First, here's what happened this week in the districts:

1st District - Semis - Carlisle Co. W 75-40 vs Fulton City, Hickman Co. W 79-52 vs Fulton Co.  Championship - Carlisle Co W 69-54 vs Hickman Co.

2nd District - Semis - McCracken Co. W 87-48 vs CCA, Tilghman W 85-57 vs St. Mary  Championship - McCracken Co. W 53-42 vs Tilghman

3rd District - Semi - Graves Co. W 55-52 vs Ballard Mem. Championship - Mayfield W 47-37 vs Graves Co.

4th District - Semis - Murray W 83-52 vs CFS, Marshall Co. W 58-53 vs Calloway Co.  Championship - Murray W 60-57 vs Marshall Co.

I really believe that Murray and McCracken have separated themselves from the rest of the 1st Region.  Can they be beaten by one of the other six teams?  Absolutely!  But I think most people are expecting a repeat of the Tigers and Mustangs in the finals (luckily they are on opposite sides of the draw).  Here are my rankings of the 8 remaining teams.

1. Murray (21-8)

2. McCracken (26-5)

3. Mayfield (24-5)

4. Paducah Tilghman (21-10)

5. Marshall Co. (20-10)

6. Graves Co. (11-19)

7. Carlisle Co. (16-14)

8. Hickman Co. (14-15)

The quarterfinals are Wednesday and Thursday and here is my preview of those games (using the above rankings).

#1 Murray vs #4 Tilghman - Wednesday at 6.  This is one of the more intriguing quarterfinal games.  Tilghman had a lot of trouble with McCracken's size and the Tigers are also blessed with quite a bit of length.  These two teams were scheduled to play this season but Mother Nature interfered with some inclement weather.  I was looking over Murray's scoring and they have six players who average between 7 and 12 points per game - Whitaker, English, Watson, Wilson, Carmen, and May.  Tilghman's guard duo of Powell and Shaw will have to be really special for the Tornado to win this one, and I look for the Tigers to advance to the semifinals.

#3 Mayfield vs #8 Hickman Co. -  Wednesday 2nd game.  Mayfield is peaking at the right time and I don't think they will have much trouble with the Falcons.  Sam Stone scored 17 and Nolan Fulton chipped in 14 in the Cardinals win over the Eagles for the 3rd District Championship.

#2 McCracken Co. vs #5 Marshall Co. - Thursday at 6.  Another very interesting quarterfinal as the Marshals were only one of two Region 1 teams to defeat the Mustangs this year (the other was Murray).  Two things are important to note. First - the Mustangs' loss to the Marshals was on the road.  Second - Ian Hart did not play in the first game between these two and he's a very important player for the Mustangs.  I think this will be a very close game, but I expect the Mustangs to come out on top.  Wade Moore has really been scoring lately for the Marshals, and I think if he gets hot then there's some upset potential here. 

#6 Graves Co. vs #7 Carlisle Co. - Thursday 2nd game.  A good draw for the Eagles as they beat the Comets 70-39 just a couple weeks ago.  I think the Eagles are the clear favorite in this one.  Don't forget that the Comets have a very young team and I look for them to be a true regional contender in the next couple years.

Looks like a Murray/McCracken final again for the third straight year but wouldn't surprise me to see PT in the finals. If McCracken gets by Marshall they have easier shot to the finals. Marshall could beat McCracken but will have to beat them with all their starters this time. Hart and Miller did not play when Marshall beat them at Marshall.  

Murray, McCracken and Paducah Tilghman played much tougher schedules played and beat good teams.  

 

JP - do you know if Conner Miller will be available for the Marshall game Thursday?  He did not play in the District finals, but I had heard they were trying to heal him up for regionals.

I'm not sure, He was walking on it pretty good during the District finals.