16th Region Week 10 Review

 

Defending regional champion Ashland Blazer and reigning regional runner-up Boyd County had a big head-to-head tilt last week that carried major rankings implications and Boyd County came out on top, splitting the regular season series. That's enough to move Boyd County ahead of their nemesis to the top of the rankings. The Lions also have a much better overall record and they are the hotter team. In another ascending move, Greenup County continues to move up, advancing into the top 10 and landing at No. 9, while squeezing Menifee County out of the top 10. Raceland also drops a spot after a disastrous week against the district. In a statistical oddity, Bath County is 5-0 against teams with the initials E.C. (as in East Carter, Elliott County and Estill County) but 9-10 against everybody else. Go figure.

 

Regional Rankings:

 

1. Boyd County (18-4): The Lions went 3-0 for the week with a big win against Ashland Blazer. They beat the Tomcats, 88-80, on the road, avenging an earlier nine-point home loss to Ashland. Boyd County is hot, winning seven straight games. They also beat Fairview 101-76 for their fifth 100-point game of the season, and they took down a 19-9 Letcher County Central squad, 66-50. Rhett Holbrook scored 24 points against Fairfield and 22 versus Ashland Blazer. Jacob Spurlock led the way against Ashland with 23 points. Cole Hicks added 21 and Jacob Ellis had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds as five players scored in double figures. They now have 10 wins against state teams with winning records including quality non-regional wins against Pikeville, Eastern, Lawrence County and Campbell County. They are 6-1 against the region, the only loss coming against Ashland. They are 3-1 vs. the 64th District, the only loss to Ashland. Of course, they now have a win against Ashland in those races.

 

2. Ashland Blazer (16-10): The Tomcats had a busy week with some tough sledding, going 2-2 with wins against Bath County and Ironton (OH) and losses to Charleston George Washington (WV) and rival Boyd County. Rheyce Deboard led the way against George Washington with 25 points. He dropped in 28 against Boyd County. Some of the shine is coming off their season after a 12-6 start. They suffered their 10th defeat against Boyd County. They are 4-4 over the last eight games. The Boyd County loss means they are no longer unbeaten in the region (7-1) and the district (3-1). However, they have a nine-point win at Boyd County and a 22-point win versus Fleming County and they have beaten nine Kentucky teams with winning records. Three of their losses have come against CovCath, George Rogers Clark and Great Crossing.

 

3. Fleming County (17-8): The Panthers went 2-0 last week with a 69-61 win over Menifee County and a 74-34 thumping of St. Patrick. They have won five games in a row and eight of their last nine. They are 10-2 vs. the region and 5-1 vs. 61st District foes. Still don't have a loss to a bad team. Other previous results: Two losses to Mason County and losses to Owensboro Catholic, Butler, Highlands, Ashland Blazer and Bath County. They beat Russell by 21 earlier this season and Rowan County by 17.

 

4. Russell (20-3): The Red Devils enjoyed their seventh straight unbeaten week with a 51-41 win against Raceland. Their winning streak is now at 15. They are 15-1 vs. the region and 6-0 vs. the 63rd District where they have clinched the top seed in the district tournament. The last team to beat them was Fleming County, accounting for the lone regional loss, but they haven't played as tough a schedule as Fleming County with 10 regional wins coming against the bottom half of the rankings: West Carter (3), Lewis County (2), Raceland (2), Rose Hill Christian, Menifee County, Greenup County. They have wins against Morgan County, Rowan County, Bath County and East Carter.

 

5. Morgan County (16-6): The Cougars won their only game of the week, beating East Carter, 51-48 with a near-double-double from Cameron Adams (12 points, nine rebounds). They are 6-2 against the region including a 27-point win against Bath County, and 4-1 vs. the 62nd District.

 

6. Rowan County (13-11): The Vikings went 2-0 last week with a 57-47 district win against Bath County thanks in part to 16 points from Jayson Ingles. They have won seven of their last 10 games but their only wins against state teams with winning records outside the region came against Montgomery County and Somerset. They are 9-4 vs. the region and 4-2 vs. the 61st District.

