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1) Bowling Green (10-3) - 1/2 65-59 W Spencer County (at South Oldham), 1/3 67-44 W Bullitt East (at South Oldham), 1/4 75-66 W Holmes (at South Oldham) Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 1/7 vs. #7 Barren County, 1/10 vs. #3 Greenwood, 1/11 at Muhlenberg County 2) Warren Central (7-4) - 1/2 64-50 W Bullitt East (at South Oldham), 1/3 68-72 L at South Oldham, 1/4 70-71 OT L Spencer County (at South Oldham) Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 1/6 vs. #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/9 at #16 Warren East, 1/11 at #7 Barren County 3) Greenwood (8-6) - 1/3 57-64 L Harvest Prep (OH) (at Holy Cross), 1/4 73-68 OT W Cardinal Stritch (OH) (at Holy Cross) Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 1/7 at #15 Todd County Central, 1/10 at #1 Bowling Green 4) Glasgow (7-7) - 1/3 52-47 W #7 Barren County Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 1/7 at #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/10 at #6 South Warren, 1/11 vs. #15 Todd County Central 5) Logan County (10-3) - 1/3 75-42 W #15 Todd County Central Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 1/7 at Daviess County, 1/10 vs. #14 Russellville, 1/11 vs. Shelby County (at Russell County) 6) South Warren (9-5) - 1/3 57-65 L Beech (TN) (at Graves County), 1/3 41-59 L at Graves County, 1/4 68-60 W Calloway County (at Graves County) Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 1/10 vs. #4 Glasgow 7) Barren County (7-5) - 1/3 47-52 L at #4 Glasgow Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 1/7 at #1 Bowling Green, 1/10 vs. Adair County, 1/11 vs. #2 Warren Central 8) Clinton County (11-5) - 1/3 57-53 W at #17 Cumberland County, 1/4 48-34 W at Pickett County (TN) Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 1/7 at #11 Russell County, 1/10 vs. #13 Metcalfe County 9) Allen County-Scottsville (7-5) - 12/30 65-60 W at Bullitt Central Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 1/6 at #2 Warren Central, 1/7 vs. #4 Glasgow, 1/10 vs. #12 Monroe County 10) Franklin-Simpson (6-6) - 1/3 75-44 W at #14 Russellville, 1/4 59-53 W Muhlenberg County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 1/7 at Hart County, 1/10 at #15 Todd County Central 11) Russell County (6-7) - 1/3 44-45 OT L at #13 Monroe County, 1/4 54-41 W Buckhorn (at South Laurel) Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 1/7 vs. #8 Clinton County, 1/10 vs. #17 Cumberland County, 1/11 vs. Daviess County 12) Monroe County (4-7) - 1/3 45-44 OT W #11 Russell County Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 1/7 at #17 Cumberland County, 1/10 at #9 Allen County-Scottsville 13) Metcalfe County (7-6) - 1/4 67-69 L Butler County Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 1/7 vs. Green County, 1/10 at #8 Clinton County 14) Russellville (4-6) - 1/3 44-75 L #10 Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 1/7 vs. Caverna, 1/10 at #5 Logan County, 1/11 vs. Edmonson County 15) Todd County Central (2-10) - 1/3 42-75 L at #5 Logan County Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 1/7 vs. #3 Greenwood, 1/10 vs. #10 Franklin-Simpson, 1/11 at #4 Glasgow 16) Warren East (1-9) - No games scheduled Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 1/6 at #17 Cumberland County, 1/9 vs. #2 Warren Central, 1/11 vs. Rockcastle County (at Russell County) 17) Cumberland County (3-10) - 1/3 53-57 L #8 Clinton County Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 1/6 vs. #16 Warren East, 1/7 vs. #12 Monroe County, 1/10 vs. #11 Russell County Notes -I knew coming into the week that the potential was going to be there for a flip between 1 and 2 with Bowling Green and Warren Central playing two common opponents in the three day showcase at South Oldham. While Bowling Green didn't play the host as Central did, the two common opponent comparison went decisively to the Purples. Bowling Green smacked Bullitt East and Spencer County around - albeit letting Spencer County come back from a large deficit to make it a six point final. Warren Central struggled with Bullitt East for a while before settling in for a 14 point win, but fell in overtime to Spencer County, and with that, this simply had to be done. -Bowling Green has