5th Region: Week 8

Week 8

After reviewing this week’s games and looking at the overall performances, the rankings have moved some. With only 4 weeks left to go in the season, this may be the most important week of the season as it relates to postseason seeding, as there are 11 district games.

The 17^th district is pretty well decided at this point, North Hardin has locked up the #1 seed. Central Hardin will secure the #2 seed with a win over Fort Knox this week, which will leave Etown as the 3, and John Hardin and Fort Knox battle for the 4/5 seeds. John and Knox play on Wednesday of this week. The winner will be the 4 seed which really only determines who will be the home team when they play in the district tournament.

In the 18^th district, Green County and Larue County will meet for the first time this season. They play again next Tuesday, Feb. 4^th. Green County will host the first game. Larue County travels to Caverna on Friday night. That game might be the game that determines the #1 seed. If Caverna wins and Green can split with Larue, Green will be the #1 seed. If Larue wins, then it will come down to the winner of the Green/Larue game on Feb. 4^th. Caverna and Hart County are locked into 3 and 4 seeds.

The 19^th district looks to be pretty settled but still have a few games to go. Bardstown has locked up the #1 seed. Bethlehem should follow at the 2. The 3 seed is where it gets interesting. If Thomas Nelson can sweep Nelson County, then they’ll hold the tiebreaker over Washington, assuming Bethlehem defeats Washington in their next matchup. Nelson County has to win both games against Thomas Nelson to have any chance of not being the #5 seed, but Nelson is locked into the 4/5 play-in game.

Adair County is pretty well locked into the 1 seed for the 20^th district. Taylor currently sits at 1-2 in district play but are on the road for two district games this week against Campbellsville and Marion County. Based on the remaining games, it should be Adair, Taylor Marion, and then Campbellsville. In order to stay out of the 4 seed, Campbellsville will have to win their remaining 3 district games, 2 of which are against Taylor County.

As far as the rankings for this week, Green County drops from the top spot. That was a tough call for me, because they lost to an exceptionally good Hazard team by 1 point. The drop in some respects is more about Adair County winning 3 games this week than it was Green County losing 1 game.

Larue County drops to 3 as a result of Adair leaping over them to the 1 spot. While Larue County went 2-0 this week, it was a 7-point win against Campbellsville, who’s at the bottom of the region, and against Hart County in a home district win by 8. A win is a win, but I expected Larue to play better against both of those teams.

North Hardin moves up to the 4 spot after 2 district wins and going 3-0 on the week. The win against Central Hardin secured the #1 seed in the 17^th district.

At this point in the season, teams 7-14, I don’t see a big difference in. Caverna is likely the best team of that group but could end up losing to one of those other teams. Washington County, Thomas Nelson, Marion County and Hart County could surprise a team if you took them lightly but could also get beat by 30.

Fort Knox gets out of the cellar. They won their first 2 games of the year this past week. That moves John Hardin to the 18^th position. John Hardin is the owner of the longest losing streak in the region at 15 games. They play Fort Knox on Wednesday night to try and end that stretch. Past that game, their may not be another winnable game on their schedule.

Here are the rankings:

1.      Adair County (15-4) Results this Week: Bluegrass Blazers 108-66, Taylor County 69-64, Metcalfe County 87-49   
Upcoming Games: Campbellsville, Bardstown (at Marion Co.)

2.      Green County (14-2) Results this Week: Hazard 53-54
Upcoming Games: Larue Co, at Metcalfe Co, at John Hardin

3.      Larue County (15-5) Results this Week: Campbellsville 77-70, Hart Co. 59-47              
Upcoming Games: at Green Co, at Caverna

4.      North Hardin (12-5) Results this Week: Elizabethtown 70-65, Central Hardin 60-57, East Jessamine 82-61               
Upcoming Games: at Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, at Washington Co.

5.      Taylor County (14-4) Results this Week: Adair Co. 64-69          
Upcoming Games: at Campbellsville, at Marion Co, Franklin Co (at Marion)

6.      Central Hardin (13-6) Results this Week: John Hardin 75-52, North Hardin 57-60
Upcoming Games: Grayson Co, at Fort Knox, Bethlehem (at Marion Co)

7.      Bardstown (10-5) Results this Week: Breckinridge Co 52-75, Nelson Co 61-32, Butler 59-66
Upcoming Games: at Bethlehem, at Elizabethtown, Adair Co (at Marion Co)

8.      Bethlehem (10-8) Results this Week: Bullitt Central 54-46, Breckinridge Co 57-61 (overtime)
Upcoming Games: Bardstown, at Hart Co. Central Hardin (at Marion Co.)

9.      Caverna (8-10) No games this past week.         
Upcoming Games: at Washington Co, Larue Co.

10.  Marion County (12-7) Results this Week: Washington Co. 58-48, Campbellsville 58-51

Upcoming Games: at Brown, Taylor Co, Nelson Co.

11.  Thomas Nelson (8-10) Results this Week: Southern 50-53 (overtime) Washington Co. 51-44
Upcoming Games: at Collegiate, at Bullitt Central, at Nelson Co.

12.  Washington County (7-10) Results this Week: Hart Co. 58-51, Marion Co. 48-58, Thomas Nelson 44-51               
Upcoming Games: Caverna, North Hardin

13.  Hart County (8-10) Results this Week: Washington Co. 51-58, Bluegrass Blazers 68-65, Larue Co. 47-59               
Upcoming Games: Monroe Co, at North Bullitt, Bethlehem

14.  Elizabethtown (5-12) Results this Week: North Hardin 65-70, Southern 64-53
Upcoming Games: John Hardin, at North Hardin, Bardstown

15.  Campbellsville (2-13) Results this Week: Larue Co. 70-77, Marion Co. 51-58
Upcoming Games: Taylor Co, at Monroe Co, at Adair Co.

16.  Nelson County (2-15) Results this Week: Bardstown 32-61    
Upcoming Games: Meade Co, Thomas Nelson, at Marion Co.

17.  Fort Knox (2-13) Results this Week: Eminence 50-43, Collegiate 61-40             
Upcoming Games: Central Hardin, at John Hardin

18.  John Hardin (1-20) Results this Week: Central Hardin, 52-75, Apollo 50-85, Allen Co. Scottsville 51-60               
Upcoming Games: at Elizabethtown, Fort Knox, Green Co.