1) Warren Central (15-2) - 1/20 46-64 L Sikeston (MO) (at Murray State), 1/24 72-66 2OT W at #4 South Warren    
Previous Rank: 1    
This Week: 1/28 vs. Christian County, 1/31 at #5 Greenwood, 2/1 vs. Henderson County    
    
2) Bowling Green (14-4) - 1/24 66-50 W #5 Greenwood    
Previous Rank: 2    
This Week: 1/27 vs. North Hardin, 1/28 at University Heights, 1/31 vs. #4 South Warren, 2/1 vs. Christian Academy of Madison (IN) (at Woodford County)    
    
3) Clinton County (21-1) - 1/20 72-57 W #9 Russell County, 1/23 69-36 W Whitefield Academy (at Brescia), 1/24 65-67 OT L Hazard (at Owensboro Sportscenter)    
Previous Rank: 3    
This Week: 1/28 at Wayne County, 1/31 vs. #12 Glasgow, 2/1 vs. Whitesville Trinity (at Owensboro Sportscenter)    
    
4) South Warren (12-6) - 1/24 66-72 OT L #1 Warren Central    
Previous Rank: 4    
This Week: 1/28 at #10 Logan County, 1/31 at #2 Bowling Green    
    
5) Greenwood (14-7) - 1/20 48-58 L Marian Catholic (IL), 1/21 52-45 W at #12 Franklin-Simpson, 1/24 50-66 L at #2 Bowling Green    
Previous Rank: 5    
This Week: 1/28 vs. #6 Barren County, 1/31 vs. #1 Warren Central    
    
6) Barren County (12-9) - 1/20 53-45 W Campbellsville, 1/21 83-45 W at #16 Russellville, 1/24 40-38 W #11 Glasgow    
Previous Rank: 6    
This Week: 1/28 at #5 Greenwood, 2/1 at #11 Monroe County    
    
7) Russell County (12-7) - 1/20 57-72 L at #3 Clinton County, 1/21 65-54 W #15 Monroe County    
Previous Rank: 9    
This Week: 1/27 vs. Wayne County, 1/31 at #9 Cumberland County    
    
8. Warren East (11-8) - 1/21 61-39 W #11 Glasgow, 1/23 66-69 L at #14 Metcalfe County    
Previous Rank: 7    
This Week: 1/28 vs. #16 Russellville, 1/31 at #15 Allen County-Scottsville    
    
9) Cumberland County (9-7) - 1/24 39-59 L at #15 Monroe County    
Previous Rank: 8    
This Week: 1/28 vs. #15 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/31 vs. #7 Russell County, 2/1 vs. Southwestern    
    
10) Logan County (9-8) - 1/20 62-70 L at Hopkinsville, 1/21 60-47 W at Ohio County, 1/24 83-53 W #12 Franklin-Simpson    
Previous Rank: 10    
This Week: 1/27 vs. Edmonson County, 1/28 vs. #4 South Warren, 1/31 vs. #16 Russellville    
    
11) Monroe County (9-11) - 1/20 58-57 W #14 Metcalfe County, 1/21 54-65 L at #9 Russell County, 1/24 59-39 W #8 Cumberland County, 1/25 65-69 L Somerset Christian    
Previous Rank: 15    
This Week: 1/27 at Hart County, 1/28 vs. Campbellsville, 2/1 vs. #6 Barren County    
    
12) Glasgow (3-14) - 1/21 39-61 L at #7 Warren East, 1/24 38-40 L at #6 Barren County    
Previous Rank: 11    
This Week: 1/28 vs. #14 Metcalfe County, 1/31 at #3 Clinton County    
    
13) Franklin-Simpson (4-12) - 1/21 45-52 L #5 Greenwood, 1/24 53-83 L at #10 Logan County    
Previous Rank: 12    
This Week: 1/31 vs. #17 Todd County Central    
    
14) Metcalfe County (6-12) - 1/20 57-58 L at #15 Monroe County, 1/23 69-66 W #7 Warren East, 1/25 49-87 L at Adair County    
Previous Rank: 14    
This Week: 1/28 at #12 Glasgow, 1/30 vs. Bluegrass Blazers, 1/31 vs. Green County    
    
15) Allen County-Scottsville (8-11) - 1/24 50-44 W Macon County (TN), 1/25 60-51 W at John Hardin    
Previous Rank: 13    
This Week: 1/28 at #9 Cumberland County, 1/31 vs. #8 Warren East    
    