now reeled off seven straight wins, and were impressive in each of their three wins this week. That contrasts with their performance in their home holiday tournament the week before, where they won every game but looked quite shaky at times. The team has experience but they're still remarkably younger experience - there's only two seniors on the team, and they are not the leaders. It appears they have settled in well, and they have scored 65 points or more in five of their last seven games. They match up with Barren County this week - the only region team outside the 14th District to beat Bowling Green in the last decade - and it is always a good benchmark for the team. Friday brings the all important rubber match with #3 Greenwood, and this one will count in the district standings. It's more important for Bowling Green than it is for Greenwood, for a loss would mean an 0-2 start in the official district standings. They haven't started 0-2 in the official district standings since 1995/96, prior to the seeded district tournament era. -For Warren Central, they need to get healthy. The team is expected to have a nine man rotation, and that rotation has practiced together one time. Brents started the year on the shelf, then Muleka got hurt in Ashland, and now Wright is likely going to miss time with an ankle injury. The team ran into a three point buzzsaw in their two losses up at South Oldham, as South Oldham and Spencer County combined to shoot 22/48 (46%) against the Dragons, the driving force behind them allowing a season-high 72 and 71 points in the two losses. They had previously not allowed more than 59 points. -Speaking of getting healthy, Glasgow got a big boost with the return of Tucker Kirkpatrick to the lineup. Kirkpatrick suffered a knee injury in the season opener, and while it remains to be seen how much floor time he can log, he came in during a the third quarter to knock down a three to tie the game against Barren County, providing a big psychological lift. Barren County led most of the game in the first three quarters, but Nik Sorrell had a personal 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter and staked the Scotties to a 46-40 lead, and the Trojans could not recover. The win moved Glasgow back to .500 and a 2-0 record in 15th District play. -One of the more interesting off the radar stories is whether or not Metcalfe County will be able to notch their first winning season in nine years. They currently sit at 7-6, and they feature two of the most prolific scorers in the region. Boston Devore is averaging 20.8 PPG, and Peyton Dial has 16.5 PPG. The Hornets have been held below 60 points only three times all year, and have topped 80 three times. They may allow a lot of points too, but they are never dull to watch.They have a big game with Clinton County on Friday, who they fell to at home by a 53-49 score on December 13th, their season-low for points. -With Russellville playing in (and losing) their first region game, Logan County is now officially the final unbeaten team in region play. They polished off Todd County Central by a 75-42 score to move to 2-0 in district play. Their road trip to Franklin-Simpson is probably their next actual region test (they play Russellville and Warren East in between), but there is a real chance they could run the region table into the postseason. Their most difficult region games remaining are likely games against Barren County, Glasgow, and Greenwood - all at home. -The games this week most likely to impact the rankings: #16 Warren East at #17 Cumberland County (1/6), #8 Clinton County at #11 Russell County (1/7), #3 Greenwood at #1 Bowling Green (1/10), #4 Glasgow at #6 South Warren (1/10), #8 Clinton County vs. #13 Metcalfe County (1/10), #12 Monroe County at #9 Allen County-Scottsville (1/10). If you can only watch one, make it Greenwood at Bowling Green. -On that Greenwood at Bowling Green game - another reminder that Greenwood has lost 13 in a row against the Purples at Bowling Green, the longest streak in the series. In fact, outside a four game span where Greenwood won all meetings from January 2006-December 2007, Bowling Green is 29-3 against Greenwood at home. They don't lose to them there very often. (Or to anyone - they're 128-18 there since early 2008.)

