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Fourth Region Top 10 1) Warren Central (7-3) - 12/26 54-60 L Cordia (at LexCath), 12/27 65-56 W Butler (at LexCath), 12/28 70-64 W Henderson Co. (at LexCath), 12/29 53-57 L Apollo (at LexCath) Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 1/4 vs. Bryan Station (at Central Hardin) 2) Bowling Green (9-2) - 12/26 88-49 W North Hardin (at Metcalfe Co.), 12/27 84-71 W #8 Barren Co. (at Metcalfe Co.), 12/28 61-56 W Whitley Co. (at Metcalfe Co.) Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 1/3 at #8 South Warren, 1/4 vs. John Hardin (at Central Hardin) 3) Russell County (7-2) - 12/30 80-65 W at #6 Greenwood Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 1/3 at #4 Clinton County 4) Clinton County (9-5) - 12/26 51-60 L Bardstown (at LexCath), 12/27 49-54 L Harrison Co. (at LexCath), 12/29 64-75 L Augusta (at LexCath) Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 1/3 vs. #3 Russell County 5) Monroe County (7-3) - 12/26 84-47 W Carlisle Co. (at Edmonson Co.), 12/27 65-57 OT W #6 Greenwood (at Edmonson Co.), 12/28 60-48 OT W Ft. Knox (at Edmonson Co.) Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 1/2 vs. Holy Cross (Lou) (at Adair Co.), 1/3 vs. TBA (at Adair Co.), 1/4 vs. TBA (at Adair Co.) 6) Warren East (10-2) - 12/26 59-56 W at Campbellsville, 12/27 59-83 L East Jessamine (at Campbellsville), 12/28 65-62 W Green Co. (at Campbellsville) Previous Rank: NR This Week: No Games 7) Barren County (9-2) - 12/26 77-56 W Garrard Co. (at Metcalfe Co.), 12/27 71-84 L #3 Bowling Green (at Metcalfe Co.), 12/28 65-45 W Adair Co. (at Metcalfe Co.) Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 1/3 vs. #10 Glasgow, 1/4 at Marion County 8) South Warren (6-7) - 12/26 60-62 L Franklin Co. (at South Oldham), 12/27 51-52 L North Oldham (at South Oldham), 55-67 L Christian Academy-Louisville (at South Oldham) Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 1/3 vs. #2 Bowling Green 9) Greenwood (3-5) - 12/26 67-57 W Grayson Co. (at Edmonson Co.), 12/27 57-65 OT L #7 Monroe Co. (at Edmonson Co.), 12/28 66-59 W Glasgow (at Edmonson Co.), 12/30 65-80 L #2 Russell Co. Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 1/2 vs. Green County (at LaRue Co.), 1/3 vs. TBA (at LaRue Co.), 1/4 vs. TBA (at LaRue Co.) 10) Glasgow (7-5) - 12/26 68-64 W North Bullitt (at Edmonson Co.), 12/27 57-64 L Ft. Knox (at Edmonson Co.), 12/28 59-66 L #6 Greenwood (at Edmonson Co.) Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 1/3 at #7 Barren County Last Week's Game of the Week - There weren't many intra-region games, but the one that stood out took place in the Caveland Classic at Edmonson County. Monroe County continued a recent surge with a victory over then #6 Greenwood with a 65-57 OT victory. The Falcons did not trail at any point in the second half, but never led by more than 7 over the Gators. Greenwood overcame a late technical foul to tie the game with less than 20 seconds left and even had a heave for the victory that was no good. In OT, Monroe County scored the first 6 points and never looked back. Stock Rising - I've already mentioned Monroe County, which gained wins over 4th Region Top 10 teams Barren County, Russell County, and Greenwood since our last notebook. The win over Russell County was particularly eye opening. Another team that is jumping up the ranks is Warren East. At 10-2, they are the first team in the region to double digit victories and matched last season's 10-2 start through twelve games as the best mark for the Raiders at this point in the last 25 years. They would be even higher in these ranks if not for their two blowout losses, one of which came at the hands of South Warren. Stock Falling - It's a relative fall here since they were rated 4th in the last ranking, but had a notebook come out this time last week, Clinton County may have found themselves as the #2 ranked team in the region with a case for #1. But after getting off to the region's best start at 9-0, they have dropped five straight, thanks in large part to the tough slate at the Republic Bank Classic at Lexington Catholic. Another team sliding down is Franklin-Simpson, which has faceplanted to start the year with a 1-7 record. Their last region loss was to unrated Allen County-Scottsville, which sent them out of the top 10. 