D Wolf

PT’s QB Jack James has committed to Troy. He had an outstanding Junior year.

Congrats to the Marshall County Marshals - 1st Sweet 16 appearance since 2012. Please don't look back at my preview post and see that I predicted them 9th. (Cats Pause had them 8th, and the Sun coaches' poll had them 6th). I was familiar with Langhi, but I did not think he could have the impact that he has had as a Freshman. This team is a very balanced team - they don't shoot a ton of 3s, but they make them at a decent clip of 38%. Here are four notable players from the Marshals: Matthew Langhi, 6'4" Freshman. 13.1 PPG & 4.7 PPG. Mostly plays facing the basket, and he is a very good shooter from all over the floor. Alex Staples, 5'11" Junior. 14.8 PPG. Doesn't shoot a lot of 3s, and can really get to the rim. Good athlete. Tommy Robertson, 6'1" Junior. 8.9 PPG & 3.3 RPG. Another great athlete. The 1st of two soccer stars on this team. Logan Parker, 6'4" Senior. 7.8 PPG & 6.3 RPG. This is the 2nd of the soccer players. Great mustache. This is one of those guys that does all of the little things to win. So I'm the 1st Region guy and I'll have to stick with my West Kentucky (the REAL West KY!) teams. I'll take the Marshals in a tight one. Marshall Co. 67, Adair Co. 65 I plan on doing a "Way Too Early" preview of next year after the Sweet 16. Surprising spoiler alert - the Marshals won't be #1.

Where can one find the seating capacity for the gyms? I would think Otis Dinning Gym has sufficient capacity but I could be wrong.

Tilghman might could host too but not sure if their bathroom situation is good enough. I really wish they’d use some of the high schools in the 1st region. Would be a much better atmosphere!!!

This will be a very brief semis preview. I’m writing this on my smartphone. I will be consistent with my previous rankings for the Final 4. 1-Marshall, 2-McCracken, 3-Murray, 4-Tilghman. There’s honestly not much separating the Top 3, and PT has been much better in the latter half of the season. Game 1 is at 1:00 and Game 2 follows. Game - McCracken vs Murray. The Mustangs are led by Region 1 POY Connor Miller and Jackson Klope. But Dylan Jackson also came up big in their win over Graves. The Tigers are led by their four seniors and they have very good size. I think Miller will be the best player on the floor so I’ll take McCracken in a tight one. McCracken 23, Murray 21. No, that’s not a halftime prediction - I think that will be the final score (maybe bring a crossword puzzle). Game 2 - Tilghman vs Marshall. The Marshals have been rolling and they are just finding ways to win. It can be a different guy each game - Staples, Langhi, Parker, Robertson. The Tornado will be missing their sharp-shooter Wilkins so the trio of Woodfork, Campbell and Williams will all need to have big games for PT to pull this one out. Williams in particular is a wild card. I’ve seen games where he’s dominant and also games where he has very little impact. I think this one is close for a while but the Marshals pull away in the 2nd half. sShould be some fun games!

I 100% agree with you that the regional winner will most likely be Marshall, McCracken or Murray. I think four of those other five teams could spring an upset but I’m not sure they could put three wins together over high quality teams.