ICYMI - Check out the All-2010s 4th Region Team here: http://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/4th-region-all-386018.html 1) Bowling Green (13-3) - 1/7 47-44 W #7 Barren County, 1/10 71-63 W #3 Greenwood, 1/11 68-55 W at Muhlenberg County Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 1/14 vs. #5 South Warren 2) Warren Central (10-4) - 1/6 84-62 W #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/9 83-39 W at #16 Warren East, 1/11 58-46 W at #10 Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 1/16 vs. Knox Central (at Owensboro Sports Center) 3) Greenwood (9-7) - 1/7 84-47 W at #15 Todd County Central, 1/10 63-71 L at #1 Bowling Green Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 1/13 vs. Hopkinsville, 1/17 at #14 Warren East 4) Logan County (13-3) - 1/7 72-47 W at Daviess County, 1/10 72-37 W #14 Russellville, 1/11 74-57 W Madison Central (at Russell County) Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 1/18 vs. Madison Southern (at Southwestern) 5) South Warren (10-5) - 1/10 72-61 W #4 Glasgow Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 1/14 at #1 Bowling Green, 1/17 vs. Christian County, 1/18 at Hopkinsville 6) Glasgow (9-8) - 1/7 61-42 W at #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/10 61-72 L at #6 South Warren, 1/11 56-37 W #15 Todd County Central Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 1/13 at #8 Clinton County 7) Barren County (8-6) - 1/7 44-47 L at #1 Bowling Green, 1/10 68-34 W Adair County Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 1/14 at #14 Warren East 8) Clinton County (13-5) - 1/7 49-45 W at #11 Russell County, 1/10 62-56 W #13 Metcalfe County Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 1/13 vs. #6 Glasgow 9) Franklin-Simpson (8-7) - 1/7 74-63 W at Hart County, 1/10 55-42 W at #15 Todd County Central, 1/11 46-58 L #2 Warren Central Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 1/14 vs. #10 Allen County-Scottsville 10) Allen County-Scottsville (8-7) - 1/6 62-84 L at #2 Warren Central, 1/7 42-61 L #4 Glasgow, 1/10 67-52 W #12 Monroe County Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 1/14 at #9 Franklin-Simpson, 1/17 at Westmoreland (TN) 11) Russell County (7-9) - 1/7 45-49 L #8 Clinton County, 1/10 52-59 L #17 Cumberland County, 1/11 66-52 W Daviess County Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 1/14 vs. McCreary Central 12) Monroe County (5-8) - 1/7 75-74 OT W at #17 Cumberland County, 1/10 52-67 L at #9 Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 1/13 vs. #16 Russellville 13) Metcalfe County (8-7) - 1/7 51-40 W Green County, 1/10 56-62 L at #8 Clinton County Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 1/13 at #17 Todd County Central 14) Warren East (2-10) - 1/6 73-69 W at #17 Cumberland County, 1/9 39-83 L #2 Warren Central Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 1/14 vs. #7 Barren County, 1/17 vs. #3 Greenwood 15) Cumberland County (4-12) - 1/6 69-73 L #16 Warren East, 1/7 74-75 OT L #12 Monroe County, 1/10 59-52 W #11 Russell County Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 1/16 vs. TBA 16) Russellville (4-8) - 1/7 64-73 L Caverna, 1/10 37-72 L at #5 Logan County Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 1/13 at #12 Monroe County 17) Todd County Central (2-13) - 1/7 47-84 L #3 Greenwood, 1/10 42-55 L #10 Franklin-Simpson, 1/11 37-56 L at #4 Glasgow Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 1/13 vs. #13 Metcalfe County Notes -Bowling Green picked up their eighth, ninth, and tenth consecutive wins this week, though none were all that easily come by. Against Barren County to open the week, the Purples fell behind by 12 points in the third quarter, but managed to close that entire gap and take the lead by quarter's end, and survived a potential game-tying three pointer in the waning seconds of a 47-44 win. Against Greenwood it was the opposite - the Purples were dominant in the first half, and held a 20 point lead in the third. Greenwood managed to whittle that all the way down to two points in the final minute as they eschewed their three point attack and went straight at the rim. Isaiah Mason rescued the Purples with an and-1 to restore a five point lead, and Bowling Green held on for their 14th consecutive home win over Greenwood, and second in two weeks. Finally, Bowling Green had a tough time shaking Muhlenberg County