13th District Troubles - The 13th District teams find themselves in a slightly unusual situation. The district has typically found itself with a couple of teams in the dark horse mix for the region crown and usually has at least one team to bear the standard of the district as a real threat to win. Last year that was Russellville, but graduation has crippled the Panthers, and they sit at a paltry 3-9 record. The best record in the district? Todd County Central at 3-6. Every team has a losing record and they currently collectively rate as 4 of the bottom 7 teams in the region. Many years they're a tough out, but right now it appears the other districts will be hoping for the 13th come region tourney time.... Region Without a Site - The region tournament is just over 2 months away, and the 4th Region still doesn't have a home for the tournaments. The region has been at WKU every year since 2003 and all but five years in the last 50. But the current site selection plan expired at the close of last season and requires at least 12 schools of the 17 to agree to pass a new one. Per Micheal Compton of the Park City Daily News, just 11 athletic director's have voted WKU's Diddle Arena as the site for the future. If an agreement can not be made, it will go to the choice of the commissioner. In my humble opinion, the tournament belongs at Diddle Arena, but I do concede that there may be financial benefits for it to be played elsewhere. Upcoming Game of the Week 1/3 - #3 Russell County at #4 Clinton County - An easy choice. These two teams have combined for all but one of the 16th District titles since 2005, a trend that doesn't seem destined to stop this year as they are miles ahead of their district mates Metcalfe County and Cumberland County. The pair have split their regular season meetings each of the last three seasons, and provide the first top 5 matchup of the year in the region.

Fourth Region Top 10 1) Warren Central (0-0) - No Games Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 12/10 vs. Owensboro, 12/13 vs. Hopkinsville (at Christian County), 12/14 vs. University Heights (at Hopkinsville) 2) Russell County (1-0) - 12/3 54-50 W at Lincoln County Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 12/11 TBA, 12/13 at #9 Glasgow 3) Bowling Green (0-1) - 12/7 57-62 L Trinity Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 12/10 at Elizabethtown, 12/13 vs. University Heights (at Christian County) 4) Clinton County (3-0) - 12/2 64-50 W Rockcastle County, 12/5 62-56 W Somerset, 12/7 81-63 W Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 12/10 at #8 Monroe County, 12/13 at Metcalfe County 5) South Warren (1-0) - 12/3 63-52 W Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 12/9 at Logan County, 12/10 at #10 Franklin-Simpson, 12/13 vs. Warren East, 12/14 vs. North Hardin (at Shelby County) 6) Barren County (2-0) - 12/3 76-61 W Green County, 12/7 74-48 W at Russellville Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 12/10 at Allen County-Scottsville, 12/13 vs. Monroe County, 12/14 at Edmonson County 7) Greenwood (1-0) - 12/5 47-39 W Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 8 This Week: No Games 8) Monroe County (1-1) - 12/3 56-48 W Franklin-Simpson, 12/7 56-66 L Southwestern (at Campbellsville) Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 12/10 vs. #4 Clinton County, 12/13 at Barren County 9) Glasgow (0-0) - No Games Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 12/10 vs. Todd County Central, 12/12 vs. Edmonson County, 12/13 at #2 Russell County 10) Franklin-Simpson (0-3) - 12/3 48-56 L Monroe County, 12/5 39-47 L at Greenwood, 12/7 63-81 L at Clinton County Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 12/10 vs. #5 South Warren, 