Great week of basketball in the district tournament. I am going to first do a very brief ranking of the eight remaining teams, and then I will have a preview of the quarterfinal matchups. Here are my rankings of the remaining teams: 1. Marshall County (22-7) - this is a well-balanced team that is simply finding ways to win right now. 2. McCracken County (24-7) - the one/two punch of Senior Connor Miller and Sophomore Jackson Klope may be enough to lead them to Rupp Arena. 3. Murray (23-9) - a very narrow loss to the Marshals, and I think they led most of the way. This is a senior-led team that has a very good chance. 4 (tie). Mayfield (19-8) - this team just keeps getting better. They are capable of a big upset this week. 4 (tie). Paducah Tilghman (14-15) - they have some guys who are really playing well right now. My question for them is are they capable of strining together three wins in a row? 6. Graves County (20-10) - the Eagles have been on a slide the last part of the season, but this team also has several seniors who don't want their high school career to end. 7. Carlisle County (21-10) - Coach Oneil is crafty and he will have them ready to play this week. 8. Fulton County (6-23) - their mascot is the Pilots. Here is a preview of the quarters: Game 1 - McCracken County vs Graves County When: 6:00 Wednesday night Previous Matchup - McCracken Co. won 44-35 Connor Miller scored 21 points on 11 shots in the district finals, and he made some big plays down the stretch. Klope missed most of the 1st half with foul trouble but ended up with 14 points. The Eagles are led by two senior guards - Lukas Pigg and Briley VeuCasovic. I think that the Miller/Klope duo will be too much for the Eagles on Wednesday night. I like the Mustangs to move on to the semis. Game 2 - Carlisle County vs Murray When: 7:30 Wednesday night Previous Matchups - Murray won both. 1st game was 64-52 and the 2nd game was 60-33. Congrats to the Comets on winning the 1st District, but they got a really tough draw in the Murray Tigers. Murray has a very balanced scoring attack, and four of their top five scorers are seniors. The Comets are led by Carter Barnett and he scored 39 points in the district finals. I believe that Murray's size will be too much for the Comets in this one. However, Coach Oneil always seems to have a trick or two up his sleeve. I think this one could be close but I think the Tigers will move on. Game 3 - Mayfield vs Paducah Tilghman When: 6:00 Thursday night Previous Matchup - Mayfield won 65-61 You'll notice that I put these two teams as tied for 4th in the region. I just can't pick this one - I will call it a toss up. Mayfield is led by Senior Braydon Pate, and he is an excellent shooter. He makes three 3s per game, and shoots it better than 48%. Senior Braden Morris is also chipping in over 10 points per game. The Tornado is led by Sophomore Miles Woodfork, and he is scoring the ball really well right now. And both Josh Campbell and Omari Williams have been tough to deal with at the rim. I think this game could go either way. Game 4 - Marshall County vs Fulton County When: 7:30 Thursday night No previous matchup. I'm done calling Matthew Langhi a Freshman - he is now playing like a veteran. Langhi scored 20 points in their win over the Tigers Thursday night. The Marshals are quite balanced and Junior Alex Staples actually leads the team in scoring at 15 PPG. The Marshals should win this one pretty easily Thursday night.

Very brief: 1st District - Carlisle! 2nd District - PT is most likely without their shooter, Wilkins. And Mustangs swept them this year so I think the Mustangs take this one. 3rd District - is this one a toss up? Graves swept the Cardinals this year but the Eagles have kind of stumbled down the stretch. I’ll say the Eagles right the ship and are the 3rd champs. 4th District - I would say on a neutral floor this is a toss up. But the Tigers are hosting so I’ll take them over the Marshals. D Wolf

Thank you sweet16. I misread that one. I think that game most definitely gets more interesting I have also heard that Wilkins for PT may have an injury. Not sure as to his status for Tuesdays game. He’s their best outside shooter so that would be a big blow to the Tornado.