all night, but closed the game on a 13-2 run in the final four minutes for a 68-55 win. They have another big district game this week, taking on South Warren - who they have never lost to in 23 meetings. -Warren Central took the 2A Sectional crown this week, advancing with a 22 point win at home over Allen County-Scottsville, and holding off Franklin-Simpson in their second game at Franklin-Simpson this year in a 12 point result on Saturday. The latter game was of particular interest as the Wildcats gave Central trouble with their full court press, just as they did in their first game. Kobe Brents missed all of his three point attempts and Central was merely 4/16 from the perimeter in the game. Dre Boyd was hampered by foul trouble, going to the bench at the 6:22 mark of the second quarter with two fouls, and picking up his third on a charge just five seconds after re-entering just over four minutes later. And yet, the Dragons survived, and Boyd still managed his fifth straight 20+ point effort by dropping 23, playing the entire second half without a foul. They take on Knox Central in the 2A state quarterfinals on Thursday, and if they advance from there, likely will meet undefeated John Hardin in the semifinals. -Logan County has now won nine straight games, and has been lighting up the scoreboard, with five straight games over 70 points. The Cougars are doing it with balance, as five players average between 9.4 and 12.8 PPG. They're shooting over 60% from two, and are a bit of a throwback in the modern era, with a higher concentration of shots inside than outside (64:36 ratio). -Glasgow's poor injury luck caught them again. Tucker Kirkpatrick returned from a knee injury last week, but exited their loss against South Warren with a reaggravation of the injury. It was already tough to know exactly how much he'd play, and it remains to be seen what the impact of this is moving forward. Worse, starters Jaden Franklin and Landon Frasier exited and sat the entire second half. Franklin had knee soreness, while Frasier suffered a thumb injury. Those injuries, and uncertainty about the future, is a major factor in Glasgow dropping to sixth in the rankings. -The 16th District race has been an intriguing one to watch. Clinton County has already wrapped up the top seed in the district tournament, with a 5-0 district record just six weeks into the year. However, four of those five wins came by a combined 18 points, with every team in the district coming within four of a win once. That's a dangerous cocktail for that 1/4 game in the postseason. Every other seed in the district is up for grabs. Metcalfe County is 0-4, but has a game against both Russell County and Cumberland County remaining. Cumberland County is 2-2 with games against Metcalfe County and Russell County remaining, while Russell County is 1-2 with one game remaining against all district opponents. It's not inconceivable we could see a three-way tie for second place. The 2/3 game is probably most important to Cumberland County, which has not advanced to a region tournament in 11 years - their only appearance since 1999. -The All "A" Classic tournament gets going this week. With Glasgow's injury concerns, it is perhaps fair to consider them and Clinton County co-favorites. One of those teams will be gone after Monday, as they meet at Clinton County in round one. Glasgow is returning to the field for the first time since 2016, when they won the tournament. Clinton County has won the last two editions. Whichever teams survives that, they will be the only team in our top ten remaining in the field.

1) Bowling Green (14-3) - 1/14 66-46 W #5 South Warren Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 1/20 vs. #2 Warren Central, 1/21 vs. Christian County, 1/24 at #14 Warren East 2) Warren Central (11-5) - 1/16 83-59 W Knox Central (at Owensboro Sports Center), 1/18 47-85 L John Hardin (at Owensboro Sports Center) Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 1/20 at #1 Bowling Green, 1/21 vs. #5 South Warren, 1/24 at #3 Greenwood 3) Greenwood (11-7) - 1/13 61-48 W Hopkinsville, 1/17 71-52 W at #14 Warren East Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 1/21 vs. #7 Franklin-Simpson, 1/24 vs. #2 Warren Central, 1/25 vs. LaRue County (at John Hardin) 4) Logan County (14-3) - 1/18 65-58 W Madison Southern (at Southwestern) Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 