12/13 vs. Logan County Last Week's Game of the Week - Three region teams played on the opening night of the season, but two of those were against each other. Warren East hosted Logan County on December 2nd and immediately spoiled their fans with a close game with a great finish. Neither team ever gained a double digit lead, and the game was knotted at 66 coming out of a timeout and Logan County in possession. East's Mason Lee blocked a Cougar attempt at a game-winner, and Jaylin Barnett grabbed the loose ball, driving the length of the court for a game winning layup at the buzzer for the 68-66 Warren East win. Honorable Mention - Overshadowed by their football brethren, the Bowling Green basketball team put a real scare into highly ranked Trinity. The Purples jumped out to a 37-28 lead at the half despite missing several players, but a quick start to the second half for the Shamrocks erased the lead. Still, a respectable 62-57 loss to a top team bears mentioning. Cancellations - Unfortunately the narrative of the week for many teams was one of canceled games. Three teams failed to get a single game in (Warren Central, Glasgow, Todd County Central), and seven others played just a single game. Clinton County and Franklin-Simpson were the only teams that had seemingly no difficulty playing games, each getting three in. While the Clinton County Bulldogs might have been happy with that in starting 3-0, the Franklin-Simpson Wildcats maybe would just as soon stayed home, starting 0-3. Early Rankings Movement - All the movement in the top 10 came at the expense of Franklin-Simpson, as the two teams initially rated just behind them - Greenwood and Monroe County - gained victories over the Wildcats to knock them down the ladder. Upcoming Games of the Week 12/10 - #4 Clinton County at #8 Monroe County - Each team gets a tune-up before their district opener. Clinton County has made a habit of strong starts (won at least first five each of last two years) and will look to extend that streak again while Monroe County will look for revenge for last year's 54-39 loss in the All A regional. 12/13 - Warren Central vs. Hopkinsville (at Christian County) - These two teams are the heads of their respective regions and are both considered to be among the 10 best teams in the state. Hopkinsville won the last meeting between these two, 41-37 in 2011.

Fourth Region Top 10 1) Warren Central (2-1) - 12/10 61-56 W Owensboro, 12/13 70-78 L Hopkinsville (at Christian County), 12/14 76-55 W University Heights (at Hopkinsville) Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 12/19 vs. Muhlenberg County (at Madisonville), 12/20 vs. Central (at Madisonville), 12/21 at Madisonville-North Hopkins 2) Russell County (3-0) - 12/11 98-47 W Southern Peninsula, 12/13 88-62 W Glasgow Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 12/16 at Metcalfe County, 12/17 at #7 Monroe County, 12/19 Fleming County (at Mason County) 3) Bowling Green (1-2) - 12/10 71-79 L at Elizabethtown, 12/13 86-70 W University Heights (at Christian County) Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 12/17 at #10 Franklin-Simpson, 12/19 vs. Russellville, 12/21 vs. Hickman County (at Paducah Tilghman), 12/21 vs. Caldwell County (at Paducah Tilghman) 4) Clinton County (6-0) - 12/10 76-63 W at #8 Monroe County, 12/12 78-34 W Southern Peninsula, 12/13 70-33 W at Metcalfe County Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 12/17 at Cumberland County, 12/20 vs. Knox Central, 12/20 vs. Metcalfe County, 12/21 vs. Sevier County (TN) 5) South Warren (4-1) - 12/9 80-71 W at Logan County, 12/10 78-65 W at #10 Franklin-Simpson, 12/13 76-63 W Warren East, 12/14 65-67 L North Hardin (at Shelby County) Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 12/17 at Apollo, 12/20 vs. #7 Greenwood, 12/21 vs. North Oldham (at Warren East), 12/21 vs. McCracken County (at Warren East) 6) Greenwood (1-0) - No Games Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 12/17 at Daviess County, 12/20 at #5 South Warren, 12/21 vs. Waggener 