Twotoplace

Don't forget -- Holmes scored 29 on NCC in the 4th quarter of last year's double OT thriller.

Here's what I think is going on: Look at the Holmes total -- 65 points divided by eight votes. Two coaches had Holmes No. 1, so that's 20 points. Five coaches likely had Holmes No. 2, so that's 45 points. One coach probably left Holmes off the list entirely. Could be a simple "whoops." Could be a protest vote. Or it could be the Holmes coach leaving his own team off the list because he didn't like the way the team played this past week, and he thought a lower ranking might motivate the squad. I'm sure something like this goes on occasionally with the voting.

Looks like two of the coaches didn't bother to vote this week. This poll is flawed on a couple-three levels, one of which is participation appears to be optional. Besides, until NCC, CC and Holmes actually play each other, where the top teams are positioned doesn't mean a whole lot.

What's jumped out at me in recent weeks is how McClendon is finding his niche. He had five treys last night. Holmes has a D-1 recruit at one guard, and now a second guard who can light it up from beyond the arc. Pick your poison. In last year's Dixie-Holmes match-up, Hatton struggled beyond the arc but had success driving to the hoop.

How many does the NCC gym seat? Probably have to be in line by 6 p.m. to get a seat on Feb. 14. Weren't there around 5,000 at NKU for the second Holmes-NCC (regional) game last year?

How many people does the NewCath gym seat? Think of how much $$ the game could realize if played at NKU, and it would give many more people an opportunity to see two stellar teams. Seriously, both teams could be ranked in the top 3 in the state on Feb. 14. 5,000 fans at 8 bucks a ticket = $40,000.

Game is at NCC. They ought to explore the possibility of holding the game at NKU.

Key stat is that Holmes went to the line 24 times vs. 11 for Cordia. One sees that game after game. Otherwise, all the other stats were pretty much equal.

Shades of last year when the Bulldogs blew a 25-point halftime lead vs. Holy Cross but won it on late Bolden trey. A teaching experience, no doubt.

Won't be able to attend, so please provide updates Monday night. You can be as biased as you want as long as you get score right. Thanks in advance.

If it does happen, I think Lewis County, Henry County and Fleming County would be the closest teams. The state athletic governing board should permit successful football programs to play up in class. (I believe State Sen. Katie Stine of Ft. Thomas introduced legislation permitting such several years back, but I don't think her bill got passed in Frankfort.)

A move to 3A could be a real downer for the Highlands program. To my knowledge, there are no 3A schools in NKY. So instead of playing CovCath, the Bluebirds might get thrown into a district where the closest rival is a two-hour bus ride away.

Thought the trey right before half might ignite BB in the third quarter, but it didn't. Noticed that BB was playing its third game in four days, so that probably factored into slow second-half start as well.

George Allen.

I think BB scored its first FG of the second half with about 3 minutes to go in the third quarter. By that time Holmes had pushed its lead to about 18 or 20. Holmes pressed for most of the game. As a result, BB struggled to get into an offensive flow.

Refs called this game tighter than a tick. Bolden had 24 at the half. Did he hit 40? We shall see. Nice game by Burns for BB.

That happened in third quarter of last year's SK-Holmes game. Pioneers led by 3 or 4 going into 4th quarter, as I recall. Good game.

Interesting that last year both of Holmes' regular season losses came at home -- to NewCath in two OT's and to CovCath on the half-court shot. Team was undefeated on the road except for the season-ending OT loss to eventual state champ Madison Central in second round of Sweet 16.

So he gets to pick his replacement? Or does a committee do this?

If Bishop Brossart wins at Holmes tomorrow night, one could then make the case for BB climbing to No. 1 in the next poll.

The game will be a learning experience for both teams. Last year's smallish Bulldog bunch was involved in a lot of close games and won by hitting 3's, going to the line more than the other team, and keeping the ball in Bolden's hands most of the time. This year's team is different and, I think, better in every area other than hitting 3's and hitting free-throws. I particularly will be watching how well Holmes defends a real good team with a couple of bigs, because I think Holmes' coaching staff really has the team focused on D right now. (Newport only scored 20-something points after the first quarter a week ago, and Lloyd only managed 24 the entire game.)

Could be a dandy game. I plan to be there. Biggest question for me is whether Holmes can continue to dominate defensively against a talented BB team. This could be a very special Holmes team this year. We will know more at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Don't think there are even any 3A schools in NKY right now.

This is my thinking, too. Have three classes based on size with an "elite" and "regular" division in each class. Successful teams in "regular" (based on a point system) would automatically get bumped into "elite" every so often, with the reverse also occurring. Also allow some flexibility for teams to move up one class in elite.

Last year NewCath won the run-and-gun OT game vs. Holmes but lost the slowdown game at NKU. NewCath's size is less of a problem for Holmes than Holmes' quickness is for NewCath. Also shouldn't forget that lurking at No. 3 is CovCath, which beat both NewCath and Holmes last year.