The first semifinal of 3/11, the Cooper Jaguars take on Covington Catholic. This is a rematch of January 22nd when Cooper won at home 69-65 in overtime. Cash Harney had 27 for CovCath and Andy Johnson had 26 for Cooper. 
 

Yesterday, Cooper defeated Highlands and CovCath blew out Dixie. For Cooper to win, they have to not let both Harney and McGillis go off. They could manage one (like last time) but if this becomes a scoring fest with multiple Colonels racking up points, I don’t see Cooper keeping pace. On the other hand, CovCath must limit touches by Johnson as much as possible. As an offensive threat and disruptor there may be no player more versatile and well-rounded as Johnson and he showed that last time out against CovCath. 
 

It should be a fun and exciting rematch. I’m also sure the Sullivan faithful will continue to show out in full force and we know what the CovCath student section should bring.

I think the winner of this game wins the Region, and as great a story as it would be for Sully to win this Region Tournament, I think CovCath wins on Tuesday night.  

Lloyd Memorial/Newport will still be a tough out for whoever wins this one.

Nothing is guaranteed.

4 minutes ago, Cmurph06y said:

Lloyd Memorial/Newport will still be a tough out for whoever wins this one.

Nothing is guaranteed.

Agreed. That is why I prefaced it with "I think".  Obviously Newport and Lloyd are very good and capable of winning their next two games.  

I as well think this is a CovCath win on the neutral floor. Though Andy Johnson may (and that’s a big may) be the best player on the floor, CovCath may have the next three. Big court, neutral arena with the Crazies, that environment is favorable to CovCath.

Also, you have a very intriguing storyline with Coach Thelen’s first regional tournament and the fact that Sully’s Cooper squad was the last team Coach Ruthsatz squared off with. It might very well be a turning of the tables and CovCath may be the last team Coach Sullivan faces as a Jaguar.

As for se7ens’ comment, I think the Colonel Crazies are neutralized by all the support Sully is going to receive and saw the last game against Highlands. 

IMO, for CovCath to win I think a few things have to happen. First and foremost, McGillis has to be careful with his shot selections. If he tries forcing it up the middle with two defenders on him, like he often does, it’ll be disastrous against Cooper’s defense. His percentages aren’t good when he forces it up the lane, and I’m surprised Thelen let's him do it. Secondly, the Colonels need to watch their fouling. Their agressive defense is perhaps their biggest asset, but they commit way too many silly fouls that aren’t worth the risks of putting your opponent at the line too early in a quarter.  Lastly, they need to keep Johnson below his average. He’s definitely the best player I’ve seen in NKY this year. 

I’ll be rooting for my Colonels, but I feel Cooper is clearly the best team in NKY. Nevertheless, they are beatable as proven by their last meeting. 

14 hours ago, blue-five-two said:

I’ll be rooting for my Colonels, but I feel Cooper is clearly the best team in NKY. Nevertheless, they are beatable as proven by their last meeting. 

"Clearly" feels like a huge word in this sentence. 

Cooper wins, and loses to Lloyd in finals. 

Is there a stream to CCH/Cooper tonight?

9 minutes ago, InItToWinIt said:

Is there a stream to CCH/Cooper tonight?

Audio only 859sportsradio.com NKU doesn’t allow video streaming for the 9th region tourney 

42 minutes ago, Hollywood23 said:

Audio only 859sportsradio.com NKU doesn’t allow video streaming for the 9th region tourney 

Just went to purchase my ticket on Ticketmaster... $21.15 after fees. Ridiculous, no one should EVER have to spend that much to watch two basketball games. 

45 minutes ago, Hollywood23 said:

Audio only 859sportsradio.com NKU doesn’t allow video streaming for the 9th region tourney 

Does NKU not allow it or does the region not pay the fee to KHSAA to be allowed to stream it? 

56 minutes ago, Adrian Woj Burner said:

Just went to purchase my ticket on Ticketmaster... $21.15 after fees. Ridiculous, no one should EVER have to spend that much to watch two basketball games. 

If you go to one of the 4 schools participating they have them for sale $9 cash per ticket 

55 minutes ago, ChickenWyngz said:

Does NKU not allow it or does the region not pay the fee to KHSAA to be allowed to stream it? 

Solid question that I’m not one hundred percent on. I have just always been told NKU doesn’t allow it and they will shut down anybody who goes live at the event as well. 

3 hours ago, LLS10 said:

Cooper wins, and loses to Lloyd in finals. 

Always enjoy following you and your posts, and very nervous that you and I see the next three games playing exactly the opposite of one another.  I have CovCath / Newport, CCH winning, and you have Cooper / Lloyd, Lloyd winning.  Funny.

Enjoy the games!