Thanks to the Guru for getting a report out for me last week. Several teams are starting to play much better basketball, and a few transfers have gotten eligible and are making a difference.

I’m doubtful that much basketball gets played this week with the snow and ice storm, maybe a few games later this week. There isn’t any change in the top of the rankings, but I think that’s likely to change in the next week or two. Here’s the rankings for this week:

The Contenders

1. Adair County 15-5- The Indians hold onto the top spot this week, but I’m not convinced they’ll stay there much longer. Adair dropped a 1-point loss to Pulaski County, region 12’s number 1 RPI team, so I’m hesitant to call that a game that should affect their rating too much. The game that is much more concerning to me is the 75-72 win they had against Campbellsville. Campbellsville is at the bottom of the region, has two 20-plus point losses to Taylor County, a 9-point loss to Marion County and has an upset win against Adair earlier this season. Maybe Campbellsville just has the number of Adair County. Adair County is scheduled to play at Madisonville North Hopkins on Tuesday and host Marion County on Friday.

2. Taylor County 15-7- The Cardinals had a very good week going 3-0 against the competition. The highlight of the week was a 74-63 win against top ranked region 12 team Danville Christian. Cooper Stone had 39 points, and Bryce Vernon had 23 points respectively in the game. Taylor is scheduled to host Thomas Nelson on Tuesday and then play Iroquois in the H&W Showcase at Marion County on Saturday.

3. Larue County 14-4- The Hawks have been my surprise team all year. And they just continue to win. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games. They had a dominating win against Campbellsville and then defeated Hart County in an 18^th district game. Harris had 23 and 22 points in those games. Larue can clinch the #1 seed with a win in their game on Friday against Caverna at the Hawk’s nest.

4. Caverna 14-5- While Larue has been playing well, there isn’t a team hotter in the region than the Colonels of Caverna. Winners of 8 in a row that included a 20-point win in the first round of the All A State Tournament against Owensboro Catholic and then a 48-46 win over Clinton County (ranked 2 in the 4^th region). Being able to add Gavin Lightning this month has been a difference maker for the Colonels. They’ll be tested this week, and should they win all (maybe just most) it would be hard for them to not jump back to the top spot. They are scheduled to host Hart County on Monday, that game probably won’t happen, travel to Larue County on Friday in a game that likely decides the number 1 seed in the district. They host Jeffersontown on Saturday and then travel back to Owensboro for the semifinals and possibly finals of the All-A state tournament. They’ll play Walton Verona in the semifinals and should they advance, they’ll get the winner of Newport and Lyon County. Fatigue would be my big concern for the week, as they could play 6 games, 5 in 4 days.

5. North Hardin 11-5- The Trojans finally have Keriawn Berry eligible, and he’s made an immediate impact. Since joining the team, the Trojans are 3-1 and the one game that Berry didn’t score double digits, was the one game that they lost, losing to Lexington Catholic 56-81. The Trojans ended the week with a 65-62 win over Apollo. If all games scheduled get played (they won’t) North will have a busy week with 4 games, starting with Bowling Green who just upset Warren Central, then they’ll host district opponent Central Hardin on Wednesday, Washington County on Friday and PRP on Saturday. North has already locked up the #1 seed in the 17^th district tournament.

Potential Disruptors:

6. Nelson County 14-5- The Cardinals have had a little bit of a return to earth this past week. They rebounded after the loss to Bullitt Central with a win over Louisville Central 68-58 but then dropped a district matchup to Bardstown in what was a revenge game for the Tigers. Nelson County still controls their own destiny in the 19^th district. If they win out, they will be the #1 seed. They’ll visit Meade County on Tuesday, Thomas Nelson on Friday in an important district game and then Burgin on Saturday.

7. Central Hardin 10-7- The Bruins defeated 17^th district opponent John Hardin by 14 points, 78-64. Carson Nichols had 34 points, while Camdyn Hogan had 25 points. Central will travel to North Hardin in a 17^th district game on Wednesday. The result will only affect who wears the home jersey in the 2/3 game. The Bruins will be either the 2 or 3 seed and will play Etown in the 17^th district tournament.