 

7. Bath County (14-10): Finished the week 1-2, beating Elliott County but losing to Ashland Blazer and Rowan County. Zack Otis dropped in 34 points against Ashland Blazer. Beat Fleming County early in the season but has just two wins against Kentucky teams with winning records since Dec. 13 (Estill County, East Carter). They are 6-9 since the 8-1 start. They are 8-7 against the region, 3-3 vs. 61st District foes.

 

8. East Carter (13-9): A 1-1 week for the Raiders with a district win vs. Raceland as Ty Scott scored 18 points. They are 7-3 over the last 10 games but have just two wins against Kentucky teams with winning records (Bethlehem, Morgan County). They are 10-5 vs. the region, with two wins vs. Greenup County, and 4-1 against 62nd District opponents.

 

9. Greenup County (9-15): The Musketeers had a 1-2 week with a win against Raceland. They are 6-8 vs. the region with other wins against Menifee County and West Carter. They are 2-2 vs. 63rd District foes, two games ahead of Raceland.

 

10. Raceland (12-13): The Rams went 1-3, including district losses to Greenup County, East Carter and Russell. They are 7-9 in the region with two wins each against Elliott County and Fairview, and 0-5 vs. the 63rd District. They have also beaten Menifee County.

 

11. Menifee County (9-16): The Wildcats finished 1-2 for the week with a win over Jackson City. They are 5-9 against the region and 0-6 against the 61st District. Beat Fairview by 10 the previous week.

 

12. Fairview (11-14): The Eagles finished 1-2 for the week, beating Lawrence County in overtime. They are 5-12 against the region, 1-4 vs. the 64th District. They have beaten West Carter twice.

 

13. West Carter (5-16): The Comets beat Rose Hill Christian in the only game of the week. They are 3-14 in the region with a win vs. Elliott County, and 1-3 vs. the 62nd District.

 

14. Lewis County (6-17): The Lions went 1-1, picking up a district win over Greenup County. They are 5-7 vs. the region with two wins against Elliott County and one against Rose Hill Christian, and 2-3 vs. 63rd District foes.

 

15. Elliott County (2-20): The Lions lost their only game of the week, pushing their losing streak to 14. They are 0-14 against the region and 0-4 vs. the 62nd District.

 

16. Rose Hill Christian (4-18): The Royals went 0-2. The losing streak has hit seven. They are 0-8 in the region.

I do like your ranking.

Boyd has beat Ashland 1 time since 2019.  Ashland won the first matchup by 13 and Boyd won the second by 8.  Ashland is #1 seed in the 64th district.  Interesting how they would be even considered to be ranked higher than the Tomcats.  The hate is real!

Hate is a pretty strong word. We are on a gigantic watery rock speeding around a cosmically huge atomic reactor in space at almost 19 miles per second. We are all living miracles on a miracle planet, so try to get over it.

1 hour ago, Basketball Jones said:

Hate is a pretty strong word. We are on a gigantic watery rock speeding around a cosmically huge atomic reactor in space at almost 19 miles per second. We are all living miracles on a miracle planet, so try to get over it.

Out of that entire post you keyed on the word hate.  You still didn’t explain the justification of the ranking.  So I will use a less aggressive word for you.  “The dislike is real.”  Lol

On 2/11/2023 at 10:34 PM, Reno said:

Out of that entire post you keyed on the word hate.  You still didn’t explain the justification of the ranking.  So I will use a less aggressive word for you.  “The dislike is real.”  Lol

maybe he just thinks Boyd is playing better right now, everyone does not spend all day trying to figure out ways to get the mighty Tomcats no matter what most fans think. 

7 hours ago, Colonel 17 said:

maybe he just thinks Boyd is playing better right now, everyone does not spend all day trying to figure out ways to get the mighty Tomcats no matter what most fans think. 

Very confusing post.  Still can’t justify the rankings.  All signs lead to the Tomcats.   Or the “Mighty” Tomcats as you call them.  

On 2/13/2023 at 6:58 PM, Reno said:

Very confusing post.  Still can’t justify the rankings.  All signs lead to the Tomcats.   Or the “Mighty” Tomcats as you call them.  

Its not confusing at all, they are rankings done by one person. Teams play better and sometimes worse at different points of the season.  Maybe after watching, they feel Boyd is playing better at this point than Ashland is, the last part is due to Ashland fans all seem to think the world revolves around the Tomcats and that everyone thinks about them and is out to get them. It is one person making rankings not that big of a deal.