7) Monroe County (2-2) - 12/10 63-76 L vs. #4 Clinton County, 12/13 58-57 W at Barren County Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 12/17 vs. #2 Russell County, 12/20 vs. Glasgow, 12/21 vs. Bardstown (at Adair County) 8) Barren County (4-1) - 12/10 61-59 W at Allen County-Scottsville, 12/13 57-58 L #8 Monroe County, 12/14 69-55 W at Edmonson County Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 12/17 vs. Caverna, 12/20 West Jessamine (at Ohio County), 12/21 at Ohio County 9) Glasgow (2-1) - 12/10 85-71 W Todd County Central, 12/12 68-53 W Edmonson County, 12/13 62-88 L at Russell County Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 12/17 at Logan County, 12/20 at #7 Monroe County, 12/21 vs. Casey County (at McCreary Central) 10) Franklin-Simpson (1-4) - 12/10 65-78 L #5 South Warren, 12/13 66-50 W Logan County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 12/17 vs. #3 Bowling Green, 12/20 at Allen County-Scottsville Last Week's Game of the Week - Monroe County trailed at Barren County 49-39 with just over 5 minutes to go in their district game Friday night, but used a 15-4 run over three and a half minutes to take a 54-53 lead with just under 2 minutes left in the game. The two teams traded baskets until Barrett Billingsley put Barren County ahead 57-56 with two free throws. That set up a buzzer beating finish where Gibril Summers nailed a shot with 1.2 seconds left to give the Falcons the win. Honorable Mention - In a game you might see in the Sweet 16, Warren Central held the lead for nearly 3/4 of their game against highly rated Hopkinsville, but a furious Tiger run erased a 13 point third quarter deficit and they finished the last three minutes of the game with a 13-4 run after trailing 66-65 to take the 78-70 win. The Dragons were competing without their starting point guard Rondell Green and could not withstand the full court pressure and aggressive defense of Hopkinsville. Unbeaten Check - There are just three unbeatens left in the 4th Region, two of them in the 16th District. Clinton County has opened up 6-0 against a heavily frontloaded schedule, which follows the 2012/13 season where they started 5-0 and the 2011/12 season where they won their first 10 games. The Lakers are a more modest 3-0, but since their usual December 16th district tilt with Clinton County is being played in January this year, it's not inconceivable that these two teams might escape the calendar year unbeaten. Meanwhile, Greenwood is almost unbeaten by default, having played only one game, a 47-39 win over Franklin-Simpson on December 5th. They haven't suffered any cancellations, they're the anti-Clinton County. While the Bulldogs play quite a bit in December, Greenwood plays an unusual amount in February, with 10 games before the district tournament. Standout Performances - Tavin Lovan, the superstar freshman for Franklin-Simpson, was scorching hot in a 66-50 win over Logan County on Friday night. He had 25 points while shooting 8/10 from the floor, including hitting three treys, and boosted Franklin-Simpson to their first win of the year. Earlier in the week came a bigger performance, albeit in a losing effort, by Jon Michael Brown of Todd County Central. He scored 40 of Todd County Central's 76 points in a 79-76 loss to Russellville. Brown has made a habit of torturing the Panthers, dropping 19, 17, and 28 on them in the three games prior to this monster performance. Upcoming Game of the Week 12/20 - #7 Greenwood at #5 South Warren - Greenwood will emerge from their early season layoff three days prior at Daviess County, but the always entertaining game between crosstown rivals on Friday is the main event. These two schools are generally mirror images of each other since South Warren split from Greenwood three years ago, and their student sections provide as much entertainment as the game itself. Last year South Warren swept the season series only to be denied their first postseason victory ever as part of Greenwood's Cinderella run to the region tournament.

