South Oldham at North Oldham predictions / updates

South Oldham (16-6) travels to Goshen, KY to face North Oldham (11-9) in a rivalry game that is also a 29th District seeding game

When: Friday, 1/31/2020

Tipoff: approximately 7:40 pm ET (immediately after the girls' game)

Broadcast coverage: Live video coverage on The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN. Pregame starts about 7:30 pm ET

This is a war disguised as a basketball game. It's so fitting that the schools are "North" and "South", because this game has been played like the Civil War every year since North was opened in 2003. (allegedly, the intensity has been attributed originally to the fact that the original North student population primarily was pulled from South Oldham HS; more so than from Oldham County HS).

Regardless of the origins of how/why this rivalry became so heated so fast, the tradition has continued to today. Expect the stands to be full in Goshen.

South comes into this game on a three game winning streak. This will be the only game for South this week; the Dragons will have had five days off since their last game when this one tips. One of the best overall shooting teams in the state, the Dragons are hitting 50% from the floor, 41.8% from beyond the arc, and 73.4% from the line. Defending 8th Region Player of the Year Luke Morrison leads South with 21.1 ppg. Morrison, one of the top three point shooters in the state (on the state's most prolific three point shooting team), has already hit 62 threes in 144 attempts (43.1%).

Seth Johnson is averaging nearly a double-double, at 18.7 ppg and 7.5 rebounds.

Seven Dragons - including all five starters - are hitting over 70% at the line.

South is the top scoring team in the 8th Region, averaging 78 ppg.

North Oldham comes into the contest after a big 97-75 victory over Henry County Saturday in the Henry County Classic. The Mustangs will have also played Louisville Waggener on Tuesday, but that game has not been played yet as of this writing.

North, who learned that star PG Justin Powell would miss the rest of the season on Friday, has done a remarkable job of re-tooling. Center Tyler Higdon has become almost unstoppable on the inside, averaging 15.5 ppg and 8.5 rebounds.

Freshman guard Dallas Roberts - who led North in scoring last year as an 8th graders - has emerged of late, averaging 11.8 ppg. Roberts had 26 points in the win over Henry County, hitting 9 of 13 shots (including 4 of 6 threes) and 4 of 4 at the line.

Emerging players for North include sophomore "Rico" Carr-Cole, who had 12 against Henry County and who has averaged 12.2 ppg over the last five games. Another player getting more time - and producing - has been freshman Jack Scales. The freshman exploded for a season-high 15 points against Henry County, hitting 5 of 10 three pointers.

North has a real youth movement going; besides freshman Roberts, freshman Scales, and sophomore Carr-Cole, the Mustangs are also getting major contributions from freshman Ian Higdon, the younger brother of Tyler Higdon. Ian Higdon is averaging 7.8 ppg and 4.8 rebounds.

Ian Higdon and Roberts both currently start.

North is the #2 shooting team in the 8th Region, hitting 51.2% of their shots.

This game - though it's a 29th district seeding game - will have no impact on the district bracket. Oldham County (3-0 in district play) has clinched the #1 seed; Trimble County (0-3) will be the #4 seed. That pits Oldham vs. Trimble in the first round, and South Oldham vs. North Oldham. The winner of this game between North and South will be the #2 seed, but regardless, those two teams will face each other in the first round (elimination) game of the tournament.

Who wins? Live broadcast begins at about 7:30 pm ET on The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN (also archived)

CM

Most recent meeting: 1/25/19 South Oldham 80 North Oldham 71

Seth Johnson scored 30 points and Luke Morrison 15 in the win.

South hit 23 of 26 free throws

Dallas Roberts had 26 for North

South has won the last three games in the series.

North's last victory came on 1/30/2018, when North Oldham won, 56-51, in Goshen.

I believe this game will be as good as advertised. I believe with Powell playing North wins, but lets forget that theory, as North will not have Powell. I know most people won't agree, but I believe North still has a shot to win this war, will they, wish I knew. I'll take South in a close game by 7.

I think North definitely has a shot to win this one. But I also believe South is definitely the favorite coming in.

North Oldham went down in defeat to Waggener last night, 72-60, dropping them to 11-10 on the season.

Good news for North: sophomore "Rico" Carr-Cole continues his late-season bloom; he had a season-high 21 points on 7 of 10 shooting, and hit 3 of 3 FTs.

Luke Berry - who had his first double digit scoring outing four games ago against Shelby - had his third double-digit game in the last five games. He also had a season-high, scoring 13 points on 4 of 8 shooting.

Bad News: One of the region's top shooting teams hit just 43.5% from the field.

Leading scorer Tyler Higdon (15.5 ppg) and #2 scorer Dallas Roberts (12 ppg) combined for just 14 points on 5 of 17 shooting and 2 of 5 at the line.

South Oldham has this week off until the Friday night showdown.

Big matchup this Friday will be on the inside: South Oldham's sophomore center 6'6" Ben Michel against North Oldham's senior center, 6'4" Tyler Higdon.

Higdon is a proven performer, and likely looking at a spot on the All-Region team. He is mobile, motivated, and has some strong individual moves.

Michel is still just a sophomore, but of late has more than proven his value to this South Oldham team. Like Higdon, Michel is surprisingly mobile, but unlike Higdon, Michel is an excellent perimeter shooter.

It will be interesting to see how Coaches Simpson and Levitch choose to use their big men defensively. Both have been unafraid to let their bigs step outside and defend the perimeter.

It will also be interesting to see whether it's Michel - or someone else - that South sends to battle Higdon on the glass.

CM

South Oldham leads the all-time series, 18-9, and has won three straight.

The Dragons are 6-3 in the Mustangs' gym.

Questions to be answered tonight in the boys' game....

- What will South do to combat Tyler Higdon? Can they successfully deny him the ball at the high post? If not, can they slow his power drives to the rim? If he goes low, can they deny the entry pass? Will the Dragons be able to battle even on the glass?

- Can the Mustang guards slow down the Dragons' "Big Two" of Morrison and Johnson? Morrison's size will be an issue; he may be able to post up some of the smaller North guards; can the Mustangs stay in front of Johnson and prevent his strong dribble-drive attack?

- Both teams shoot the three well, but with South, it's a science and an art form. How well does North push the Dragons off the line tonight? Can they disrupt the most potent three point attack in Kentucky?

- Will North's big men stay out of foul trouble? It would seem that the Mustangs have the edge in side - so long as their bigs stay in the game.

- Who will be the unexpected heroes? For North, "Rico" Carr-Cole has been on a tear of late, and the sophomore has come off the bench to lead North in scoring in three of their last seven games. Freshman Jack Scales has served notice of late that his three-point shooting is stellar - a 5 of 10 performance outside the arc Saturday was impressive. For South, with so much speculation on the inside, will this be the breakout game for 6'6" sophomore center Ben Michel, who is so explosive on his feet and who has the ability to play inside-outside? Or will it be someone like reserve guard Nick Cranfill, whose extreme quickness could pose defensive challenges for the Mustangs, and could lead to North foul issues(?)

A chess match within a chess match....