Last week really demonstrated what the 9th Region can be. There was a marquis matchup between contenders, several other games between top 10 teams, some great upsets, and an amazing All A regional tournament. The finish to the All A was one of the best we have seen in that tournament in a while. 

What does this all mean going forward? I think at this moment there are 5 teams I could see winning the region. At this moment CovCath and Cooper look like the best the region can produce. Lloyd has competed with both, neither performance being their best. The Juggs still have one of the most formidable players on the court in any given game with EJ Walker and are definitely capable of winning it all. Then there are a slew of "argument teams" after that, teams that are clearly a "step down" from the top 3 but there's an argument for each. You'll see that this week in basically every team 4 through 10.

We are entering the home stretch of the regular season. Let's dive in and break down the rankings, the week behind us, and the week ahead.

Rankings:

1. CovCath - After a week where the biggest basketball story surrounding CovCath had nothing to do with the current team on the court, the Colonels still find themselves atop the heap. It will be interesting to see if the Ruthsatz-Hall of Fame drama impacts this group at all but so far Coach Thelen has this group clicking really well. After a string of really tight finishes, the Colonels got a blowout win over Holmes last week followed by a convincing win over Highlands. Athens McGillis and Donovan Bradshaw both had 20 in the win over Highlands and Cash Harney chipped in 18. That means those three accounted for 80 percent of the Colonel scoring. On the year, those 3 accounts of roughly 71 percent of the scoring for the Colonels. So if there is any key weakness to be identified there, it is that they are extremely vulnerable to injury or foul trouble involving those 3 players. The Colonels have a really tough weak as they face NCC, Cooper, Trinity, and Centerville (OH).

2. Cooper - The Jaguars finally got back to game play with high quality wins over Lloyd and Ryle. Andy Johnson had 30 in the win over Lloyd. This week brings another epic matchup as Cooper squares off against CovCath. The Jaguars get the favor of home court in this one. It may be the best game in the state this Tuesday and we can only hope it is played again in the regional tournament. Cooper has two road trips this weekend, one in their district against Boone and Saturday's matchup at Fleming County. 

3. Lloyd - The Juggernauts took two losses last week but there really is no shame in either of them. They fell by 4 to Cooper in a game where they certainly left knowing things to improve upon if they see the Jaguars again. They also lost on the road by 9 to Great Crossing who is a contender to win the Sweet 16. There is no doubt Lloyd is a contender and has the ability to win this region. They have beaten all the 9th region teams they have played other than the two ranked above them. Will they be able to change that tune in the postseason? They face Simon Kenton, Holy Cross and Ludlow this week.

4. Beechwood - The Tigers kick off a group of teams 4 through 10 which could be put in a whole lot of different orders. There is no doubt now that the Tigers can beat any team in the region on any given night as they rolled through the All A Regional, culminating in an epic two point win over Newport. St. Henry, Holy Cross, and NCC were the other teams defeated. It was pretty much the hardest draw the Tigers could have gotten with no favorable upsets to clear the road for them. And they pulled it off. Along the way Jack Sullivan scored his 1000th point and ended up tournament MVP. Their All A state run opens up ironically with Owensboro Catholic, their football opponent in their successful 2A championship bid.

5. Newport - The Wildcats defeated Ludlow in the All A before falling to Beechwood in the finals. There is a regional contender here, to me there is no doubt. However, they will need to continue to get healthy and build the chemistry they were not afforded to build earlier in the year. They have just one game this week, a home contest tonight against Bellevue which should be a running clock. But up in the distance is a crucial game with Highlands on the 29th which will most likely decide the 1 seed in the district.

6. Dixie Heights - The Colonels have not lost since December 19th and only seem to be getting better. They defeated Highlands and Tates Creek last week. Cancellations have left them with just Franklin County on this week's schedule. On the horizon is the district tilt with Lloyd which will most likely decide the 1 seed for the district.

7. Highlands - The Bluebirds have not played a tough schedule. That may be starting to show itself on performance now that enter the end stages of the regular season. Highlands was able to blowout the Cincinnati Trailblazers homeschool program but lost to Dixie and CovCath. The CovCath game was a double digit victory for the Colonels. A one point win over Ryle is arguable their best win of the year. They will have a few more opportunities to get some marquis wins as Newport, Cooper, Campbell, Lloyd and Beechwood all are coming up but for this week they play only their rival and district foe Newport Central Catholic.

8. Ryle - The Raiders convincingly defeated Grant County earlier in the week before falling to district foe Cooper. They have two more district games this week as they play Boone and Conner. They then host Western Hills on Saturday.

9. Conner - The Cougars blew out Boone County by a score of 80 to 41 last week in their only game. Landon Warner had 19. They face Campbell and Ryle this week.

10. Holy Cross - The Indians were bounced from the All A by eventual champ Beechwood. They have just one game this week, a road game at Lloyd, a tough task indeed.

11. Newport Central Catholic - The Thoroughbreds defeated Dayton and Heritage in the All A before falling to Beechwood. Ian Mann had 21 in the loss. The Breds have two tough ones this week as they host Covington Catholic before traveling to Fort Thomas to square off with district rival Highlands.

12. St. Henry - The Cru were bounced by Beechwood as well from the All A. They are on a bit of a skid but will look to bounce back as they play Brossart and Holmes this week.

13. Holmes - The Bulldogs could not compete with CovCath but were able to defeat Calvary in a close one. They face Grant County, St. Henry and St. Patrick this week.

14. Boone County - The Rebels fell hard to district foe Conner. They face Scott, Ryle and Cooper this week.

15. Heritage - The Eagles face Dayton, Villa and Whitefield Academy this week after losing to NCC last week in the All A.

16. Ludlow - The Panthers defeated Bellevue and Dayton before falling to Newport in the All A. They play Villa, Bellevue, and Lloyd this week.

17. Villa - The Vikings fell to St. Bernard (OH) and Leslie County. They face Ludlow, Williamstown and Heritage this week. 

18. Bellevue - The Tigers fell to Ludlow and Oldham County last week while defeating Williamstown. They face Newport, Calvary, Ludlow and Carroll County this week. 

19. Dayton - The Green Devils got a long sought after third win of the season over Trimble County. They face Heritage and Calvary Christian this week.

20. Covington Latin - The Trojans fell to St. Patrick. They are off the rest of January.

I think I'm going to travel to Simon Kenton tomorrow for the Lloyd game. It should be a good one.