Games at Pulaski. 

First glance that Wayne/DCA matchup is a monster. I know DCA just handled them pretty good at home but I said earlier I didn’t think coach Woods would show his full hand in that one. How will DCA react to last nights loss. Very good first round game. 

It is set nicely up for PC  to make the finals. That bottom bracket is a gauntlet. 

Pulaski Co/Somerset Round 4 @ Pulaski is my prediction.  Pulaski will have their hands full with Boyle, and Somerset will have a war in semis regardless if they take care of business. 

55 minutes ago, Warhawk00 said:

It is set nicely up for PC  to make the finals. That bottom bracket is a gauntlet. 

Boyle will be tough one for them for sure.  They’re peaking. 

1 hour ago, Warhawk00 said:

It is set nicely up for PC  to make the finals. That bottom bracket is a gauntlet. 

Balanced Draw. 

DCA has the most upside but as district showed new territory for them with postseason. 
 

3 of the 4 1st rd games will be great- what more can you ask for? 

11 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Pulaski Co/Somerset Round 4 @ Pulaski is my prediction.  Pulaski will have their hands full with Boyle, and Somerset will have a war in semis regardless if they take care of business. 

Somerset just played DCA not long ago.. that’s going to be their semi matchup .. What did each team learn from that 4th qtr in their previous meeting? 
 

I would not be surprised to see a 45th or 47th district rematch. 

1 hour ago, catfan09 said:

Somerset just played DCA not long ago.. that’s going to be their semi matchup .. What did each team learn from that 4th qtr in their previous meeting? 
 

I would not be surprised to see a 45th or 47th district rematch. 

Agree, one step at a time.  

DCA will earn it IMO. Wayne Co. is a very good team, and Somerset is hot playing in their hometown.  No easy ones this time of year. 

Other than Somerset’s first game, I think it’s a pretty balanced bracket.

I wouldn’t be surprised if DCA, Mercer, Pulaski, Somerset or Boyle wins it. I do think DCA is still the favorite, depending on how the games are officiated. If they are officiated like their game last night, they are vulnerable. If it’s called more normal or even tight, they’re going to be hard to beat. What they have in size in the interior, they lack in strength. On the flip, if it’s allowed to be a very physical regional, Boyle’s strength, athleticism & physicality make them the favorite.

I think Mercer, Somerset and Pulaski have less overall talent than those two BUT have very good coaches that will make adjustments to put their teams in a position to win. Plus, Somerset has two very good guards & Mercer the best overall player in the region (IMO).

24 minutes ago, QueenoftheSouth said:

Other than Somerset’s first game, I think it’s a pretty balanced bracket.

I wouldn’t be surprised if DCA, Mercer, Pulaski, Somerset or Boyle wins it. I do think DCA is still the favorite, depending on how the games are officiated. If they are officiated like their game last night, they are vulnerable. If it’s called more normal or even tight, they’re going to be hard to beat. What they have in size in the interior, they lack in strength. On the flip, if it’s allowed to be a very physical regional, Boyle’s strength, athleticism & physicality make them the favorite.

I think Mercer, Somerset and Pulaski have less overall talent than those two BUT have very good coaches that will make adjustments to put their teams in a position to win. Plus, Somerset has two very good guards & Mercer the best overall player in the region (IMO).

DCA the favorite if they get all the calls? Boyle just took it to them defensively. They also outrebounded them, shot better, had fewer turnovers, got the 50-50 balls but DCA bigs did have 4 blocks in the game. Now you want to blame it on the officiating. They still have not (EVER) won anything that matters and they deserve to be the favorite. Don't think so.

I got Mercer vs DCA in the finals. With DCA winning it all.  

1 hour ago, Country said:

DCA the favorite if they get all the calls? Boyle just took it to them defensively. They also outrebounded them, shot better, had fewer turnovers, got the 50-50 balls but DCA bigs did have 4 blocks in the game. Now you want to blame it on the officiating. They still have not (EVER) won anything that matters and they deserve to be the favorite. Don't think so.

I never blamed the officials. Never said that Boyle “got the calls.” It wasn’t one-sided and it was consistent. But anyone that doesn’t think that the refs allowed a much more physical style of play than in their past 2 meetings just isn’t paying attention. Would it have been more acceptable to you if I had said that Boyle could’ve won all 3 meetings if they had been officiated like last night?
 

I think it’s pretty well established that different teams benefit depending on how games are called. Watch the SEC on a weekly basis. And I think that game was officiated less closely than many of the 12th region games I saw this year. But allowing more physicality is not atypical of postseason games. And it isn’t an excuse. It’s just an observation. And yes, Boyle did take it to them defensively and DCA didn’t like it.

So back to my original analysis. I think there are two teams that have the best chance of winning it, and that’s DCA & Boyle. DCA because they’re the most talented, 1 thru 5, and the fact they went 24-6 and 17-1 in the region, including beating Boyle 2/3. Boyle not because of what they’ve accomplished (15-15 & 10-8 in the region), but because I think that they’re the second most talented team in the region. And I do think DCA benefits the most from a more closely called tournament, and that Boyle benefits the most from one in which they let more things go. And anyone that watches basketball understands there can be a world of difference in refs, and especially with refs from other regions doing the officiating. And THAT can be the deciding factor in who wins a game between two talented teams.

 

51 minutes ago, Statsdontlie said:

I got Mercer vs DCA in the finals. With DCA winning it all.  

I really could see that happening as well. Mercer doesn’t get much attention but they have Ellis and are really well coached. And they could very well defeat DCA. They have good size and strength.

1 hour ago, Country said:

DCA the favorite if they get all the calls? Boyle just took it to them defensively. They also outrebounded them, shot better, had fewer turnovers, got the 50-50 balls but DCA bigs did have 4 blocks in the game. Now you want to blame it on the officiating. They still have not (EVER) won anything that matters and they deserve to be the favorite. Don't think so.

Not EVER won anything that matters?  They’ve won the Class A regional twice.  Ask Somerset and Danville if that matters.