Intentional Foul

Chambers is the real deal. What's really impressive is that there are 2 other 1000 point scorers (I believe) on Mason and they still play team basketball. Good luck to Chambers and her team for the rest of the season.

Didn't say that at all. it just sounded like some folks were trying to downplay a very good win for RC and sct like Ashland would have definitely beaten Mason Co. with Ward...As far as raceland goes, they are a very good team. We'll tell a bunch in the next two weeks ... RC has Elliott and Russell, and have beaten East by 25 already. Give them a little credit...the Lady Vikes have BY FAR played the best schedule in the 16th.

If you are referring to my post, then you are mistaken - I am not downplaying Rowan's victory against Mason. My post DID state that Rowan is the best team in the region (I have seen them 4 or 5 times), but I still hold on to my opinion that it would have been difficult for any 16th region team to beat Mason the night they beat Ashland. I have also seen Mason play several times. It is my opinion that Mason is steadily playing better and IS better than 2 weeks ago. By the end of the season Mason could very well be a solid top 20 team, something that I don't think the 16th region will have at the end of the season.

In a previous thread I said that Ward would have given Ashland a chance, but that Mason would have probably still won. But to say that Ward is not a true impact player when playing ANY 16th region team (including Rowan) is naive thinking.

Well, lets talk about this! Rowan County beat Mason, the "3" had almost the same stats. At one time in the 4th quarter Rowan had them down by around 15 points. So the way I see it is Ashland has to get through the LADY VIKINGS first before they can rematch at State!! Mason Co. is a GREAT team I watched them play on Saturday.

I agree that right now, Rowan is the best team in the region, but I do believe that Ashland is right on their heels. This is why I WISH Ashland and Rowan played in the regular season. Remember also that Laisha Ward for Ashland (16 pts, 11 rebounds) did not play against Mason. Not to take anything from Rowan, but I saw Mason play earlier in the season and I believe they are a much improved team at this point of the season. I still think that Rowan is the best in the 16th, but the way Mason is playing right now, I don't know if any 16th regin team could beat Mason.

Final

Ashland is not right behind Elliott in the 16th region. They are also behind Rose Hill and maybe a few other teams. Elliott would smoke Ashland.

As Elliott would all teams in the 16th right now. Ashland may not be #2 in the region, but Rose Hill hasn't looked like world beaters lately either.

Excellent win for the Lady Devils against one of the top teams in the 14th region. Kidwell's doing a nice job with his team this year. With their combination of height, athleticism, and good guard play (Sparks) this team is hard to match up with. They will be right in the thick of things come March.

The big 3 for Mason made a believer out of me - they are excellent players who all know their respective roles. Cline does a great job at running the team, Litzinger is a great shooter, and Chambers does EVERYTHING-she is a tremendous athlete. I thought Ashland came out a little nervous/tentative in this game and didn't show their usual all out hussle in the first half. In the second half Ashland really turned it around and played head to head with Mason -I think Ashland even outscored them in the 2nd half. Mason played all their starters to the end so it wasn't a let up on their part, Ashland just really played hard. I give Ashland credit for not throwing in the towel.

Laisha Ward did not play for reasons I don't know, but she was sitting on the Ashland bench in sweats so I assume she is still on the team (contrary to some rumors I had heard). She didn't look to be injured. With Ward in the lineup Ashland may have been able to pull out a victory, but the way Mason was clicking, I don't know if any team in the 16th could have beaten them last night.

Let's just look at the schedules of the Top 7 teams as rated in this thread.

 

1. Ashland (9 - 2)

Overall Record of Teams Played: 72 - 63, .530

Overall Record of Teams Beaten: 52 - 60, .460

Best Quality Win: Russell 10-3

 

2. Rowan Co. (11 - 3)

Overall Record of Teams Played: 109 - 85, .560

Overall Record of Teams Beaten: 82 - 72, .530

Best Quality Wins: Mason Co 9 - 3, Johnson Central 9 - 3

 

3. Morgan Co. (9 - 4)

Overall Record of Teams Played: 79 - 85, .480

Overall Record of Teams Beaten: 51 - 65, .440

Best Quality Win: Raceland 10 - 6

 

4. Russell (10 - 3)

Overall Record of Teams Played: 93 - 71, .570

Overall Record of Teams Beaten: 59 - 65, .480

Best Quality Win: Knott Co. Central 9 - 5

 

5. East Carter (8 - 6)

Overall Record of Teams Played: 104 - 80, .570

Overall Record of Teams Beaten: 44 - 63, .410

Best Quality Win: Morgan Co. 9 - 4

 

6. Raceland (10 - 6)

Overall Record of Teams Played: 90 - 100, .470

Overall Record of Teams Beaten: 39 - 70, .360

Best Quality Win: Menifee Co. 7 - 6

 

7. Elliott Co. (7 - 6)

Overall Record of Teams Played: 94 - 76, .550

Overall Record of Teams Beaten: 39 - 46, .460

Best Quality Win: Morgan Co. 9 - 4

 

Based on the info I have provided here is how I rank the Top 7:

 

1. Rowan Co. - 2nd best winning percentage of teams played (.560) behind Russell and East (.570) and BEST winning percentage of teams beaten (.530). I just think they are a little better than everyone else and have played the toughest schedule.

