Ryle heads into the 9th Region championship fresh off of their biggest win ever over Lloyd Memorial. The Raiders finished their semifinal game with a highly impressive 27 point win over the Juggernauts, beating them 64-37. Cov Cath heads into the regional finals off of a big win of their own. Cov Cath's 92-41 win over Conner ranks among the 20 largest margins of victory in program history...and getting to enjoy a win like that in the semifinals of the regional tournament is really saying something.

During the regular season, Ryle gave Cov Cath the second-closest game they saw among competitors in the 9th Region. The Raiders lost to the 88-67 to the Colonels back on February 6th in Park Hills. The only team come closer than 21 points was Dixie Heights, who lost by 18 points to Cov Cath one week after Ryle's bout with the Blue Colonels.

It's been made more than clear in the 9th Region Tournament and in regional tournaments around the state this year that rankings and season records aren't what matters once it comes time for action on the hardwood in the post-season. The Raiders are gonna be taking it to the Colonels with everything they've got on Tuesday evening, and the Colonels are undoubtedly as prepared as can be for whatever the Raiders bring.

What are your predictions for the championship game?

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00pm at NKU's Truist Arena.

It will be a physical war. Cov Cath is the obvious favorite. Both teams have a lot of scoring options, and both teams play with tenacity for 32 minutes. I believe Ryle will continue to play with reckless abandon as there is no "expectation pressure" on them. Go Raiders. 

I would love to see a close game, but I think Covcath wins by 15 or more. 

17 minutes ago, StraightShooter said:

It will be a physical war. Cov Cath is the obvious favorite. Both teams have a lot of scoring options, and both teams play with tenacity for 32 minutes. I believe Ryle will continue to play with reckless abandon as there is no "expectation pressure" on them. Go Raiders. 

What are Ryle's scoring options other than Coppola, and I think CCH can shut him down.

8 minutes ago, 4 Quarters said:

What are Ryle's scoring options other than Coppola, and I think CCH can shut him down.

https://scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kybbk25/97713?I'd=stats_97713_0

6 minutes ago, kyag said:

https://scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kybbk25/97713?I'd=stats_97713_0

CCH averages 81 points per game and Ryle 57.

Colonels won the regular season game by 21.  I'd expect a similar result.

Ryle shot 44.2% from the field in their quarterfinal game against Newport, with 64 points and an effective field goal percentage of 38.18%. Last night they were 65.9% from the field against Lloyd, with 64 points and an effective field goal percentage of 69.51%.

Cov Cath shot 45.5% from the field in their quarterfinal game against Dixie Heights, with 71 points and an effective field goal percentage of 49.24%. Last night they were 56.2% from the field against Conner, with 92 points and an effective field goal percentage of 61.64%.

Hard to really say which team has the hotter hand right now...I'd lean in Ryle's direction purely from a percentages standpoint, but that could change entirely when they're matched up against Cov Cath's defensive pressure. I think the Colonels still take this one, but given the stage of the game I think Ryle makes it a little closer than last time. I'd call it somewhere around a 12-15 point win for Cov Cath.

10 hours ago, 4 Quarters said:

What are Ryle's scoring options other than Coppola, and I think CCH can shut him down.

Smith, Davis, and Nsuti all hit double figures along with Coppola last night.  They are all capable scorers on a regular basis. Broz has had some nice games, too.

I think Cov Cath wins big, 25-pt big.  I believe the only chance Ryle has to play a form of stall ball (can’t wait for the shot clock era).  Run their sets over and over and over.  Milk the clock.  Only score when you have a premium look.  It would take exceptional ball handling and guard play to pull it off, along with serious discipline.  On defense, constantly switch and change giving new looks every other trip down the court.  At the end of the day I just don’t think Ryle’s talent can keep it close.  

Great job by Ryle but honestly it felt like anyone in the 9th could have made it to the finals to face off against the heavily favored Cov Cath Colonels.  I predict a heavy dose of pressure by Cov Cath and a 20+ point win.  I expect the Colonels to shut down Coppola and dominate with their trio of guards.

17 minutes ago, FatNate said:

I believe the only chance Ryle has to play a form of stall ball (can’t wait for the shot clock era).  Run their sets over and over and over.  Milk the clock.  Only score when you have a premium look.  It would take exceptional ball handling and guard play to pull it off, along with serious discipline. 

I agree with this 100%, but the challenge is you can't fall behind.  If CovCath blitzes them in the first four minutes, Ryle won't be able to go this route.  

However, if Ryle is tied / leading after the first quarter, I could see them become VERY deliberate in the 2nd quarter to ensure they get to the 2nd half in the game.  

If CovCath gets into transition, and pushes tempo, Ryle has ZERO chance at keeping up.  Only way Ryle is in the game is if this game hovers around the 50's and 60's.  

1 hour ago, The Double Deuce said:

I agree with this 100%, but the challenge is you can't fall behind.  If CovCath blitzes them in the first four minutes, Ryle won't be able to go this route.  

However, if Ryle is tied / leading after the first quarter, I could see them become VERY deliberate in the 2nd quarter to ensure they get to the 2nd half in the game.  

If CovCath gets into transition, and pushes tempo, Ryle has ZERO chance at keeping up.  Only way Ryle is in the game is if this game hovers around the 50's and 60's.  

I think this quote from Browning, Conner's coach, from LinkNky.com, explains perfectly the challenge with trying to slow CovCath down and milk the tempo: “That was our goal. That was our plan,” Browning said. “We didn’t do a very good job of that. Our plan was to get it across half court and run some stuff and try to make them guard. They sped us up. Our guys fed into that a little bit, unfortunately we didn’t really execute well enough in that aspect of our planning.”

1 hour ago, The Double Deuce said:

I think this quote from Browning, Conner's coach, from LinkNky.com, explains perfectly the challenge with trying to slow CovCath down and milk the tempo: “That was our goal. That was our plan,” Browning said. “We didn’t do a very good job of that. Our plan was to get it across half court and run some stuff and try to make them guard. They sped us up. Our guys fed into that a little bit, unfortunately we didn’t really execute well enough in that aspect of our planning.”

Slowing the game down when that isn’t necessarily your style and/or may not fit makeup of the team is a challenge. Especially when the opponent plays solid pressure defense and wants to run. Slowing the pace of play is easy for a fat old dude on his couch to make an observation about, but is much tougher to actually coach and execute.

I'm only laughing about the fat old dude portion of your comment.