8.  Bardstown 8-10- The Tigers are not as basketball talented as they have been in years past, but they are very athletic and you never count out a Boo Brewer coached team. They’ve also played a pretty solid schedule that is now starting to pay off for them. Bardstown scored 2 big 19^th district wins last week over Bethlehem and Nelson County. Both wins were on the road. They’ll invite Bethlehem over on Tuesday for a rematch. Bardstown can lock up the #2 seed with a win.

9. Marion County 12-7- The Knights dropped a 2-point game in overtime to Washington County who is starting to play much better basketball. They rebounded with a win over East Jessamine. The argument can be made that Marion hasn’t played an overwhelmingly tough schedule, but outside of the 28-point loss to Taylor, they don’t really have a bad loss. They play hard and when shots fall, they can make most games competitive.

10. Washington County 8-12- The Commanders seem to have turned the corner in the past 2 weeks, winning 4 of their last 5 games including all 3 games they played last week against regional opponents. Washington County becomes a potential disruptor considering they will most likely be the 4 or 5 seed, so they’ll have to play in the play-in game and then likely play Nelson County in a 1/4 game.

Not as likely to disrupt:

11. Thomas Nelson 9-10- The Generals just can’t seem to find any consistency. They followed up a 6-point win 2 weeks ago against Bardstown with a double-digit loss to Collegiate. Then this past week was capped off with a 15-point loss to Washington County. They’re scheduled to travel to Taylor County on Tuesday and then host Nelson County on Friday in a very important district matchup.

12. Bethlehem 7-8- Bethlehem seems to me very much like Thomas Nelson, just not    very consistent. They lost to Bardstown but then had a large win against Fort Knox. The Eagles are scheduled to go across the street to play Bardstown on Tuesday, host Hart County on Friday and then travel to Bullitt Central on Saturday.

The Rest of the Region:

13. Hart County 7-12- It was a tough week for the Raiders going 0-3 including a loss to Larue County. They are supposed to visit Caverna on Monday, and Bethlehem on Friday. A loss to Caverna will make the Feb. 6 game against Green County a must win game to stay out of the 4 spot, but I’m not sure it will matter.

14. Green County 5-12- The Dragons have won 2 in a row and had their largest win of the season this week against Etown, defeating the Panthers by 30 points. They host Russell County and Metcalfe County this week, before traveling to North Hardin on Saturday to play Louisville Central.

15. Elizabethtown 6-11- The Panthers are struggling, no other way to say it. They are on a 3-game losing streak for the 3^rd time this season, having lost this week to Green County and North Hardin. They are scheduled to visit John Hardin and Bardstown this week and then play Meade County at North Hardin.

16. John Hardin 5-14- The Bulldogs aren’t showing up in the win column very often, but I will say that they have played very well the past 2 weeks. They are scheduled to play Etown on Tuesday, and I wouldn’t be shocked for the Bulldogs to win that game. The schedule is favorable for the Bulldogs to get a few wins over the next few weeks, so here’s to hoping that the Bulldogs can string a few wins together.

17. Campbellsville 4-14- Campbellsville dropped 3 more games this week. It’s been a tough season for the Eagles. They have the longest losing streak in the region at 7 games right now and are just 1-9 in their last 10 games. They host Monroe County on Tuesday.

18. Fort Knox 3-11- Fort Knox got into the win column this week for just the 3^rd time this season, defeating Eminence 71-63. They’re scheduled to play Portland Christian and Francis Parker (whom they defeated earlier this season) this week, but those games will likely be cancelled and not replayed which is unfortunate for the Eagles because those are winnable games.

Great write up, and I think you are spot on, the reason Campbellsville beat Adair the first time was Adair had a starter out, so I don't put much stock in that. I think the 2 teams as we head to February that people need to look out for is Caverna and North, they maybe 1/2 in the region.