I first want to give a shout out to both McCracken's Connor Miller and Carlisle's Coach Brian Oneil who won the KABC Region 1 Player and Coach of the Year. Both very well deserved. Miller is an athletic combo guard who can shoot it, and also score at the rim. He and Jackson Klope were an awesome 1-2 punch for the Mustangs this year. Coach Oneil has long been thought to be one of the best coaches in this region, and the Comets have had an excellent season. I will give a quick rankings, and then I will preview the Top 3 District semifinal games for this week (sorry 1st District fans): 1. Calloway Co. (17-10) - L 59-87 at Lyon Co. 2. McCracken Co. (22-7) 3. Murray (22-8) 4. Marshall Co. (20-7) - W 69-57 at Madisonville 5. St. Mary (20-10) - W 89-65 vs CFS 6. Tilghman (13-14) - W 73-56 vs Caldwell Co. 7. Mayfield (17-8) 8. Graves Co. (20-9) 9. Carlisle Co. (19-10) 10. Ballard Co. (8-22) 11. CFS (9-21) 12. Fulton Co. (5-21) 13. Hickman Co. (5-16) 14. CCA (8-22) 15. Fulton City (6-22) Best Game - #1 Calloway Co. vs #4 Marshall Co. When - Tuesday at 7:30. Where - Murray High. Previous Matchups - 1/19 - Marshall 66 Calloway 61, 2/9 - Calloway 58 Marshall 53 I know I sound like a broken record, but it's a crying shame that one of these two teams will not make the CFSB Center next week. I don't think anyone could say that these are not two of the Top 5 teams in this region. I think that this game will most likely come down to the wire, and I think I will give a slight edge to the Lakers. The Lakers have an awesome Junior trio of Eli Finley (24 PPG), Jonah Butler (17 PPG & 10 RPG), and Conner Lockhart (14 PPG). That's an average of 55 points per game between these three players. The Marshals are led by Alex Staples (15 PPG) and Freshman Matthew Langhi (12 PPG). I think that the Marshals have a more balanced team and they definitely like to score at the rim more than the Lakers do. The Lakers are a prolific three-point shooting team as they make the most 3s per game in this region at 8.7. If you're in the Murray area this Tuesday you won't want to miss this one! 2nd Best Game - #5 St. Mary at #6 Paducah Tilghman. When - Tuesday at 7:30 . Where - Otis Dinning Gym (PT). Previous Matchups - 12/12 - PT 83 St. Mary 69, 2/6 - St. Mary 60 PT 52 A quick check of the KHSAA roster website shows that Tilghman has an enrollment of 882, and St. Mary's is 93. However, the Vikings have assembled a heckuva basketball team led by Owen Mikel (20 PPG), Luke Sims (19.5 PPG) and Aidan Hahn (12 PPG). They also have several other solid role players around them - most of these are seniors. Tilghman is led by Sophomore Miles Woodfork (19 PPG), Ahmad Wilkins (15.5 PPG) and Josh Campbell (11 PPG). There is quite a contrast in styles between these two teams as the Vikings are an excellent shooting team and the Tornado would rather work the ball inside. How about this stat - Mikel and Sims have made 154 three-pointers this year and the entire Tornado team has only made 139. The Tornado was in complete control in the first home game, and the Vikings won the second game pretty easily (Woodfork for PT missed that game due to illness). I think this game will come down to if Tilghman can keep Mikel/Sims/Hahn in check, and that is not an easy task. I think the Tornado has stepped their defense up a little in the last few weeks of the year, and we will see if this can continue on Tuesday night. I think I would give the Vikings a slight edge if this one was on the Holy Hardwood, but I'm tempted to give PT a slight edge since this one is at home for them. This one should also be a good one! 3rd Best Game - #10 Ballard Mem. at #7 Mayfield. When - Tuesday at 7:30. Where - Mayfield. Previous Matchups - 1/2 - Mayfield 62 Ballard Mem. 55, 1/26 - Mayfield 54 Ballard Mem. 45 These two had some competitive games this season, and I need to congratulate Jace Birney on becoming the Bombers all-time leading scorer (boys and girls). And he's only a Junior. Birney is scoring 26 points per game this year, but no other Bomber is averaging more than seven. Mayfield is led by Braydon Pate who scores 13 points per game and shoots 48% from downtown (he makes three 3s per game). I think the Cardinals should have the edge in this game, especially since they are hosting this tourney. However, if Birney gets really hot I think this could be a clos one.

It’s my understanding that Miller just missed a couple games due to illness. I think he is back unless there is something I haven’t heard about.

How about those Mustangs! An impressive win (short-handed) at Murray resulted in the #2 spot for them this week. Key Games this week: Tues - Ballard Mem. at Calloway, Marshall at Madisonville Thurs - Calloway at Lyon Co. (Region 1 GOTW), Caldwell at Tilghman Here are this week's rankings: 1. Calloway Co. (16-9) - W 75-45 at Mayfield, W 72-63 vs Tilghman, L 55-56 vs Christian Co. A little disappointed in the home loss to Christian County, but this Calloway team is 13-2 since the return of Eli Finley. The dynamic Junior trio of Finley, Butler and Lockhart are scoring more than 56 points per game. 2. McCracken Co. (22-7) - W 33-32 at Muray, W 67-60 vs Marshall Co. The victory at Murray was without their leading scorer, Connor Miller. After some missed FTs by Murray, Freshman PG Jay Martin drove the length of the floor for the 33-32 win (are we sure they played 4 quarters???). Remember that this is a pretty young team by McCracken's standards. Out of their top 7 scorers - only three are Juniors and Seniors (Miller, Dylan Jackson, and Grayson Parrish). 3. Murray (22-8) - L 32-33 vs McCracken Co., W 60-33 at Carlisle Co. After the tough loss to the Mustangs, the Tigers went to Carlisle and got an easy victory. As opposed to the Mustangs this is a veteran squad - 4 of their top 5 scorers are Seniors. I expect these Tigers to make a good run in the regional tourney. 4. Marshall Co. (19-7) - W 69-60 vs Webster Co., L 60-67 at McCracken Co., W 63-55 at St. Mary It's still hard for me to believe that one of Calloway or Marshall will not make the regional tourney. I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. You better believe that the Lakers/Marshals semifinal game will be my GOTW next week! 5. St. Mary (19-10) - W 69-67 Trigg Co. (FedEx Forum), W 81-45 at CCA, L 55-63 vs Marshall Co. The Vikings had won eight in a row before their loss to the Marshals. This is a dangerous team for tourney time. 6. Paducah Tilghman (11-14) - W 79-72 vs UHA, L 63-72 at Calloway Co. It was good for the Tornado to get their leading scorer Woodfork back after missing a few games due to illness. He scored 25 in their nice win against University Heights. I'd also like to give a shoutout to Avery Thompson, who is one of the only 8th graders to contribute in the 1st Region this season. He's a heckuva football player too - I believe he already has an offer from the UK Wildcats. 7. Mayfield (15-8) - L 45-75 vs Calloway, W 57-50 at Caldwell Co. Two very good wins in sweeping Caldwell County in the last two weeks. 8. Graves Co. (19-9) - W 54-51 at Carlisle Co., L 47-50 at Caldwell Co. The Eagles were rolling, but then they lost the last three out of four. I still think this team could make a run in the regional tourney. With Pigg, Veucasovic, and Waller there is definitely some veteran talent on this team. 9. Carlisle Co. (18-10) - L 51-54 vs Graves Co., L 33-60 vs Murray Does anyone think the Comets will have any trouble in the 1st District tourney? Nah. I don't think so. 10. Ballard Mem. (8-21) - W 60-55 vs Trigg Co., W 68-29 vs Hickman I definitely think this team is better than their record shows. I expect that they'll give Mayfield a pretty good game next week at districts. 11. CFS (9-19) 12. Fulton City (6-22) 13. Fulton Co. (5-19) 14. CCA (8-20) 15. Hickman Co. (5-16)

