Real briefly - I tend to agree with CMurph06.  PT looked like the much more athletic team and they took Cavette out of what he does best.  Maybe they had an off night, but the Eagles didn’t shoot it very well.  
 

My Semis preview!  First - does anybody know if there’s video streaming for these Region 1 games?  PTownWife is taking one of the girls on a soccer trip and can’t be there. 
 

Would you be mad at me if I called both of these games toss-ups?  Well too bad!

McCracken vs Marshall.  1:00 Saturday.  The Mustangs won both games narrowly - the first one in OT and the second on a buzzer beater by Garrett Miller.

Quite simply - I think the player out of Woodfork and Langhi that has the better game will win this contest.  Both are outstanding players!  I’m not so sure that Miller for the Mustangs is 100% so I’d grade the supporting casts as about even.  This one should be a good one - get there early to get a good seat!

Murray vs Tilghman.   2:30.  Murray won the first game 76-72.  
I apologize for the broken record but PT did not have 4 of its rotation players when they met in January.  The 3 transfers and Avery Thompson was still out with his foot injury.  Two Captain Obvious keys to this game:  1-Whichever team can turn the other over more.  Both teams like to create havoc.  2-Whichever team makes more 3’s.  That’s some Pulitzer-prize-worthy analysis right there!  I basically said whichever team plays better D and shoots it better will win.  You’re welcome!  This one will be a track meet so don’t miss it!

Let me know your thoughts. Do you agree that both games look pretty evenly matched?

I agree. I think McCracken is the better offensive team but Marshall is the better defensive team. This game could go either way and it’s hard to beat a good team three times in a row but I’m sticking with the Mustangs! In the second game I’ll take Tilghman in a competitive track meet of a game. PT has really played well in the last few weeks now that their entire team is healthy and eligible (minus Caruthers). Since we can’t get a McCracken/ Marshall championship game I think a McCracken/ Tilghman championship game would be just as exciting.  The 2nd district title game was fantastic and I’d love to see their 4th meeting. 

28 minutes ago, westernky said:

I agree. I think McCracken is the better offensive team but Marshall is the better defensive team. This game could go either way and it’s hard to beat a good team three times in a row but I’m sticking with the Mustangs! In the second game I’ll take Tilghman in a competitive track meet of a game. PT has really played well in the last few weeks now that their entire team is healthy and eligible (minus Caruthers). Since we can’t get a McCracken/ Marshall championship game I think a McCracken/ Tilghman championship game would be just as exciting.  The 2nd district title game was fantastic and I’d love to see their 4th meeting. 

I like this a lot.  And yes - would be interesting if we get either an all-2nd District final or potentially even an all-4th District final.  Both matchups for the 4th time would be interesting!

Just a quick analysis of the Marshals vs Tilghman tomorrow at 2:00.  Surprisingly, this is PT’s first trip to the Region 1 championship since 2012.  Avery Thompson is really playing some good ball for the Tornado.  The key will be if PT can somehow slow down Matthew Langhi.  Such a tough task and so I give the Marshals a slight edge for tomorrow.  But I think this one has a chance to be close!  

To follow up what PTown Dad said. PT hasn’t won a regional championship since 2010. They lead the region all time with 27 regional championships. I believe their championship drought is the longest in their storied history. The last time Marshall and Tilghman played was at PT on January 23rd when the Marshalls won by 11 however that was right before the 3 new players were ruled eligible and PT has been playing much better since the beginning of February. I think Marshall has the edge but Tilghman is definitely capable of winning this game. This may be a battle of the two best non seniors in the region with Langhi and Thompson going head to head. 

Tilghman is in a sort of win/win situation here. Even in a loss, it feels like a successful end to the season and a noteworthy turnaround. If they somehow pull this game out, it would be hard to think back on a team that made quite this much progress in such a short period. New players or not, I don't think we saw it unfold like this. 

Marshall with a dominant 18-4  1st qtr lead. Wow!

Marshall County wins 76-40, and they're the first team to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.  Fifteen more teams will do so over the next roughly 54 hours.

A possibility of Langhi and Spurlock in the first round sounds very entertaining!!!

Bump.