16) Russellville (5-13) - 1/21 45-83 L #6 Barren County, 1/24 80-62 W #17 Todd County Central    
Previous Rank: 16    
This Week: 1/28 at #8 Warren East, 1/31 at #10 Logan County    
    
17) Todd County Central (1-19) - 1/21 42-59 L Edmonson County, 1/24 62-80 L at #16 Russellville    
Previous Rank: 17    
This Week: 1/31 at #13 Franklin-Simpson    
    
18) Foundation Christian Academy (14-4) - 1/21 82-33 W Hendersonville Christian Academy, 1/23 49-37 W Stem Prep Academy (TN), 1/24 63-22 W at Clarksville Christian (TN)    
Previous Rank: 18    
This Week: 1/27 vs. North Hardin Classical, 1/28 vs. Apex Christian Academy (TN)    

Notes:

-Clinton County's unbeaten run is no more, but in some ways, they may have gained more respect from their loss than their wins.  The Bulldogs have not played the most difficult schedule, but did rattle off 21 wins in a row to set marks for the best start in school history and longest win streak in school history.  That streak carried them to a 4th Region All "A" title and a matchup with Hazard in the state All "A" quarterfinals.  Utilizing only a six man rotation, Clinton County enjoyed leads of as many as seven in the game, and were in front 25-22 at the half and 39-32 after three.  But they were unable to hold that lead in the final period, settling in for a 52-52 tie and went to overtime for the first time in over a year.  After an early lead in the quarter, a 6-0 run by Hazard proved decisive, not helped by a technical foul on Jaxson Mason during that stretch.  Clinton County fought valiantly, but the streak ended in a 67-65 OT loss to Hazard.  The game had 10 lead changes and 11 ties, but Clinton County led for 25:02 of 36 minutes of gametime, trailing for only 4:46.  They just trailed at the wrong time, ultimately.  Still, Hazard has been almost universally acknowledged as a top 10 team - this is easily Clinton County's best result of the year.  Cannon Young's 22 points led Clinton County, with Jaxson Mason (17), Nick Poore (12), and William Beaty (10) all reaching double figures.  The Bulldogs shot 45.5% on the night, including going 6/19 from three, but where they may have lost the game was the foul line, where they were just 9/18,  critically going just 1/5 in the overtime period.  On a more positive note, earlier in the week Clinton County wrapped up the top seed in the 16th District tournament, defending their home floor with a 72-57 win over Russell County. Five Bulldogs went into double figures in that contest, led by Nick Poores's 18, and followed by Beaty (16), Young (14), Mason (13), and Drew Davis (10).  Contrasting with their poor free throw shooting later in the week, they were 25/31 in that game.  With the unbeaten streak over, Clinton County will now look to take aim at the school record for wins, 30, set in 1962.  They have nine games left on the schedule, but one of those will have to be dropped, as they have already played 22, and 30 is the maximum.  They also have only played Russell County once, and may have to replace a game on the schedule with one against the Lakers, as that may become necessary to help decide other seeds in the district tournament.  No team on their schedule will be favored over them, so it is possible they may end up with 29 before they even enter postseason play.  They may have the record before even entering the region tournament.  