 

2. Ashland - #4 in overall winning percentage of teams played (.530) behind the 3 mentioned above and tied with Elliott for 3rd highest winning percentage (.460) of teams beaten behind Rowan (.530) & Russell (.480). However, they own wins over Russell & East so I place them at #2.

 

3. Russell - Tied with East for best overall winning percentage of teams played (.570) & 2nd behind Rowan in overall winning percentage of teams beaten (.480) but suffered a tough loss at home to Ashland so I have them at a solid #3 right now.

 

4. East Carter - Nipping at Russell's heels at this point in the season for #3 spot but just a little below due to overall winning percentage of teams beaten (.410) and still recovering from loss of Sargent. Also, lost big to Ashland (21 points) compared to Russell's 6 point loss. Obviously able to make a move up the ladder as the season goes on but settling in at #4 right now.

 

5. Elliott Co. - This team scraps the entire 32 mins and they have no conscience about shooting from anywhere on the court. Fun team to watch and their style makes them dangerous in any game. A little better overall winning percentage of the teams they have beaten but East beat them by 4 at Elliott so I have them settling solidly into the #5 spot.

 

6. Morgan Co. - In my opinion they are the most overrated of the Top 7 in this thread based on their schedule and they have been beaten by East & Elliott in head to head competition. Yes, I know they beat Elliott but Elliott beat them this week so based on the most recent game I have to place them below Elliott.

 

7. Raceland - The biggest unknown of the Top 7 with probably the biggest upside due to them never being 100% healthy so far this season. When Keeton gets back to full strength and Clark returns from her injury, don't be surprised to see them challenge the teams above them. However, at this time based on head to head performances against all the teams above them except Ashland & East and their best quality win coming against Menifee Co this is where they fall right now.

 

Well, that's how I see it right now with, in my opinion, the only 7 teams with any chance of winning the region. Rowan & Ashland are the clear frontrunners but any of the other 5 are capable on a given night. I did my best to use the #'s to rank my teams with a little help from head to head competition. I don't expect everyone to totally agree and the bottom line is, like all polls, this is just one man's opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. All games are won & lost on the court.

 

Enjoy!!!

Good analysis - at this point the numbers really don't lie. Also I like the way you looked at strength of schedule to make your selections. I agree that Rowan is still the front runner in the 16th. Too bad Rowan and Ashland don't play in the regular season - I think it would be a heck of a game!

Playing at Elliott is a huge key to this game, but I still like Morgan in this one. I'll take Morgan by 5 (65-60) in a fairly high scoring affair.

REGION 16

1.Rowan County 93.3

2.Ashland Blazer 79.1

3.Elliott County 77.1

4.Morgan County 77.0

5.East Carter 74.5

6.Russell 71.8

7.West Carter 71.6

8.Raceland 69.1

9.Fleming County 67.9

10.Boyd County 61.9

11.Lewis County 55.6

12.Menifee County 53.0

13.Greenup County 50.5

14.Bath County 49.8

15.Rose Hill 32.1

16.Fairview 25.3

Another thread was run for some of the other regions - here's the 16th. What does everyone think? After just a quick look I agree with Rowan & Ashland being 1 & 2 (and with Rowan having a substantial lead at this point in the season). But I think that Russell is getting the shaft. With the rest I would go:

3. Russell

4. Morgan

5. East

6. Elliott

7. West

8. Raceland

9. Fleming

10.Boyd

11.Lewis

12.Greenup

13.Bath

14.Menifee

15.Rose Hill

16.Fairview

The Kittens improve to 7-0 on the season. Kittens came out a little sluggish in the 1st half but really put things together in the second half. An Ashland parent told me that from the 3rd quarter thru the 4th quarter the Kittens put together a 23-1 scoring run. Pretty impressive.

I still think that Rowan is the best team in the region right now for a full 4 quarters. However, in the games I have seen, Ashland is the best 4th quarter team in the region. Good ball control, excellent defense, few turnovers, and very good free throw shooting have been the calling card of Ashland in the final period. IMO, if teams want to beat Ashland, they better have a good lead at the end of the 3rd.

Final

Looks like Rowan County is the real deal AND still the number 1 team in the 16th region!

2. East

2. Conner

2. Ashland

2. West

3. Conner

3. Ashland

5. Ashland

(110 pts)

Ashland's experience in the 4th was the differnence IMO. Kittens outscored Russell 12-4 in the 4th period. Ashland's depth seemed to wear down Russell in the final 8 minutes. People who don't think Russell is a top 5 team were obviously not at this game.

This was an unbelievably hard-fought game, more like a March game than a December contest. Russell's Spark's played like the experienced senior that she is - very hardnosed and took all the pressure that Ashland applied. I also think Simpson stepped up big tonight. For Ashland, Laisha Ward had 19 points and 11 steals. IMO, Ward may be the most athletic player in the region. Ali Wilcox also played very well for her first game back from injury.

Kidwell and Bradley both did a great job coaching their respective teams.

