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Sounds like a "March Madness-esque" finish.

Guess the mental edge wasn't worth much tonight...:scared:

Good deal. Nice job by the Bulldogs.

I was hoping North Hardin would pull this one out.

What does a close game with North Laurel the night before do to Corbin's mental state if South is in their head? Were the 'Hounds looking ahead?

Just saying, people generally put a lot of stock in the idea that playing a tough schedule gets you ready for the tournament and not playing the schedule leaves you unprepared...it didn't hold in this game. Russell Co. avoided all the top teams in the region during the season and then beat the favorite in the opening round. It happens.

The coach might want to look for a new profession if his game plan is to run with Elliott County. I can't recall seeing Ashland ever play fast. They always play a deliberate, slow style.

:thumb: You're right. I forgot about that one. I'd say that was the biggest first round upset thus far. The only thing that makes it seem the other way is that Warren Central was the 4th region favorite, while Scott County is a near unanimous pick in the 11th. People probably overlooked that Franklin County upset a little because they weren't expecting anyone but Scott County to come out of that region anyway.

Certainly. They're one of the top teams in the state and they're playing in one of the weaker regions...if Elliott County gets knocked off before the Sweet 16, there won't be a bigger upset in regional play. They're the strongest favorite of the 16 regions when you consider how good they are relative to the rest of their region. They should steamroll Ashland tonight and then do the same to the winner of Lewis/Bath tomorrow.

Seems like it would be smarter to let him sit if there was any doubt or risk. It's going to take an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime performance combined with a bad game by Elliott County for anyone but the Lions to be making the trip to Rupp...Knipp or no Knipp. JMO

I'd say not. Madisonville was below .500 with Hood. To be fair, they played a tough schedule, but still, its pretty obvious he was pretty much the show.

Still, Russell County was 19-5 with a solid record in the region and they didn't play any of the top teams in the region. They were a really hard team to get an accurate read on. They definitely blew that argument about playing tougher competition to get ready for the tournament out of the water in this instance. :lol:

^Accidentally typed "hosing the region" instead of "hosting" when I first posted that message. I'm thinking I should have left it.

I don't mind Powell hosting the region...as long as they don't make it themselves. After the debacle they put on a few years ago, they're lucky to get it again. Hopefully, that was a one time thing.

Yeah. I'd say that's been the biggest upset in the regional games thus far based on the rankings from Cantrall or the CJ. However, Russell County is 23-6 and 11-3 in the region. Upset yes, but it shouldn't be viewed as a titanic upset. They didn't play during the season.

I'd view that similarly to Muhlenberg North taking Owensboro out, 56-55.

^I'd hardly call that one an upset. PCC beat Knott twice in their three meetings during the season. PCC, Knott and Hazard could have been picked by a coin flip.

Yes, they did. Russell County beat them 65-57.

Scott County?

I hope Bath wins. I had a friend in college who used to play for Bath County and I went home with him one night to their opening "Midnight Madness" practice, or whatever it was called. I hope they make it to Rupp.

The Breathitt County Lady Bobcats have won 54 straight games against 14th region competition. They're 37-0 over the past two seasons. And, the year prior to that, they lost a couple of games very early...the last time they lost a game vs. 14th region competition was December 11, 2006 against Leslie County. I thought that was a pretty impressive. Over the past 3 seasons... 75-18 overall 56-2 vs. 14th Region Three straight regional titles They're 1-2 in State Tournament competition. In '06/07 they lost 57-46 to eventual state runner-up Iroquois in the first game of the tournament. In '07/08 they beat Rowan County 60-49 before losing to DuPont Manual 52-31. Nice job by the girls and the coaching staff. I just felt like what they've accomplished during this run was worth bringing attention to.

:thumb: District Championship means very little... There are times when District runner-ups get a better draw in the region. I can recall a few... MC Napier (I think) beat Buckhorn in the district finals one year and many of the Buckhorn fans were upset, claiming they got cheated. Some of them were complaining to my dad and he told them he bet Napier's coach would give them the trophy if they could trade draws. Napier drew Breathitt Co. in the regional opener, and the Bobcats that year had a great player who, unfortunately, wasn't committed to basketball that much (i.e., he wasn't in shape). To make a long story short, playing Breathitt Co. when they'd had a few days to rest was not a good thing that season. Breathitt beat Napier to open the region. 2 or 3 days later they beat a good Lee Co. team on Friday night. On Saturday night, they played Buckhorn in the region final, raced out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter, the star player ran out of gas after playing the night before, and Buckhorn won the game by 20 points. So, no, the district championship doesn't mean much and it's not even comparable in importance to the district opener. That's like asking a mid major or small conference in college hoops, which had you rather win? Your regular season conference title or the post-season tournament?

Keith Bogans was great at that as well.

:thumb: I agree. District opener on their home floor... Elliot beat them by 22 and 20 in their previous matchups. For whatever reason, its hard to beat a team 3 and 4 times in one season...no matter how much better you are. Breathitt County lost to Knott Central in the regional finals one season after twice beating them handily in the regular season and then beating them by about 15 points a week before in the district finals. Its possibly the Lions will have to beat West Carter 4 times to advance. They should win, but its never easy to beat the same team over and over. This obviously wasn't Elliot's best game. Perhaps it will give them a little jolt for the rest of the road to Rupp...they need to stay focused and take care of business.

Marshall County