-One district over, Barren County also had the opportunity to lock up the top seed in their district tournament.  Entering the week, their path was clear - beat Glasgow on Friday, and the top spot was theirs.  What wasn't certain was whether or not a loss would leave them with an opportunity.  Glasgow and Warren East were meeting earlier in the week - if Glasgow won that, it would mean the winner of the Glasgow at Barren County would win the district outright.  The East/Glasgow matchup was close early, just 20-17 East at the half, 22-22 over two minutes into the third quarter, and 26-24 East with 2:30 left in the third.  What followed was an 18-1 run that spanned over six minutes of gametime, and the game just got completely away from Glasgow.  The end result was a 61-39 beatdown, which not only took away the possibility of a winner take all proposition for Glasgow, it put them behind the eight ball for the tiebreaker they'd be hoping to achieve - points against amongst games between tied teams.  I.e. if they beat Barren County and ultimately forced a tie between them, Barren, and East, whoever had the least points against would win that.  Not a good time to drop a contest by 22.  That led to the crucial contest on Friday, and those in attendance were treated to one of the worst offensive performances of the season.  Barren County would post their second lowest score of the year, while Glasgow would post their third worst effort.  The score was 14-13 Glasgow at the half, and each team made only four shots, only one of which were threes.  Each team more than doubled that output in the third quarter alone, and perhaps the end of that quarter was a harbinger, as Kade Hardy hit a three at the buzzer to put the Trojans in front 30-29.  The Trojans extended that lead to 38-34 - their largest lead of the half - with 2:25 remaining in the game.  Driver had a nice move to gain a pull up jumper at the elbow to cut it to 38-36 with 1:58 left, and a turnover on an entry pass on the ensuing possession gave Glasgow possession with 1:31 left.  The Scotties won possession there at the cost of their final timeout.  With 37 seconds left, Driver again drove for a pull up at the foul line - the shot hit off the front rim, the backboard, and then dropped in to tie the game at 38 all.  Barren County called timeout, worked the clock down to 9 seconds remaining, and called timeout again in the frontcourt.  The stage was set for their superb post player, Joshua Decker, to make up for a terrible night in which he was currently 0/4.  Decker gained inside position in the post, and despite Martin coming over to help, gained possession, shook loose, and hit a layup as the clock dipped below one second.  It probably wouldn't have made a difference at that point, but the Scotties, finding themselves without any timeouts remaining, could not stop the clock and the game was over.  As it turned out, Barren County would have won the tiebreaker anyway with the scores being what they were - allowing only 204 points in their games with the other two, while both East and Glasgow allowed 221.  The results means that Barren County locks up the 1, and Warren East locks up the 2 as even if they were to fall into a tie with Glasgow at 3-3 (requiring East to lose to AC-S and Glasgow to defeat AC-S), they will win the tiebreaker for least points allowed in matchups between the two, allowing only 114 to Glasgow allowing 132.  Glasgow will be the 3 unless Allen County-Scottsville sweeps their matchups remaining with Warren East and Glasgow (they'll likely lose both).  If they do manage to do that, they will have to allow fewer points than Glasgow did in head to head matchups, essentially meaning they will need to win by more than 10.

-Warren Central is still unbeaten in region play - joining Clinton County as the only other team with that distinction - but we are seeing real signs that they are no unassailable.  First came the rough fourth quarter they suffered through against Greenwood on January 9th, seeing a 17 point fourth quarter lead whittled all the way down to three before hanging on for a 10 point win. Then was a very tight game at Bowling Green where the Purples pushed the Dragons throughout, but Central was able to maintain enough distance to pull away late.  But this week came the clearest sign yet. Central traveled to South Warren to take on the Spartans, a team they may potentially see in the opening round of the district tournament a month from now. South is a capable team, entering the game with 12 wins, just two off of the total wins they posted in both the 21/22 and 23/24 seasons, with a month still in front of them.  Earlier in January they were steamrolled in a contest at Warren Central, shooting less than 35% from the field, including just 3/14 from three.  Perhaps Central was expecting it to be that easy again - it was anything but. South hit their first three shots of the game - all threes - matching the total amount of threes they hit in the first meeting.  By the end of the first quarter, they were 7/11 from the field, 6/10 from three, never trailed, and led by eight at the end of the quarter.  That outside shooting helped open some things up inside, where typically Central excels defensively given their height and length advantage.  Central, for their part, weren't playing poorly, they just were unable to force turnovers and match the scorching pace of the Spartans.  South would lead by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, their largest advantage of the game, but an 11-4 run by Central to end the quarter made it a 34-31 halftime advantage. A corner three by McAfee would tie the game less than 30 seconds into the half, but South Warren would not be bullied out of the game. South did not allow Central to pull in front, allowing only one other tie score in the period, and pushing the lead out to as many as five in the quarter, and led by a 48-47 margin entering the fourth.  A pair of free throws by South pushed it to 50-47 before a 5-0 burst was finished by Ant McAfee's three from the wing to give Central their first lead of the game at 52-50 with 6:20 remaining.  There have been many times over the years where that would have spelled doom, especially as that possession was followed by one of the relatively few turnovers committed by South in the game.  Still, the Spartans would not yield, going on their longest run of the game - 8-0 - with a transition basket and their last two threes of the game, taking a 58-52 advantage with 3:42 remaining. Central was equal to that challenge, using an 8-0 run of their own over the next minute to pull back in front, featuring their most aggressive pressure of the night, forcing two Spartan turnovers.  That run was answered by a Rardin layup to tie the score at 60 with just over two minutes remaining.  That set the stage for the finish to regulation.  McAfee missed a corner three and Armani Byrd's follow off an offensive board was no good, and South Warren was able to bleed 1:34 off the clock before calling a timeout in front of their bench with 10 seconds left to set up their attempt at a game-winner.  They never got the chance.  The ball was inbounded to Rardin in the backcourt, but pressure from Hulbert and Anthony forced a jump ball with possession going to Central with 7.1 left.  Central failed to get a shot before the ball was deflected out of bounds with .6 left, and an Armani Byrd prayer at the buzzer went off the top of the backboard.  The third overtime game in the series followed, each team having previously won one on their home courts, which included South's only win over Warren Central, six years ago. Neither team scored for the first two minutes before Rardin hit a layup to put South back in front with 1:54 remaining.  A tense minute followed with Central looking for the answer, and finally found Kirk in the post to lay it in at the 50 second mark and tie it back up at 62 all.  Then came pretty much an eerie repeat of the end of regulation.  South bled the clock down, but turned it over when a pass to Decker on the wing went off his foot and into the South bench.  Central worked the clock down to 3.9 left, and inbounded from their sideline to Hulbert into the backcourt.  He was unable to get a better look than a 26 foot attempt that went off the rim.  Double overtime.  A Central turnover was followed by South miss on a three point look.  The next possession by Central saw Jarek Kirk knock down a three from the wing in front of his bench to give Central a 65-62 lead, and finally, South could no longer answer the bell.  Their three point attempt on their next possession was no good, and they would never again possess the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.  Central was good enough from the foul line to lead 70-66 with less than 8 seconds left, and Jarek Kirk bookended the second overtime period with a steal and slam as the buzzer sounded for the 72-66 final margin.