1/21 vs. #14 Warren East, 1/24 at #7 Franklin-Simpson 5) South Warren (11-7) - 1/14 46-66 L at #1 Bowling Green, 1/17 57-50 W Christian County, 1/18 64-70 L at Hopkinsville Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 1/21 at #2 Warren Central, 1/24 at #12 Russell County 6) Barren County (9-6) - 1/14 72-40 W at #14 Warren East Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 1/20 at #13 Monroe County, 1/21 vs. Ohio County, 1/24 vs. #11 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/25 at #7 Franklin-Simpson 7) Franklin-Simpson (9-7) - 1/14 47-41 W #10 Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 1/21 at #3 Greenwood, 1/24 vs. #4 Logan County, 1/25 vs. #6 Barren County 8) Clinton County (14-6) - 1/13 48-36 W #6 Glasgow, 1/16 50-52 L #13 Metcalfe County (at Cumberland County) Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 1/21 vs. #12 Russell County 9) Glasgow (9-9) - 1/13 36-48 L at #8 Clinton County Previous Rank: 6 This Week: No games scheduled 10) Metcalfe County (12-7) - 1/13 83-64 W at #17 Todd County Central, 1/16 52-50 W #8 Clinton County (at Cumberland County), 1/17 51-38 W #12 Monroe County (at Cumberland County), 1/18 69-60 W Adair County Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 1/23 vs. Louisville Holy Cross (at Eastern Kentucky University) 11) Allen County-Scottsville (9-8) - 1/14 41-47 L at #9 Franklin-Simpson, 1/17 66-38 W at Westmoreland (TN) Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 1/24 at #6 Barren County 12) Russell County (8-9) - 1/14 60-45 W McCreary Central Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 1/21 at #8 Clinton County, 1/24 vs. #5 South Warren, 1/25 at Pulaski County 13) Monroe County (7-9) - 1/13 51-48 W #16 Russellville, 1/16 76-69 W at #15 Cumberland County, 1/17 38-51 L #13 Metcalfe County (at Cumberland County) Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 1/20 vs. #6 Barren County, 1/24 vs. Taylor County 14) Warren East (2-12) - 1/14 40-72 L #7 Barren County, 1/17 52-71 L #3 Greenwood Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 1/21 at #5 Logan County, 1/24 vs. #1 Bowling Green, 1/25 vs. #15 Cumberland County 15) Cumberland County (4-13) - 1/16 69-76 L #12 Monroe County Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 1/24 vs. Hart County, 1/25 at #14 Warren East 16) Russellville (5-9) - 1/13 48-51 L at #12 Monroe County, 50-48 W Whitesville Trinity Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 1/21 at #17 Todd County Central, 1/24 at Edmonson County 17) Todd County Central (3-14) - 1/13 64-83 L #13 Metcalfe County, 66-47 W Friendship Christian (TN) Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 1/21 vs. #16 Russellville, 1/23 vs. Jo Byrns (TN) Notes -Bowling Green has now won 11 straight overall, which allowed them to move to the top of the region ranks a couple of weeks ago and keeps them marching up the BGP rankings. That's their longest winning streak since they won 29 in a row during their state title run in the 2016/17 season. It's the longest winning streak of the Derrick Clubb era. -Speaking of Bowling Green streaks, their 20 point win over South Warren moves them to 24-0 all-time against the Spartans. There is some hope for the Spartans, who dropped their first matchup by 35 a season ago before closing to 4 and 6 in their latter two matchups. It's the 11th time out of the 24 matchups that Bowling Green won by 20 or more. -Bowling Green will look to add to their other incredible winning streak this Friday - that being the 50 straight wins they have over Warren East. I understand the Raiders have had hard times over the years, but honestly, that might be the most impressive streak I've ever encountered. I've mentioned this before, but it becomes even more impressive when you consider that Warren East led the series by a 41-35 margin when the streak began. Bowling Green has now won more games in a row over East than East has ever won against them period. -Warren Central experienced a "best of times, worst of times" trip through the 2A Classic in Owensboro. On Thursday, the Dragons were nearly flawless, so long as you exclude their inexplicable third quarter where they blew a 14 point lead. Warren Central was 16/31 from three in that game, winning the rebound battle by 13 rebounds, and winning the 1st, 2nd, and 4th quarters by a combined 38 points. On Saturday against #1 John Hardin, they