023. A string of wins against Marion County, Hart County, Campbellsville and Fort Knox have them at 14 wins already this season. They dropped the All A regional finals to Washington County by 12 points. Caverna has a home district game against Green County this week.

8.      North Hardin (8-6)

The Trojans are 2-2 over the last 2 weeks. An important win against Central Hardin for district implications but that was followed by a 17-point loss to district opponent Etown. Henderson County defeated North Hardin by 18 on Saturday. The Trojans have the chance to build some momentum with 2 district games against John Hardin and Fort Knox. They’ll close the week with a game against St. X.

 9.      Bethlehem (9-8)

The Eagles are playing well right now. They are 3-1 over the last 2 weeks, picking up wins against Thomas Nelson and Nelson County respectively. They also had a 4-point win over Breck County. Their lone loss during that time came against Washington County in the All-A tournament, a 3-point loss. I’m still trying to find out if that game will also count as a district game.

10.  Green County (8-9)

 The Dragons are trying to get back some positive momentum after losing two in a row to top 5 teams, Etown and Washington County. They have a big district game on Friday night at Caverna. They need to be very competitive in that game to show they can have a chance to advance to the regional tournament.

 11.  Campbellsville (8-8)

12.  Bardstown (5-9)

13.  Hart County (6-7)

14.  Nelson County (5-12)

15.  Fort Knox (4-7)

16.  Thomas Nelson (2-13)

17.  Marion County (1-14)

18.  John Hardin (0-16)

 

Again, quality coaching is huge in high school basketball. Coach Haire is the best coach in the Region, and you can always count on Elizabethtown improving as the season progresses. You can also count on Central Hardin not improving as the season wears on. Coaching is huge here and the players don't play hard for coach Nickell. I predicted that Elizabethtown would win by 15 last Friday night and it turned out to be even more. One common theme for Central Hardin seems to be that they are out-rebounded most nights, especially against a smaller North Hardin team 2 weeks ago. Central lacks quickness and gets beat on most hustle plays. Decker seems to disappear in games for 1-2 quarters. Central Hardin had tons of turnovers against Elizabethtown, especially in the 4th quarter.

At this point of the season, Taylor County and Elizabethtown seem to be the front runners and as I stated at the beginning of the season, I think that Elizabethtown wins the 5th Region. Anybody advancing to the "Sweet Sixteen" out of the 5th Region this year will be heavy underdogs starting in the first round.