StraightShooter

Make room on the wagon for me if EC wins both. However, there is a HUGE difference between beating a quality team in a home crackerbox and beating that same or similar quality team in a neutral college gym. With that, I mean that you should not anoint EC as the favorite to win at Rupp even if they win both these games. Best wishes to EC. It's nice to see the little guys have a great team.

Congrats to Ryle on breaking the skid. They always seem to play good D, just don't score consistently and lack dynamic point guard play. I'm glad they have to play Conner instead of us in the first round of the district.

Good trap game victory opportunity for HC. Boone wrapped up the district and an "automatic" trip to the region with the win vs. Ryle, easily handled Cooper's "JV" tonight and then get an angry HC squad in Covington. I look for this to be very close unless HC is feeling sorry for themselves after losing to CC 2nite. I'll say Boone by 5.

HC's season doomed to end at their own place. Congrats to CovCath on a big win. Come to think of it, I guess all wins for CC this year have been big.

Coaching problem? Looks like it to me.

That's a good one. I would like to comment that Holmes would have zero chance to beat Boone in football this past year, but Boone does have a chance to beat Holmes in basketball. Just not a huge chance, but at least a chance.

Congrats Boone - #33 District reg Season champs! Now, go beat Holmes!

Congrats to Tate. I would guess he will redshirt his frosh year and work on strength and speed. That progress will determine where he ends up. As of now, he appears to be a better blocker than receiver, but regardless, a great honor to have 4 D-1 offers during your junior year. Best wishes to Tate, but take it easy on the Rebels

This sounds bad. If it's true, I would think Boone romps unless they are not at full strength either.

No tiebreaker will be needed IMHO. Rebs by 6. Should be a dandy. I look for a repeat of last game. Ryle will hold a lead as late as 4Q and then fade at the end as Boone extends the margin very late. Now, in the unlikely event that a TB is needed :cry:, I have no clue if it's a draw or some other basis for comparison.

Scotties by 11.

A 19-win UK gets in because of $$$$$$$$$$$$$.

The era of trash talking that started in the pros and filltered down to high school is quite frankly sickening. Not what sports is all about. Fortunately, most h.s. players don't trash talk and do respect the game and each other.

Cooper's varsity is really a JV squad but they also have a JV squad. So, Holmes' JV plays Cooper's JV. What does Dave do? Play his JV again vs. Cooper's varsity? No, he has to give his varsity players a little time. However, he will use his lower level varsity players most of the game. I'm sure Dave will try to keep it in the 30-40 point margin just by slowing it down and not offering MTM pressure - maybe working on some zone. Tough situation for both teams.

No complaints here with an easy win on an off night. Keep up the good work and knock off those Dawgs.

Very true. Riley is a very fine point guard with great instincts and a calm demeanor. A blue-collar team like Ryle would be pretty darn good if they had a great h.s. point guard like Riley.

I'll pick the upset for no other reason other than upsets happen. Ole Miss by 2.

EC carries the weight of "expected to win", but I believe they handle that with no problem and win the "A" this year. Perhaps one of the final two games will be close but "blow out city, baby" is in store for the first two games.

True. If GRC gets back to full strength, they would be my favorite to win the region, with Mason a close 2 then Scott/Campbell/Brossart - T3. All of these teams seem to be well coached.

The athleticism and quickness of Holmes, not size, will cause probs for Ryle. Ryle is just as big as Holmes but they don't match up well with the quickness of Holmes. The Raiders would need to be very hot from the field to hang around. Ryle plays hard-nosed D and will not back down, however. If the refs don't let banging go on, it will be a long night in Union for the home team. If the Dogs are intense for 32 minutes, it will be a 20-point game. If the Dogs play lackadaisical, their talent will still allow them to win but closer than expected, kind of like the Conner game. IMO, Boone is the 9th region team with the best chance to knock off the Dogs.

Bad sign for Scott as far as chances to win the region with getting beat at home by a depleted GRC squad. It's hard to imagine a team with more bad luck due to injuries in one season than what GRC has endured. Congrats to GRC.

Birds by 14.

I'll take Scott at home by 8 since GRC is without the Human Mountain (Rogers).

Very true. Whether they enter postseason play with 1 or more losses, Holmes will bring that extra fire to the hardwood every night when it's tourney show time. So, losing before Rupp will not make them any more or less likely to bring home the big trophy. It would be a shocker to me if Holmes does not win the 9th this year, but not a shocker for them to lose another game before the tourney begins.

IMO, Boone has the best chance to pull the upset since the game is at Boone. They have the guards able to take care of the basketball and can slow the pace down vs. Holmes to have a chance to pull the upset. The Rebels will have to hit over 50% from the floor to beat the Dawgs. Boone is certainly better than Conner and the Cougars gave the Dawgs the closest game of any NKY team so far this year.