The win moved Central to 4-0 in district play, keeping them in the driver's seat for the #1 seed.  It ended any possibility of South ascending to the top seed, and guarantees they will play either Warren Central or Bowling Green in the district tournament as they look to advance to their first region tournament.  Still, the capability of South was on full display, that they absolutely can play with the Dragons, despite what the early January matchup implied.  Thad Hall led the Spartans with 18 points, going 7/10 from the floor, including 4/7 from three. Griffin Rardin had 15 points, but was really taxed by the defensive effort of Dominique Anthony, who chased him much of the night.  Jaxen Decker finished a perfect 4/4 from three and added 14 points.  South's shot chart was straight out of an NBA playbook - they did not make a single shoot that wasn't a layup or a three, and only tried two mid-range attempts.  They won the turnover battle, commiting only 9.  Central prevailed in large part due to their efforts on the offensive boards, where they had 16 to 7 by South.  The Dragons actually made more three pointers - 13 to 12, but needed 10 more attempts for that extra make.  Central was led by Ant McAfee's 23 points, including six three pointers, but Jarek Kirk may have stood tallest, with 18 points on 8/11 shooting, including that critical three in the second overtime.  Ryan Hulbert also had 10 to join in double figures.  

-Across town, Bowling Green hosted Greenwood in another important district matchup, another possible district tournament preview, at the location of this year's district tournament, Bowling Green High.  Bowling Green's home court has been a house of horrors for Greenwood.  The Gators entered having not won there since 2009 (losing 18 in a row coming in), and they have only won there seven times ever.  Three of those came in D.G. Sherrill's first two years as head coach when he was getting the program back on its feet, and two others came during Daymeon Fishback's junior and senior years, easily the best years Greenwood has had as a program - which happened to coincide with one of the lower points for Bowling Green in the last 40 years.  Put another way, three of Greenwood's seven wins at Bowling Green came in the only losing seasons Bowling Green has suffered through during Greenwood's existence. Part of the reason for that, and Greenwood's lack of success against Bowling Green in general, is the Gators frequently get off to poor starts against Bowling Green.  In the 2022 district tournament, a 24 win Greenwood team, fell behind 13-0 to the Purples in the district tournament, and though they made it competitive, they never managed to climb all the way back in that game.  Earlier this year, the Gators fell behind 7-0 and trailed by as many as 16 in the second quarter.  They managed to get all the way back to a 1 point deficit by never led.  There are other examples, but it is definitely a recurring theme that the Purples come out, punch them in the mouth, and put the Gators in comeback mode throughout the game.  In this edition, Greenwood never led, though they did manage a bit better than those examples, trailing just 4-4 a few minutes in.  The Purples followed that with a 12-1 run, ultimately pushing out to a 13 point lead to end the first, and then the script was the exact same as that first meeting.  Greenwood battled and fought their way back to a tie game in the third quarter at 34 all at the 4:30 mark.  Bowling Green just pushed it right back out with a 15-3 flurry to close the quarter, and 10 was as close as Greenwood got afterwards.  The Gators didn't shoot well anywhere, going 18/54 from the floor and an abysmal 11/23 from the foul line.  Bowling Green forced 21 turnovers, committing only six.  Kaydn Carpenter entered the game averaging just 6.9 PPG on the year, but led the Purples with 15 in the game, highest of four in double figures.  Banks (14), Idlett (12), and Hurt (10) rounded out that category. Asher Pettus was the only Gator in double figures, leading all scorers with 16.  The loss extends Greenwood's misery to 20 straight losses in district play, and eliminates them from gaining a seed higher than 3.

