Looks like the 9th region is wide open and several teams will have a shot this year. Much closer than I expected.

Looks like the 9th region is wide open and several teams will have a shot this year. Much closer than I expected.

 

Me too.

The region is going to be a fun one this year, sounds like I missed a good one last night couldn't make it.

Zone defense is only chance to beat Holmes they do not have a great shooter like in the past just streaky ones, don't get me wrong thou on any givin night they could get hot.

I still think Holmes will win the region, and one word will describe it, Defense. This team is by far believe the best defensive team I have seen in years.

Holmes is going to get everyone's best shot because every team circles it on their schedule.

 

Holmes is still the clear favorite to win the 9th.

As for the game:

 

 

- In that first quarter, Holmes showed why teams don't play man to man against the Dogs. They absolutely dominated Newcath in every facet of the game. Breds switched to a 3-2 zone the rest of the game and showed why teams do zone Holmes night in and night out. Holmes started settling for jumpers instead of attacking and it allowed Newcath to dominate the next two quarters.

 

 

 

Exact opposite of what happened last Friday night in Fort Thomas. HHS got abused by playing zone and got back into the game by playing man. Dixie went man-to-man last week and took the Dawgs down to the wire.

I think Holmes is more beatable this year because they don't have a Riley who can drain 3s as consistently. They still have great defense and can still hit 3s at times, but if you have an off-shooting night, you can be beaten in a low scoring game. I thought last year that zone was the way to beat Holmes, but Riley debunked that theory. Zone has a better chance of being effective against them this year, I think. Regardless, a 3-point victory over NCC and a loss to Ryle leads me to believe that several teams have a shot this year in the 9th.

Did Avery not play?

I believe that is possible for Holmes to lose (Ryle proved it is) and not get out of the Region, but, they are the best team in the Region and displayed it again last nite.

 

They adapt to whatever D is being thrown at them....case in point; HHS' Flynn goes with a zone and get down 16-2 to start the game, NCC opens in man and goes down 18-4. Both good teams and their kids battle their way back into the game but in the end Holmes is just better, plain & simple. It will take a great defensive effort AND an exceptional shooting nite for any team locally to knock off the Bulldogs. I agree it could be interesting but wouldn't put my bet on anyone other than the Dawgs to advance to Rupp.

 

Nice effort by NCC again as they always seem to challenge the Dawgs. Congrats to Tyler Lampe, he got some real PT and produced........way to go young man!

Did Avery not play?

 

Avery played...was 0-4 or 0-5 from outside.

I still think Holmes will win the region, and one word will describe it, Defense. This team is by far believe the best defensive team I have seen in years.

 

I agree they have tremendous Defense and that is what gets you to Rupp. I think the one thing the Dawgs are lacking this year is depth. They don't have a lot of options off of the bench to help them with scoring.

 

Pittman is the key to this team, if Elijah stays out of foul trouble and focuses on his inside game Holmes is scary dangerous. They could get knocked off in the region tournament but up against any team in the 9th I am going to take Holmes.

I believe that is possible for Holmes to lose (Ryle proved it is) and not get out of the Region, but, they are the best team in the Region and displayed it again last nite.

 

They adapt to whatever D is being thrown at them....case in point; HHS' Flynn goes with a zone and get down 16-2 to start the game, NCC opens in man and goes down 18-4. Both good teams and their kids battle their way back into the game but in the end Holmes is just better, plain & simple. It will take a great defensive effort AND an exceptional shooting nite for any team locally to knock off the Bulldogs. I agree it could be interesting but wouldn't put my bet on anyone other than the Dawgs to advance to Rupp.

 

Nice effort by NCC again as they always seem to challenge the Dawgs. Congrats to Tyler Lampe, he got some real PT and produced........way to go young man!

 

Well said.

 

Regardless of how close a team plays Holmes, they are still the favorite to get out of the 9th. I think people are grasping and reaching here more than anything. They see a team play Holmes close (Dixie/NCC) and automatically assume the region is wide open. It's more "hope" than anything, imo.

 

Holmes beats a tough NCC team where #1 Trinity only beat them by 8 and all of a sudden the region is wide open? People fail to realize that Holmes hasn't played well late in the regular season over the past two years. Come tournament time though, they seem to kick it up a notch.

 

This is always a battle between these two teams, especially up on the hill.

I agree they have tremendous Defense and that is what gets you to Rupp. I think the one thing the Dawgs are lacking this year is depth. They don't have a lot of options off of the bench to help them with scoring.

 

Pittman is the key to this team, if Elijah stays out of foul trouble and focuses on his inside game Holmes is scary dangerous. They could get knocked off in the region tournament but up against any team in the 9th I am going to take Holmes.

 

Holmes has depth with Avery, Herndon, and Hayes. Herndon and Hayes are both averaging around 6 or 7 ppg. When they don't play well though, Holmes struggles.

 

Last night being a perfect example.

 

Credit NCC as well though. People don't realize that the Breds played very well last night and battled the whole night. Coach Brannen had a great game plan once Holmes jumped out to a big lead and his players executed very well, but simply came up short to a more talented team.

Well said.

 

Regardless of how close a team plays Holmes, they are still the favorite to get out of the 9th. I think people are grasping and reaching here more than anything. They see a team play Holmes close (Dixie/NCC) and automatically assume the region is wide open. It's more "hope" than anything, imo.

 

Holmes beats a tough NCC team where #1 Trinity only beat them by 8 and all of a sudden the region is wide open? People fail to realize that Holmes hasn't played well late in the regular season over the past two years. Come tournament time though, they seem to kick it up a notch.

 

This is always a battle between these two teams, especially up on the hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I to agree they are the team to beat, but they have not had many shooting nights like they did in Ft. Thomas so if they do not figure out how to attack a zone defense better and hit jumpers more frequently i think they are beatable.

I stand corrected. The same rule that bans dunks during the pre-game also ban dunks during a dead ball.

 

I can see after the whistle. The pre-game dunking is a petty and stupid rule.