Welcome to February. The final days of January gave us some really exciting action in the 9th and led to a whole lot of movement among teams 2 through 8 in the rankings. Cooper sits high on top while Lloyd looks like they might be playing some of their best basketball of the year. CovCath, the other member of the trio of primary contenders all season long, is 1 - 4 in their last 5 and looking to right the ship as we head towards the postseason.

The top 8 is conveniently made up of 2 teams from each district in the region. Now, it is hard to say that means we will see those 8 teams in the regional tournament but it is something to keep an eye on. 

This week features some more highly competitive games, including several between top ten teams. I'll only get to do the regular season version of this three more times. We are in the thick of it now.

Rankings

1. Cooper - The Jaguars got a sweep this week, beating St. Henry, Highlands, and Jennings County (IN). Isaac Brown had 20 in the blowout win over St. Henry with Andy Johnson getting 19, both players making three 3-pointers. They travel to Conner for a district contest before facing Campbell County and Walton. 

2. Lloyd - The Juggernauts had started to lose a little shine and have losses to the other two top three teams. However, they firmly reestablished themselves as a contender by soundly dismissing the upstart Dixie Colonels, most likely resulting in a 1 seed in the district tournament. In addition, they had another 20 plus point win over Beechwood. Lloyd faces St. Henry and Montgomery County this week, that second game being played at Bracken County.

3. Covington Catholic - The Colonels, as mentioned, are 1-4 in their last 5 games. Those games have included some great teams including Campbell County and Great Crossing, both of whom beat CovCath this week. Holy Cross, Ryle and Newport are on this week's slate for the Colonels.

4. Dixie Heights - The Colonels suffered a non-competitive loss to Lloyd to start the week but proceeded to beat Villa Madonna, Grant County and Ludlow. They face NCC and Kentucky Country Day this week. They are on a trajectory to face St. Henry in the 2 vs. 3 game, a team they beat by 8 last time. However, it seems both teams have been on an opposite trajectory since then, with Dixie continuing to surge and St. Henry floundering.

5. Newport - The Wildcats finally got to play Highlands and were triumphant in 73-69 game. Now they will look to wrap up the one seed as they face NCC this week. Newport defeated Archbishop Hoban earlier today and will face St. Xavier at NKU tomorrow. Next weekend features two thrilling matchups for the Wildcats as they are set to take on CovCath and Proviso East (IL) at Bracken County.

6. Beechwood - The Tigers defeated Boone County and Holmes but were unable to defeat Lloyd. They face Mason County, Holy Cross, and Campbell County this week, all on the road. That Holy Cross game is most likely going to be a stage-setter for the 2 vs. 3 game in the district tournament.

7. Conner - The Cougars' winning streak continued as they defeated Scott and St. Henry. They face Cooper, Highlands and South Dearborn (IN) this week. The Cooper game may very well be a preview of the district (and maybe, just maybe the regional championship). Conner is a team that has amassed 15 wins though playing a weaker schedule than the primary contenders in the region. That is the same story for Highlands, so keep an eye on that matchup.

8. Highlands - The Birds fell to Newport and Cooper last week but picked up a district win over Bellevue. They face Campbell County tomorrow at NKU before playing Conner and Mason County next weekend.

9. Ryle - .500 overall, less than .500 in the region and the district. That's what the Raiders have achieved on paper this year. However, they are on a four game winning streak, having won 3 games this past week including a victory over Augusta on the road today. They face Scott, CovCath and St. Henry this week. That CovCath game will help show whether this Cougar team has the muscle to compete in the postseason or if they will just be an also-ran.

10. Holy Cross - The Indians fell to Grant County but got wins over Mason County and Walton Verona. They face CovCath, Beechwood and NCC this week. That Beechwood game is almost certainly a preview of the 2 vs. 3 game in the district tournament. 

11. Newport Central Catholic - The Breds beat Scott and fell to Moeller last week. They face Dixie, Newport, and Holy Cross this week. A win over Newport would throw the district into a three-way tie between NCC, Newport, and Highlands. 

12. Holmes - A tough loss to Pendleton County was followed by a blowout at the hands of Beechwood. The Holmes Bulldogs look to bounce back this week as they play North College Hill (OH), Boone County and Bracken County.

13. Boone County - The Rebels are on a skid but they have been in a tough part of their schedule. That falls back down some this week as they face Brossart, Holmes, and Bracken County, all games that really could go either way. 

14. St. Henry - The Cru have lost three in a row, losing to Cooper and Conner this past week. They face Lloyd, South Oldham and Ryle this week.

15. Heritage - The Eagles got wins over Bellevue and Williamstown while splitting the two game series against Ludlow. They played Tuesday and Thursday and each team won on their home court. Cade Holtman had 21 in the loss to Ludlow and 23 in the win. They face Brown this week.

16. Ludlow - As mentioned, the Panthers split the series with Heritage. They did get a nice win over Calvary Christian behind a 8 for 17 three point shooting performance. The week ended with a loss to Dixie. They face Augusta this week.

17. Villa Madonna - The Vikings got their fourth win of the season as they beat Dayton for the second time. They are off this week.

18. Bellevue - The Tigers lost to Heritage and Highlands but defeated arch-rival Dayton and Robertson County. They are off this week.

19. Dayton - Rough times for the Green Devils. They travel to St. Patrick's this week where they hope to get the fourth win of the year.

20. Covington Latin - The Brown game was scratched. They are scheduled to play Francis Parker this week.

I would bump Conner up they have beaten Beechwood and Dixie who are both ahead of them. Conner also has wins over Holy Cross, Ryle and Campbell co. Also think Dixie is higher than they should be. 

3 hours ago, Hollywood23 said:

I would bump Conner up they have beaten Beechwood and Dixie who are both ahead of them. Conner also has wins over Holy Cross, Ryle and Campbell co. Also think Dixie is higher than they should be. 

Fair, but Conner’s win over Dixie came by only 4 points and was back on 12/17. Dixie has only lost one game since then, that of course being Lloyd.

Similarly, Conner beat Beechwood by 4 back on 12/19. After so much time it’s hard to keep the “they beat them so…” but I definitely hear you.

I honestly think 4 through 7 is pretty superfluous. Highlands is also right there with those teams but I feel really good with them at 8. 

Conner beats both Cooper and Highlands this week and you will almost certainly see them rise to the 4th spot. Oh the other end of the spectrum, if they lose both there’s that chance that Highlands passes them.

I often say that tiers are more useful than rankings. 1 through 3 is the contender tier. 4 through 8 is the next tier. 9 through 11 is the third tier and the last tier that I think includes teams that may have postseason life.

33 minutes ago, se7ens said:

Fair, but Conner’s win over Dixie came by only 4 points and was back on 12/17. Dixie has only lost one game since then, that of course being Lloyd.

Similarly, Conner beat Beechwood by 4 back on 12/19. After so much time it’s hard to keep the “they beat them so…” but I definitely hear you.

I honestly think 4 through 7 is pretty superfluous. Highlands is also right there with those teams but I feel really good with them at 8. 

Conner beats both Cooper and Highlands this week and you will almost certainly see them rise to the 4th spot. Oh the other end of the spectrum, if they lose both there’s that chance that Highlands passes them.

I often say that tiers are more useful than rankings. 1 through 3 is the contender tier. 4 through 8 is the next tier. 9 through 11 is the third tier and the last tier that I think includes teams that may have postseason life.

Totally agree you did a nice job.