Fourth Region Top 10 1) Warren Central (9-4) - 1/10 80-58 W at #6 Warren East, 1/11 84-81 W at #7 Barren County Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 1/14 at #9 Glasgow, 1/17 at #2 Bowling Green 2) Bowling Green (11-3) - 1/10 72-64 W #8 Greenwood Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 1/17 vs. #1 Warren Central 3) Clinton County (11-5) - 1/10 78-39 W Metcalfe County Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 1/14 vs. Cumberland County, 1/17 at #6 Russell County 4) Monroe County (11-4) - 1/10 67-61 W at Allen County-Scottsville, 1/11 56-49 W Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 1/14 vs. Metcalfe County, 1/17 vs. #5 Barren County 5) Barren County (11-4) - 1/10 84-59 W at Franklin-Simpson, 1/11 81-84 L #1 Warren Central Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 1/14 at #7 Warren East, 1/17 at #4 Monroe County 6) Russell County (8-4) - 1/7 63-76 L at Taylor County, 1/10 86-38 W Cumberland County Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 1/17 vs. #3 Clinton County 7) Warren East (10-3) - 1/10 58-80 L #1 Warren Central Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 1/14 vs. #5 Barren County, 1/17 vs. #8 Greenwood 8) Greenwood (5-7) - 1/10 64-72 L at #2 Bowling Green Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 1/14 at Russellville, 1/17 at #7 Warren East 9) Glasgow (8-6) - 1/7 57-54 W OT at Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 1/14 vs. #1 Warren Central, 1/17 vs. Allen County-Scottsville 10) South Warren (7-8) - 1/9 69-62 W Muhlenberg County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 1/13 vs. Todd County Central, 1/14 at Edmonson County, 1/18 at Metcalfe County Last Week's Game of the Week - There's really no getting around it - Allen County-Scottsville is snakebit. If I ranked beyond the top 10 AC/S would be sitting at 11. They've played five games against the top 10 teams, all losses. In four of them, they've lost by a combined 16 points. One of those was last Tuesday when they hosted #9 Glasgow. The Patriots trailed much of the night before rallying for the lead midway through the fourth. They led by two with less than a minute left when Glasgow used a pair of free throws to send it to OT. And at the end of OT - THIS HAPPENED. A buzzer beater three that dealt AC/S yet another loss to a top team in the region, 57-54. The Patriots will get a quick turnaround to look for revenge, but this time they'll have to do it on the road at Glasgow. Runner-Up GOTW - Barren County fell down the ranks a bit earlier in the year when they took a (then) surprising loss to Monroe County. But the Trojans are capable of great things if the shots are falling, and they were on Saturday night when they hosted #1 Warren Central. It was a very closely contested game that featured no lead larger than 7 and the Trojans led by as much as 3. They led only once in the second half, briefly before the end of the third quarter, but kept the pressure on the Dragons throughout with a mix of perimeter shooting and surprisingly great success in the paint. They didn't wear down against the horde of Dragons sent from Warren Central's deep bench, and in the end the Dragons had to do what they rarely do well - make free throws. They held on in a very high scoring 84-81 decision. It was the most points allowed by Warren Central since December 2010 and the most they've allowed in a victory since December 2005. Key District Games - One district race can be ended on Friday when Clinton County visits Russell County. The Bulldogs knocked off Russell County by 12 just ten days ago, and they can realistically clinch the regular season crown in that district with another victory. Clinton County shot 50% from the field the last time including 43% from the three point arc and were led by the powerful duo of Langford and Dalton to the tune of 34 points combined. The Lakers will have to tighten up on defense to have a shot. Meanwhile Barren County travels to Monroe County, also on Friday. Exactly one month ago the Falcons upset the Trojans in Glasgow and a win on Friday would give the Falcons a stranglehold on the district, needing only a single victory against either Glasgow or Allen County-Scottsville to clinch the #1 seed. The 15th has been one of the tightest races this season (in a good way - compared to the 13th) and the #1 is by no means a guarantee of anything, but it would likely keep them out of the crosshairs of district host Glasgow. Meanwhile, in the 14th..... Upcoming Game of the Week 1/17 - #1 Warren Central at #2 Bowling Green - Yes, it is time for the first of two regular season matchups between the two teams that have dominated the region for the past decade plus. The two have played only three district games this season, but have won those by an average of 17 points. Neither has lost a game in region competition. Coming into the year it appeared that Warren Central might be head and shoulders above the region but the whispers have grown louder in the past few weeks that not only is that not true but they may not even be at the head of the region at all. Those could turn into shouts if the Purples defend their homecourt on Friday. Last year was a significant departure in the recent history of the series in that Warren Central swept the Purples in three games, though two were highly competitive. It was the first sweep in the series by either team since Warren Central did so in 2006/07. The Dragons have won three of the last four games played between the two teams at Bowling Green, but should expect a wild and crazy crowd from the Purple supporters. The costumes they've been wearing to games have been - interesting.