-One of the more stunning results, not necessarily in who won as it was the margin, Logan County hosted Franklin-Simpson in a critical 13th District game.  Both teams are heavily favored to advance to the region tournament come postseason play next month, but as previously described, whoever gets the 1 will end up playing Todd County Central, and to be blunt, that is as good as a guarantee to advance.  Logan County seemed to understand the assignment and importance, as after trailing 4-2 early, went on a 29-4 run, and absolutely bludgeoned the Wildcats by an 83-53 final. It was the first win for the Cougars in the series since the 2020 13th District title game, and their most points scored against Franklin-Simpson since they posted 87 in 2012.  Logan County shot 56% from the floor (28/50), and were 9/21 from three (42.9%).  Samson Hightower dropped 31 in the contest, getting to the foul line at will where he went 12/13, and was 8/13 from the floor including 3/5 from three.  Jaxon Tichenor added 16 - those two nearly outscored Franklin by themselves. The schedule has been favorable, but Logan County has won seven of eight, and whereas at the beginning of the month it looks like no 13th District team would reach 10 wins prior to the end of the regular season, Logan County will have three chances to reach it before the end of the month.  Franklin-Simpson, facing a much more daunting schedule, fell to 4-12, and have lost six of seven and 10 of 12.  Granted, in that six of seven, they lost to the likes of Green County, South Warren, Warren Central, Warren East, and Greenwood, but still.  The rematch between the two will be in Franklin on Valentine's Day. Their district seeding plan is a bit confusing ("runs against in games between tied teams" which I take to mean it was copied from baseball and means points against.  Given the result we just saw, Logan County may realistically already have this sewn up, regardless of the result in February.

District Matchups:
--13th District - 1/31 #16 Russellville at #10 Logan County, 1/31 #17 Todd County Central at #13 Franklin-Simpson
--14th District - 1/31 #1 Warren Central at #5 Greenwood, 1/31 #4 South Warren at #2 Bowling Green
--15th District - #8 Warren East at #15 Allen County-Scottsville
--16th District - #7 Russell County at #9 Cumberland County

Games to Watch:

-Tuesday's matchup between Barren County and Greenwood at The Swamp will give us a good read on where Greenwood really is.  They did not look impressive in beating Franklin-Simpson, and this will be the most capable non-14th District team they've played in-region in a while.  It will be a precursor to a home game they need against Warren Central on Friday, and games at Greenwood are always intriguing.

-Monroe County has been slowly sliding up the ranks, and they can take a leap into the top 10 (potentially) if they could knock off Barren County on Saturday.  Monroe has only one win over their former district rival since December of 2018. 

-Russell County and Cumberland County are likely on a collision course for facing in the 2/3 game of the district tournament, so this matchup at Cumberland County will be a potential preview.  For Cumberland County, it is a chance to wipe away the memory of a very surprising 59-39 loss they suffered to Monroe County last week.  If Cumberland County wins, they will assure themselves of no worse than the 3 seed.

Clinton County is an interesting story this year.  Hope they can at least equal their all time win number.

Central was very fortunate vs South.  I thought South outplayed them most of that game.  But that doesn't mean much I guess.

BG has 4 games this week!  WOW!  Going to be some tired legs.