I gotta get to a Super Bowl party, so this one may be sort of brief. Big-time congrats to the St. Mary Vikings with their first win over Tilghman since 2014. They had lost 26 straight, but they were determined to not make it 27! Key games this week: Tues - McCracken at Murray (Region 1 GOTW), Calloway at Mayfield, Graves at Carlisle Fri - Marshall at McCracken, Tilghman at Calloway Sat - Marshall at St. Mary 1. Murray (20-7) - W 50-46 at Marshall Co., W 95-68 vs CFS The Tigers locked up the super-important number one seed in the 4th District. This essentially means they will be in the Regional Tourney barring a monumental upset by CFS. This team seems to be hitting their stride. 2. Calloway Co. (14-8) - W 58-53 vs Marshall Co., W 74-64 Hopkinsville I honestly should probably do 1A and 1B here. I think there is a very good chance that these two teams see each other in the Regional finals. 3. McCracken Co. (20-7) - L 37-48 at Marion (IL), W 51-37 at Graves Co. The win at Graves was very impressive as they did it without their top-scorer Connor Miller. I think this is the team that has the best chance to ruin the 4th District party at the Regional tournament. They have an impressive guard in Miller, and Jackson Klope is a load down low. 4. Marshall Co. (17-6) - L 46-50 vs Murray, L 53-58 at Calloway Above I talked about a good chance that Murray and Calloway meet in the Regional Finals. But there's a chance the Lakers don't even GET to the Regional Tournament. Get your popcorn ready for Marshall and Calloway in the couple weeks. It will be a good one! 5. St. Mary (17-9) - W 60-52 vs Tilghman, W 80-49 vs Ballard Mem. This team started slow in December, but now they are rolling! Owen Mikel scored 27 in their big win on the Holy Hardwood Tuesday night. This team has three prolific shooters (Mikel, Sims, and Hahn) and they also have a bunch of others who rebound, screen, pass, and play solid D. 6. Graves Co. (18-8) - L 43-68 at Tilghman, L 37-51 vs McCracken Co. After such a great week of basketball last week - the Eagles followed that up with two clunkers. They looked like they were disinterested in the loss at Tilghman. But let's look on the bright side - the Eagles have the #1 seed in the Third District and they have already punched their ticket for Regionals. 7. Mayfield (14-7) W 63-49 vs Carlisle Co., W 66-56 vs Caldwell Co. A very nice win against the Comets. Do we think the Cardinals will have any trouble with Ballard in the district tourney? I can't decide. 8. Paducah Tilghman (10-13) - W 68-43 vs Graves Co., L 52-60 at St. Mary, W 82-44 at Crittenden Co., L 54-74 vs Warren Central. The Tornado looked like one of the top teams in the Region when they rolled the Eagles on Monday night. Then they struggled from the floor at St. Mary. The good news is that the rubber match will be at Otis Dinning - I think it will be a very close game. 9. Carlisle Co. (18-8) L 49-63 at Mayfield I was ready to move the Comets way up after their impressive win at McCracken last week. But then they followed that up with a loss to Ballard Memorial and also a loss this past week at Mayfield. I still think they will waltz through the 1st District Tourney. 10. Ballard Mem. (6-19) - L 57-74 vs UHA, L 49-80 at St. Mary Congratulations to Jace Birney who became the Bombers' all-time leading scorer! And I think he's only a Junior. 11. CFS (9-17) 12. Fulton Co. (3-18) 13. Hickman Co. (4-14) 14. CCA (7-17) 15. Fulton City (4-20)