Fourth Region Top 10 1) Warren Central (7-4) - 1/4 47-62 L Bryan Station (at Central Hardin) Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 1/10 at #6 Warren East, 1/11 at #7 Barren County 2) Bowling Green (10-3) - 1/3 64-43 W at #8 South Warren, 1/4 44-53 L John Hardin (at Central Hardin) Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 1/10 vs. #8 Greenwood 3) Clinton County (10-5) - 1/3 65-52 W #3 Russell County Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 1/10 vs. Metcalfe County 4) Monroe County (9-4) - 1/3 73-57 W Caverna (at Adair Co.) 1/3 61-62 L Holy Cross (Lou) (at Adair Co.), 1/4 67-54 W Hart Co. (at Adair Co.) Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 1/10 at Allen County-Scottsville, 1/11 vs. Franklin-Simpson 5) Russell County (7-3) - 1/3 52-65 L at #4 Clinton County Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 1/7 at Taylor County, 1/10 vs. Cumberland County 6) Warren East (10-2) - No Games Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 1/10 vs. #1 Warren Central 7) Barren County (10-3) - 1/3 85-76 W #10 Glasgow, 1/4 56-63 L at Marion County Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 1/10 at Franklin-Simpson, 1/11 vs. #1 Warren Central 8) Greenwood (5-6) - 1/2 74-52 W Green County (at LaRue Co.), 1/3 48-59 L Bethlehem (at LaRue Co.), 1/4 66-60 W Nelson Co. (at LaRue Co.) Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 1/10 at #2 Bowling Green 9) Glasgow (7-6) - 1/3 76-85 L at #7 Barren County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 1/7 at Allen County-Scottsville 10) South Warren (6-8) - 1/3 43-64 L #2 Bowling Green Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 1/9 vs. Muhlenberg County Last Week's Game of the Week - Crosstown rivalries are always a big deal, and the matchup between Barren County and Glasgow did not disappoint. Both teams brought their A game as each shot better than 55 percent from the field for the night, leading to a high scoring 85-76 victory for the Trojans of Barren County. Sophomore guard Wade Coomer led the way for Barren County with 23 points, complimented by Charley McCoy's 19. Glasgow for its part got 22 from senior forward Milas Norris. The loss dropped Glasgow to 0-2 in the district, with road losses at both Monroe County and Barren County. They'll have one more road district game this week at Allen County-Scottsville before closing out the back end of the district slate at home. Somewhat Surprising Result - The game I pegged as the likely game of the week in the last edition was a matchup of two top 5 teams in the region, Russell County at Clinton County. There were signs Clinton County might be better than the Lakers despite my ranks, such as their performances against Monroe County (Clinton County won by double digits while Russell County lost). But the Bulldogs entered having lost their previous five games after a 9-0 start. After jumping out to a 16-5 lead on Russell County, the Bulldogs spent much of the rest of the game holding on as the lead dipped under 5 in the 4th quarter. But a late push gave them a 65-52 victory and established them as the clear front runner in the 16th District. For as much as that's worth - they'll both easily advance to the regional, but hey, bragging rights! Region Site Set - Last week I noted the limbo of the regional tournament site as the region AD's could not reach the 2/3 majority they needed to draft a plan over the summer. Well, in a victory for those who believe WKU gave the 14th District a competitive advantage and those who favor the financial benefits and atmosphere of a high school site, Commissioner Julian Tackett set the site of the boys' regional tournament at Barren County, to be played in early March. It was a position supported by the minority of ADs in terms of voting, as 11 of the 17 had voted for WKU, one shy of the 12 votes needed. In his comments and e-mail regarding the matter, Commissioner Tackett noted that there were three factions of ADs: Those in favor of WKU, those in favor of high school sites, and those that just wanted to play basketball and didn't really care (which included some who were voting for WKU). In the end, WKU may have priced themselves out of the game. This will be the seventh year since Diddle Arena opened in December of 1963 that any region tournament games