Looking forward to the next time these 2 teams meet - it will be a war-GUARANTEED!

This one is a close one to call. IMO the outcome hinges a lot on the effectiveness of Raceland's Keeton. It goes without saying that Vanderhoof is going to play hard and put up some nice numbers. Raceland I'm sure gained some confidence in their close game with Rowan.

I believe that Russell (at this point in the season) has the better guards. Russell is very long and this will bother Raceland's offense. Parsley has been a nice surprise so far with several double doubles. Simplson has played solid.

I'll give the edge to Russell at their place - Russell 50 Raceland 45

Like what? Rowan is the one that plays a thugging press. If refs call all the holding and pushing that Rowan does on their press tonight, Rams win.

Welcome to the 16th region. Everyone knows that the 16th region refs let the girls play. When developing your team you must be ready for this. Its been like this at least the last 2 years (I wouldn't know before then). Blame it on the refs, but a loss is still a loss.

On a brighter note, it sounds like the Lady Rams took the best team in the region to the wire last night. Definitely something that the Lady Rams can build on. When Raceland gets healthy they could be a factor in the region come March.

Also a nice win for Rowan-a road win against a good opponent is always a nice victory.

Ashland's Kittens go 5-0. Can anyone who was at the game give any details. How long did Ashland keep their starters in? What was the halftime score? Just curious?

Did Wilcox play tonight? She's been out for a while. Is she expected to come back anytime soon?

Anyone know Rowan's record? Are they still undefeated?

Rowan's 6-0 as of tonight's win against Raceland.

The only way to prevent this from happening is to make a rule prohibiting hiring a new coach until after all bowl games are played.

Great Idea!!!!

:thumb:

As I have always said and will again, I am first and foremost a U.K. basketball fan and always will be. A part of me is still wondering why this thread was even started. Looking more and more to me like another Tubby bashing thread . As soon as everyone can get past the fact that whether you liked him or hated him Tubby Smith is at Minnesota. Billy Giilispie is at U.K., those are the facts and blaming Tubby for who we have or do not have is working out and improving what?......Nothing.

I, like many U.K. fans will stay behind ths team no matter what. U.K. basketball will be alright. U.K. basketball will be back to where we all want and expect it to be. This year??...No. Next season, probably not but will be better.

If a pct. of U.K. fans would quit trying to find someone to blame anything and everything on and just put that wasted energy into getting behind the program and supporting it without all of the blame game then imo all would be better off.

Complaining about Tubby or anything/anyone else changes what?? ....Nothing.

IMO Tubby Smith did not leave U.K. bc he "saw writing on the wall" with this years team or anything like that. Tubby Smith left bc he was sick and tired of being slammed over anything and everything and more important having his family slammed about anything at every opportunity. I would hate to think, hear or guess at the comments that Donna heard during their time here.

We all saw Saul "booed" and talked bout, critisized at every move much more so than any other player on his teams. Saul Smith played with more heart and desire than anyone on the floor. Did he have more talent?...No, but he made up for that with hustle, heart and desire.

Another thing that doesn't matter but something to think about now is all the while everyone is still bashing Tubbby, we (UK) are 4-4 and he (Minn., who imo started out this season with far less talent than U.K.) were 7-1 going into tonight.

Don't start on the schedules -Yes we have played UNC and IU but I don't think that we will see Gardner-Webb or Stoney Point in the final 4 anytime soon :sssh:.

Lets all just get behind this U.K. team and quit trying to find reasons or to place blame. Negativity Breeds negativity.

I am sorry about going on and am not singling any one individual out here but I honestly believe that 10 years from now people will still be blaming OTS for any loss U.K. has :lol:.

:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:

I also agree-this is a great post. Whether you loved Tubby or hated him please move on. What's funny is that people used to always get on Tubby for not recruiting the "home-grown" Kentucky players even if they weren't world beaters. (and please don't comment about Lofton - his success in college has surprised most of the experts). They also bash Tubby for not recruiting the blue-chippers. Talk about getting it from all sides. I give any coach credit who can survive at Kentucky for 5 years let alone 10. I hope that in the long run, history will be kind to Tubby and remember him for the claasy individual he was (and is) as well as his outstanding accomplishments (NCAA champion, National Coach of the Year, undefeated SEC seasons, 26 wins per year....)

I for one think that Johnson Central at 6-0 should be somewhere in the top 7.

If they're 6-0 then they definitely have an argument. Who have they played?

Maybe Russell isn't one of the Top 7 teams in that region this year? Daily Independent must have gotten it right.

On the contrary, the Daily Independent may have gotten it wrong. I too was a little surprised at the margin of victory until I talked to someone who had been at the game. Evidently the score was 40-0 at halftime. It looks like Kidwell had mercy on the Greenup girls in the second half. It looks like Russell may belong in the Super 7 after all.

This shows how well Rowan is playing since Rowan beat Scott Co 84-77. However, Scott isn't the team its been the last few years (with a current record of 4-4), but they are still a quality team. Scott Co.'s losses have been to quality opponents (I believe Rowan, Dunbar, Shelby Co., and Clay Co. )

Russell by a lot.....