Do you all like chaos? I know that I sure do! If the home teams in the 4th District matchups this week both win then Calloway, Marshall, and Murray will all have 4-2 records in the district. I don't know how the seedings would be decided (leave a reply if you know), but the #1 seed would play Christian Fellowship, who is winless in the distict and the #2 and #3 teams will battle it out for a trip to the regional tourney. Key games this week: Mon - Graves at Tilghman Tues - Murray at Marshall (co-Region 1 GOTW), Tilghman at St. Mary Fri - Marshall at Calloway (co-Region 1 GOTW), Mccracken at Graves, Carlisle at Mayfield, Ballard at St. Mary Sat - Calloway at Hopkinsville Here are my rankings: 1. Calloway Co. (12-8) - W 100-61 vs CFS, W 101-66 at CFS, W 50-42 at Murray The Lakers are 9-1 since the return of Eli Finley, and he is scoring 25 points per game. Excellent win at Murray handing them their first Region 1 loss of the season. 2. Murray (18-7) - L 42-50 vs Calloway Co. The Tigers can take the #1 seed in the 4th District if they can get the win at Marshall on Tuesday. This week I have two Games of the Week, and this is one of them. 3. Marshall Co. (17-4) - W 72-47 at Union Co., W 62-54 vs Tilghman The Marshals also control their destiny, but they must win both the home game Tuesday against Murray and also the Friday night away game at Calloway. Please know that there is not very much at all separating teams one through three in these rankings. 4. McCracken Co. (19-6) - L 53-55 vs Carlisle Co., W 63-56 vs Tilghman, W 60-47 vs Todd Co. Central I think that the Mustangs should stop scheduling Monday games. Last Monday they had a disappointing showing at University Heights, and this past Monday they lost a home game to Carlisle County. But they followed that up with a nice win over Tilghman on Friday night. 5. Graves Co. (18-6) - W 74-36 at Ballard Memorial, W 52-41 vs Mayfield, W 78-47 vs Trigg Co. A very nice week for the Eagles with a convincing win over the Bombers and also a district win over Mayfield. They have locked up the #1 seed for the 3rd District and that means that they will play in the regional tournament (it's a 3-team district). 6. Carlisle Co. (17-7) - W 55-53 at McCracken Co., W 67-26 vs Hickman Co., L 54-62 at Ballard Mem., W 64-39 vs CCA What a great win for the Comets over McCracken on Monday night! I was ready to move them up in these rankings, but they followed that up with a disappointing loss to the Bombers later in the week. I think this shows how even this region is this season. 7. Mayfield (11-7) - W 68-48 at Fulton Co., L 41-52 at Graves Co. An interesting game on Friday night when the Comets come to town. The Comets won the first matchup in the All A Classic, but I think this game could be a close one. 8. St. Mary (15-9) - W 86-57 at Fulton Co., W 66-43 vs CCA, W 60-48 vs Union Co. February 25th, 2014. That was the date that the Vikings last beat Tilghman - they have lost 26 straight since then. The Tornado comfortably won earlier this season at Otis Dinning, but I think this one will be a tight one. The Tornado is reeling right now, and if Sims and Mikel have solid games then I could see the Vikings pulling this one out. 9. Paducah Tilghman (8-11) - L 56-63 at McCracken Co., L 54-62 at Marshall Co. That's seven straight losses for the Tornado. Five of those losses were to teams #3 through #5 in these rankings, and then the other two were a loss to Webster County in the 2A Sectional Finals, and a disappointing home loss to Mayfield. If the Tornado wants to turn things around they need to put some focus into their defense - it has been very poor as of late. 10. Ballard Memorial (6-15) - L 36-74 vs Graves Co., W 62-54 vs Carlisle Co., L 64-85 at Massac Co. Jace Birney scored 27 points in the Bombers nice win over Carlisle. 11. Christian Fellowship (7-16) 12. Fulton Co. (3-16) 13. Fulton City (2-18) 14. Community Christian Acad. (5-17) 15. Hickman Co. (3-13)

This one surprised me quite a bit! A road win for the Comets, who have been improving a lot this year. The Mustangs have been very up and down as of late.