were played somewhere else and only the sixth time that the finals themselves will not be at the venue. In 1989, 1994, 1997, 2000, and 2003 all games were played at high school sites and in 2002 the opening round games were played at the district winners' home courts. Old Man Winter - In a twist that many regions are experiencing, several games have been canceled, not for snow or ice but bone rattling cold. Barren County was to host Bowling Green tonight in an attempt to gain revenge for a Christmas tourney loss, the highest profile game canceled. It did save the Trojans from having to run a gauntlet that would see them face the top two teams in the region during the same week. They'll have to settle (probably) for hosting #1 Warren Central. Upcoming Game of the Week 1/10 - #1 Warren Central at #6 Warren East - Last year Warren Central lost only two region games, both of which came to the same team in their district. Most years, the easy leap would be that it was Bowling Green they fell to. But no, it was Warren East that humbled the Dragons twice, their second sweep of Warren Central in six seasons. In fact they're the only team in the region to sweep the Dragons in at least two meetings since 2001. That helped catapult Warren East into a share of their first regular season district title since 1998 and the #1 seed. They'll enter this game assured of the best record in the region while thanks to a cancellation it will be Warren Central's first game against a 4th Region team. If East wins it'll clinch their first three game win streak against Warren Central since winning 4 straight from 95/96-96/97. Also on the line is the potential of the first three game losing streak overall for the Dragons since December 2009.

Fourth Region Top 10 1) Warren Central (17-4) - 2/7 73-29 W #9 Warren East Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 2/11 at Russellville, 2/14 vs. #10 Greenwood, 2/15 at Elizabethtown 2) Bowling Green (18-5) - 2/4 55-54 2OT W #10 South Warren, 2/8 72-56 W at Greenwood Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 2/10 vs. Logan County, 2/11 at Owensboro, 2/14 vs. Warren East 3) Clinton County (17-7) - 2/4 53-68 L at Wayne County, 2/6 84-62 W Caverna Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 2/14 vs. #7 Monroe County, 2/15 at South Laurel 4) Barren County (17-6) - 2/4 59-56 W Greenwood, 2/7 71-45 W Hart County, 2/8 69-67 OT W at #7 Glasgow Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 2/11 vs. #5 Russell County, 2/14 at Cumberland County 5) Russell County (14-7) - 2/3 74-71 W South Laurel, 2/6 76-57 W at Casey County, 2/7 83-47 W Metcalfe County Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 2/11 at #4 Barren County, 2/14 vs. Adair County 6) Glasgow (12-10) - 2/4 72-60 W #4 Monroe County, 2/8 67-69 OT L #5 Barren County Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 2/11 at Metcalfe County, 2/14 at Caverna 7) Monroe County (15-8) - 2/4 60-72 L at #7 Glasgow, 2/7 72-42 W #8 Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 2/11 vs. Cumberland County, 2/14 at #3 Clinton County, 2/15 at Metcalfe County 8) South Warren (11-13) - 2/4 54-55 2OT L #2 Bowling Green, 2/7 60-66 L at Greenwood Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 2/11 at Warren East, 2/13 vs. Franklin-Simpson 9) Allen County-Scottsville (8-13) - 2/7 42-72 L at #4 Monroe County Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 2/11 at #10 Greenwood, 2/13 vs. Metcalfe County, 2/14 at Franklin-Simpson 10) Greenwood (10-12) - 2/4 56-59 L at #5 Barren County, 2/7 66-60 W #10 South Warren, 2/8 56-72 L #2 Bowling Green Previous Rank: NR This Week: 2/11 vs. #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/14 at #1 Warren Central Last Week's Game of the Week - South Warren had a strange week and has also fallen victim to some rotten luck. One week after losing on a free throw with no time remaining to #1 Warren Central, South Warren had #2 Bowling Green square in the crosshairs at South Warren Gym. The Spartans led much of the second half, but the Purples surged ahead late, and appeared to have the game in hand with a three point lead and the ball. But out of a timeout, Bowling Green turned it over, and eventually Austin Bybee nailed a three with less than 10 seconds remaining to tie the game and send it to OT. In the first