hit 16 shots again. That's shots, not threes - 16 shots total as they suffered their worst loss in nine years and put up their season low score of 47. They are a better team than they showed that day, but John Hardin absolutely reaved their souls in that game. -Warren Central has to refocus fast, as I do not think it is an exaggeration to call this their most important week of the year. This week they take on Bowling Green, South Warren, and Greenwood - their three primary rivals in the 14th District. The Bowling Green and Greenwood games are on the road. The Dragons cannot afford to let the John Hardin game hang in their minds. A 3-0 trip through the week with the two big rivals coming to Central later on would set them up nicely for the #1 seed in the postseason. 0-3 would be disastrous, putting them at risk at sinking to the 4/5 game. They split with all three teams a season ago. Central has won the first matchup of the year with Bowling Green in each of the last two seasons, but have won only once in their last five games against the Purples at Bowling Green. -Moving beyond the top two teams, most of the rest of the top ten was fairly static. Glasgow took a hit as they fell to Clinton County 48-36, and posted their lowest score since falling 94-32 to the state champion Bowling Green team in 2016/17. Landon Frasier did return to score two in this matchup, but Jaden Franklin and Tucker Kirkpatrick remained out of the boxscore. Nick Sorrell had his worst game of the year, going just 1/7 from the field and posting only seven points. It's just hard to keep them ranked higher when there's so much uncertainty about their personnel. If they get healthy for a stretch run, the record really won't matter, but honestly, it feels almost like a cursed season. -Metcalfe County surges back into the top 10 thanks to their run to the All "A" region title, surpassing last season's 11 win total in the process to grab their most wins since the 2010/11 season. They won the All "A" region title that season too. Incredibly, they are 0-4 in their official district standings thanks to increasingly stunning losses to Cumberland County and Russell County, and they were swept by Clinton County. No matter, they grabbed some revenge on Clinton County with a 52-50 win in the All "A" semifinals. That 2010/11 team was their last winning season, and the Hornets appear increasingly likely to refresh that. That team won 16 games, and Metcalfe County looks to have a very good shot of getting past that win total - their previous high above that was 21 games in the 07/08 season. -The 16th District tournament will be one to watch this year. Clinton County has clinched the #1 seed, but their six games against district opponents have now been decided by a combined average of 5.5 PPG. And that includes a 13 point win over Cumberland County - remove that and the other five games were decided by an average of 4 PPG. A lot to shake out in the 2-4 positions there, but a lot can happen. -Logan County and Franklin-Simpson tangle this Friday. Logan County is still unbeaten in region play, but will make the trip to Franklin for a game that will basically clinch them the #1 seed. In actuality, they could lose it based on tiebreakers if either Todd County Central or Russellville were to win out in the district and Logan County were to lose their remaining games after Franklin (one each against Todd County Central and Russellville), but come on, that's not going to happen. If Franklin-Simpson were to deal the Cougars the loss, then it is likely those two will come down to a coin flip for the top spot at the end of the year. -Glasgow still leads District 15 with a 3-0 record, and thankfully for them, they still have another 12 days before they have their next district contest, the crucial road game against Barren County. If all goes as planned for the Trojans, they will enter that game at 4-1 in district play, and looking to clinch at least a tie for the top spot. -Games this week most likely to affect the region rankings - 1/20 #2 Warren Central at #1 Bowling Green, 1/21 #7 Franklin-Simpson at #3 Greenwood, 1/21 #5 South Warren at #2 Warren Central, 1/24 #4 Logan County at #7 Franklin-Simpson, 1/24 #2 Warren Central at #3 Greenwood, 1/25 #6 Barren County at #7 Franklin-Simpson. In other words, you can scarcely go wrong with a Franklin-Simpson or Warren Central game this week.

