I feel as confident about these rankings then anything I have assembled in quite some time. The region can continue to be split into three groups - the contenders in the top 7 spots, the next 7 in the middle of the pack, and the final five at the bottom. A new number one has risen to the top this week after defeating last week's top team. Let's get to it.

1. Somerset - The Briar Jumpers are red hot. They blew out Casey County and then proceeded to knock off cross-county rival and previously undefeated Pulaski County. Ben Godby had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the big victory over the Maroons. Godby, Indred Whitaker and Aedyn Absher continue to be the three headed monster for Somerset, making them vulnerable to injuries and foul trouble, but so far so good as the only blemish on their record is that opening loss to Mercer County. They face Rowan County in the first round of the WinCity Holiday Classic at George Rogers Clark.

2. Pulaski County - The Maroons are perfect no more. Before falling to Somerset by 2, Pulaski defeated Wayne County by 14 behind Will Blankenship's 23 points. They travel to Montgomery County for the legendary Gateway Holiday Classic where they start off against the host team. There is a chance they run into fellow 12th region team Lincoln County.

3. Wayne County - The Cardinals fell to Pulaski but defeated Mercer County in overtime before also defeating Danville by 24. Kendall Phillips, Antajuan Dumphord and Seth Farmer are all still averaging double digits in the scoring column. They travel to the McCreary Invitational where they open up with Clinton County.

4. Mercer County - With the loss to Wayne County, the Titans are no longer undefeated against regional competition. Before falling to the Cardinals in overtime they blew out Danville by 31 behind Trevor Ellis' 24 point performance. Ellis also put up 31 against Wayne alongside Owen Barnes' 21 point night. They travel to LCA for the Central Bank Jim Rose Classic where they open against Henderson County.

5. Danville Christian Academy - DCA had two blowout victories over Garrard County and West Jessamine this week. None of the Warriors are averaging more than 14 points per game as their scoring attack remains balanced albeit still led by Titus Boyd. They host district foe Boyle County.

6. Rockcastle County - Pulaski County and Rockcastle County have one obvious thing in common - their only loss is to Somerset. They racked up wins to Boyle, Casey, and Eastern last week. They travel to South Laurel where they open up with Greenwood in the Legacy Nissan Dribble Drive Challenge. 

7. Boyle County - So right now I would still tell you I think Boyle County is in the group of seven I think can win the region but that is giving them a lot of leeway with their December results. They are 1 - 5 to start the year with losses to Central Hardin and LaRue County last week. They travel to DCA this week and host Henry Clay and even one win between the two will help keep them up in this tier as they continue to get to full strength after the football season.

8. Southwestern - Jeron Dunbar's Warriors picked up a pair of wins over Somerset Christian and McCreary Central. It was a group effort to take down the Raiders by 1 as Adam Marcum had 13, Zachary Hutchinson 12, and Connor Hudson 10. Hutchinson also had 10 rebounds to give him the double double. They host East Jessamine and travel to Madison Central this week.

9. Lincoln County - The Patriots snap their season starting losing streak with a pair of wins over East and West Jessamine, each win by double digits. Blade Nuckols had 23 in the win over West and Sawyer Robbins had 21 against East. Sawyer Robbins had 12 boards in that East game as well, giving him the double double. They face The Carmel School from Ruther Glen, Virginia to start their trip to Montgomery County for the Gateway Classic.

10. McCreary Central - The Raiders lost a pair of road games to Southwestern and Williamsburg. Peyton Higginbotham and Drew Privett are both in averaging over 12 points per game and over 7 rebounds per game. They host the McCreary Invitational this week.

11. East Jessamine - The Jaguars fell to Lincoln County after blowing out Franklin County at home. They face host team South Warren in the first round of the bcbs Holiday Classic.

12. Danville - The Ads have really fallen to earth after their flashes of brilliance at the start of the year. They fell to Mercer and Wayne. They play in the McCreary Invitational and start with Clay County.

13. Trinity Christian - The Titans defeated Burgin and fell to Holy Cross and Owen County. They host Villa Madonna this week and this, to me, is a must win if they want to stay in this middle of the pack tier and not fall down to the bottom of the region.

14. West Jessamine - The last team of the middle of the pack or the first team of the bottom group, that distinction will continue to become clearer as the season progresses for the Colts. They fell to Lincoln County and DCA. They play in the Capital City Classic Holiday Tournament where they open against Western Hills.

15. Somerset Christian - The Cougars fell to Southwestern, Model and Greenwood. They host Campbellsville this week.

16. Casey County - The Rebels fell to Somerset and Rockcastle. They play Whitley County in the Hoosier Gym in Knightstown, Indiana tonight before playing in the McCreary Invitational.

17. Garrard County - Garrard lost to Estill County and DCA. They open with host Berea in the Berea Holiday Classic.

18. Burgin - The Bulldogs fell to Trinity Christian and Fort Knox. They host Brown this week.

19. Kentucky School for the Deaf - The Colonels fell to their Tennessee counterpart. They are off until January 9th.

Talent wise Boyle should be higher put the way they are play they might should be lower.  I think that they will have it going in a week or so. l think it has only been 10-12 days with everyone back playing.

5 minutes ago, Rebelstat said:

Talent wise Boyle should be higher put the way they are play they might should be lower.  I think that they will have it going in a week or so. l think it has only been 10-12 days with everyone back playing.

Agreed. They have the talent to compete for a title but they need to show it first. If they can beat DCA it would be a HUGE step forward.

1 minute ago, se7ens said:

Agreed. They have the talent to compete for a title but they need to show it first. If they can beat DCA it would be a HUGE step forward.

They showed it against Rockcastle Co. when they came back from 17 down with their D.  District starts Tuesday and they had better show up to play against a good DCA team.

Game of the week tomorrow night with Boyle Co. traveling across town to DCA.  A big 45th district matchup! 

Can’t argue with these at all. There are 6 teams that have shown they can beat each other any given night. More parity than I can recall seeing in the past.

One of the big factors for Somerset early success is their improved team defense.  They're only giving up 52 points per game.  When healthy, Jamison Coomer is as good of a perimeter defender as there is in the region.  A big emphasis was placed on this for this team to have a shot @ State.  The offensive piece is still rough for them, but they're competing defensively and on the glass most night.  Which, shouldn't be a surprise where Coach Young is under the Coach Jackson tree.

22 hours ago, Rebelstat said:

Talent wise Boyle should be higher put the way they are play they might should be lower.  I think that they will have it going in a week or so. l think it has only been 10-12 days with everyone back playing.

Seen Boyle play this weekend at Green County against Larue, and to be honest I was not that impressed. Larue who lost a district game for the first time in about a decade, but is 0-2 thus far this year, put a beat down on Boyle.