extra period, neither team could score in the first three minutes, and as soon as the Spartans scored their only two points, BG raced up in transition to tie it again. Those were the only two baskets in that period, sending it to a second extra session. And there, after holding the lead for that entire period, Clay Stivers scored his only two points of the game with a shot in the paint to give the Purples a 55-54 2OT win and put them into position to clinch the #2 seed later that week. The Spartans would go on to lose to Greenwood on Friday, meaning not only did they twice miss out on a marquee win, they now are in a spot where they could fall all the way to fifth in the district. Game of the Week Part II - Glasgow and Barren County almost matched the amount of time played in the BG/SW game and may have topped it for dramatics. Like the Spartans, the Scotties held the lead on their homecourt for much of the game. They were up by nine heading into the 4th Quarter at 46-37. But a 19-10 run had the Trojans tied with less than 1:30 seconds left when the fireworks began. First Charlie McCoy hit a three to put Barren County up. Then sophomore James Kingery answered with 17 seconds left to knot it at 59. Barrett Billingsley was fouled with 6 seconds left, hitting 1 of 2 to put the Trojans back up 1. With less than 1 second in the game, James Kingery was fouled and went to the line with a chance to win it. He hit only 1 of 2, and OT was on. In OT, Barren County held a 1 point led with less than 20 to go when Quentel Bradley got a steal, but could not hit the shot, and Ben Leftwich hit 1 of 2 to make it 69-67 with under 10 to go. Finally, Glasgow could not match anymore, as a Milas Norris three pointer rimmed out at the buzzer, giving the Trojans the victory and placing them in a tie for the top of the 15th District. Down the Stretch - Last week I mentioned that we should finally figure out a lot in the districts. Well.... yes and no. Logan County knocked off Russellville, which combined with other results to give them the #1 seed in the 13th District by virtue of tiebreaker over Russellville (Logan County is 4-2 and Russellville is the only other team with 2 losses, but Logan has the tiebreaker because of season sweep). Franklin-Simpson sits at 2-4, guaranteed to do no better than 3rd. All that remains is Todd County Central at Russellville. A Todd County Central win would mean those two would have a rematch in the 2/3 game. A Russellville win will clinch #2 for the Panthers while sending Todd County Central and Franklin-Simpson to a coin flip for third. Speaking of coin flips, those will be required to determine everything in the 15th. Barren County and Monroe County are tied at 4-2, splitting their season series. Allen County-Scottsville are 2-4, splitting their seasons series. So we at least know those teams won't play each other. Wednesday is the drawing to determine the rest. Finally, in the 14th District, Warren Central is #1, Bowling Green is #2. The key remaining game is South Warren at Warren East on Tuesday. It's not likely that Greenwood will win at Warren Central or that Warren East will win at Bowling Green (neither has won at either since before 2001). That leaves East/South Warren. If the Raiders win, the three teams will likely tie at 2-6, forcing a draw for the three spots. If South Warren wins, they'll go to the #3 spot unless Greenwood pulls the upset. South Warren has won only 1 of their last 15 road district games, while East has lost their last four district contests at home. Upcoming Game of the Week 2/11 #5 Russell County at #4 Barren County - With any luck, this game actually gets played. Russell County has had a bit of a down year comparative to what they've been used to. Our preseason pick for #2 in the 4th Region, they entered last week at just 11-7. Last week provided a boost with three wins, that coming on the heels of a strong showing in a road game at Madison Central. Suddenly winners of 5 of their past 6, perhaps they are heading up at the right time. They'll get the chance to prove it when they visit the always tough Trojans. It'll also be a chance for the Lakers to play at the venue that will host the region tournament. This is the fourth straight year the teams will meet - the road team won the first three. Coincidence or trend?