Owensboro (3rd Region Champions 19-10) vs Ashland (16th Region Champions 22-11)

Opening round game between 2 of the winningest programs in Kentucky High School Basketball.  These two programs hooked up in the opening round of the 2019 Sweet 16.  Ashland scored the 58-50 win.

The Tomcats coming in off a win over Boyd County who they lost to in the 64th District Championship. They are led by Zander Carter's 22.3 ppg.

Owensboro struggled to close the regular season with 3 straight losses but have looked like a different team in the postseason.  They avenged 2 regular season losses to Owensboro Catholic by beating them in the district and regional tournament.  Kenyatta Carbon comes in leading the Devils with 22.1 ppg.

Red Devils are playing some decent ball right now. If they keep playing D the way they did during district, and regionals, and they’ll be fine. Anybody know what does Ashland look like height wise??

6-4 6-4 6-5 6-10.

 

I don't remember the 6-10 kid playing much.

Their whole roster is listed at 6 foot or taller. They are a great 3 point shooting team if you can shut that down you can beat them. That is easier said then done though.

They will probably shoot 30+ 3's.

Ashland’s 6’10 kid rarely plays unless it’s a blowout. 
Sophomore Zander Carter is a heck of a 6’5 shooting guard. He is getting attention from D1 schools. 

Here is my take:

This is the second time in five years Ashland Blazer pays Third Region champion Owensboro in the first round of the tournament.  Ashland lost to Covington Catholic 76-65 in last year's first round. The Tomcats advanced to the quarterfinals the year prior, losing to eventual champion Highlands. They were 33-0 the season before that when the 2020 Sweet 16 was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. They beat Owensboro 59-50 in the first round of the 2019 tournament before getting bounced by Trinity in the quarterfinals.

 

The Tomcats feature a pair of double-digit scorers: junior Zander Carter (22.3 ppg, 6 rpg) and senior Rheyce Deboard (17.3). They represent 53.5 percent of the offense. Senior Tucker Conway is a dangerous deep shooting threat, connecting on 45.9 percent from 3-point range (72-for-157). They helped the Tomcats persevere through a head coaching change made just before the start of the season that resulted in assistant Ryan Bonner taking over the team as acting head coach on short notice. They were 7-6 after the first 13 games and 15-5 after that.

 

Owensboro was an uninspiring 10-6 on Jan. 13 because of injuries and player absences and an underwhelming 14-10 entering postseason play with a pair of losses to city rival Owensboro Catholic. The team was boosted by the addition of 6-foot-5 post player Ji Webb, who made his season debut Jan. 24. Since then, the Red Devils are 8-3 with victories over Owensboro Catholic in the district and regional finals for a 45th regional crown.

 

Webb (10.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg) ranks third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding since his addition. Kenyatta Carbon leads the team with 22.1 ppg and 7.4 rpg. He's the school's second all-time leading scorer and is within spitting distance of the leader. Owensboro shoots decently from the field (48 percent) but does not hit its free throws enough (59.1 percent)

8 hours ago, Basketball Jones said:

Here is my take:

This is the second time in five years Ashland Blazer pays Third Region champion Owensboro in the first round of the tournament.  Ashland lost to Covington Catholic 76-65 in last year's first round. The Tomcats advanced to the quarterfinals the year prior, losing to eventual champion Highlands. They were 33-0 the season before that when the 2020 Sweet 16 was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. They beat Owensboro 59-50 in the first round of the 2019 tournament before getting bounced by Trinity in the quarterfinals.

 

The Tomcats feature a pair of double-digit scorers: junior Zander Carter (22.3 ppg, 6 rpg) and senior Rheyce Deboard (17.3). They represent 53.5 percent of the offense. Senior Tucker Conway is a dangerous deep shooting threat, connecting on 45.9 percent from 3-point range (72-for-157). They helped the Tomcats persevere through a head coaching change made just before the start of the season that resulted in assistant Ryan Bonner taking over the team as acting head coach on short notice. They were 7-6 after the first 13 games and 15-5 after that.

 

Owensboro was an uninspiring 10-6 on Jan. 13 because of injuries and player absences and an underwhelming 14-10 entering postseason play with a pair of losses to city rival Owensboro Catholic. The team was boosted by the addition of 6-foot-5 post player Ji Webb, who made his season debut Jan. 24. Since then, the Red Devils are 8-3 with victories over Owensboro Catholic in the district and regional finals for a 45th regional crown.

 

Webb (10.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg) ranks third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding since his addition. Kenyatta Carbon leads the team with 22.1 ppg and 7.4 rpg. He's the school's second all-time leading scorer and is within spitting distance of the leader. Owensboro shoots decently from the field (48 percent) but does not hit its free throws enough (59.1 percent)

Well done Mr Jones. ?

One correction:

Ashland advanced to the semifinals of the tournament the year they lost to Highlands. They defeated Knox Central and Boyle County in the first two rounds. 

Watching Owensboro in the regular season vs Owensboro in the postseason has been like watching 2 different teams.  Coach Drake nailed down his rotation and Ji getting his defensive legs under him have made all the difference.  They would frequently get beat off the dribble early in the season and it would break them down.  Now, if they are getting beat, Ji is protecting the rim and no one is helping down.  It has forced a ton of misses and there won't be many teams at Rupp that are as dangerous in transition as Owensboro.  They will need to maintain that defensive energy to give them a shot against Ashland because they will not be able to leave the shooters.  This should be an excellent first round game.

Bump.

This is a tough one. O'boro in a tight one.

Owensboro very fast and athletic.  They will get after you on defense. FT shooting is terrible.  Webb at 6-5 to 6-7 will alter a lot at rim.  O will try to eat up passing lanes and pressure the ball.  Does Ashland have the ball handling to handle the pressure?  Looks like Ashland has some size and 3 point shooting.  Based upon O’s defense I would guess those 3s will be mostly contested looks.  As good as O has played lately, I’ll roll with them before meeting the dragon buzz saw.

1 hour ago, 4 Quarters said:

This is a tough one. O'boro in a tight one.

That's where I am leaning.  Maybe 66-63.

Bump.