1) Warren Central (6-2) - 12/27 90-52 W Lewis County (at Ashland), 12/28 55-59 L at Ashland, 12/29 62-51 W Boyd County (at Ashland) Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 1/2 vs. Bullitt East (at South Oldham), 1/3 at South Oldham, 1/4 vs. Spencer County (at South Oldham) 2) Bowling Green (7-3) - 12/26 68-42 W North Hardin, 12/27 55-46 W Station Camp (TN), 12/28 58-53 W #2 Greenwood Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 1/2 vs. Spencer County (at South Oldham), 1/3 vs. Bullitt East (at South Oldham), 1/4 vs. Holmes (at South Oldham) 3) Greenwood (7-5) - 12/23 44-46 L at #11 Franklin-Simpson, 12/26 55-53 W #4 Glasgow (at Bowling Green), 12/27 59-40 W #6 South Warren (at Bowling Green), 12/28 53-58 L at #3 Bowling Green Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 1/3 vs. Harvest Prep (OH) (at Holy Cross), 1/4 vs. Cardinal Stritch (OH) (at Holy Cross) 4) Glasgow (6-7) - 12/26 53-55 L #2 Greenwood (at Bowling Green), 12/27 67-49 W North Hardin (at Bowling Green), 12/28 58-48 W #11 Franklin-Simpson (at Bowling Green) Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 1/3 vs. #7 Barren County 5) Logan County (9-3) - 12/27 68-38 W Daviess County, 12/28 66-54 W #8 Clinton County, 12/29 80-74 W Great Crossing Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 1/3 vs. #15 Todd County Central 6) South Warren (8-3) - 12/26 73-70 W Owensboro (at Bowling Green), 12/27 40-59 L #2 Greenwood (at Bowling Green), 12/28 51-49 W Station Camp (TN) Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 1/3 vs. TBA (at Graves County), 1/4 vs. TBA (at Graves County) 7) Barren County (7-4) - 12/27 61-67 OT L Bell County (at South Laurel), 12/28 59-66 OT L Roger Bacon (OH), 12/29 74-51 W #9 Russell County Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 1/3 at #4 Glasgow 8) Clinton County (9-5) - 12/27 46-38 W Grayson County (at Logan County), 12/28 54-66 L at #5 Logan County, 12/29 57-59 L Louisville Collegiate (at Logan County) Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 1/3 at #17 Cumberland County, 1/4 at Pickett County (TN) 9) Allen County-Scottsville (6-5) - 12/23 74-58 W at #16 Warren East, 12/27 60-68 L at Hancock County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 12/30 at Bullitt Central 10) Franklin-Simpson (4-6) - 12/23 46-44 W #2 Greenwood, 12/26 45-47 L Station Camp (TN) (at Bowling Green), 12/27 73-71 W Owensboro (at Bowling Green), 12/28 48-58 L #4 Glasgow (at Bowling Green) Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 1/3 at #14 Russellville, 1/4 vs. Muhlenberg County 11) Russell County (5-6) - 12/27 43-52 L Owen County (at South Laurel), 12/28 58-63 L Lynn Camp (at South Laurel), 12/29 51-74 L #7 Barren County (at South Laurel) Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 1/3 at #13 Monroe County, 1/4 vs. Buckhorn (at South Laurel) 12) Metcalfe County (7-5) - 12/26 78-89 L Breathitt County (at Williamstown), 12/27 78-61 W Burgin (at Williamstown), 12/28 67-62 W Whitesville Trinity (at Williamstown) Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 1/4 vs. Butler County 13) Monroe County (3-7) - No games scheduled Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 1/3 vs. #11 Russell County 14) Russellville (4-4) - 12/27 74-69 W Beth Haven, 12/27 49-59 L Carlisle County Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 1/3 vs. #10 Franklin-Simpson 15) Todd County Central (2-9) - 12/27 46-77 L at Ohio County, 12/27 50-70 L Henderson County (at Ohio County), 12/28 41-68 L Edmonson County (at Ohio County) Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 1/3 at #5 Logan County 16) Warren East (1-9) - 12/23 58-74 L #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/28 59-65 L Meade County Previous Rank: 16 This Week: No games scheduled 17) Cumberland County (3-9) - 12/23 90-53 W Caverna (at Warren East), 12/27 65-67 L Green County (at Russellville), 60-72 L Murray (at Russellville), 12/28 93-80 W Beth Haven (at Russellville) Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 1/3 vs. #8 Clinton County Notes -The craziness that has plagued this region so far this year mostly took a hiatus this week - primarily because the majority of region teams played out of region teams and/or the ones that did play other region teams went as expected. The enigma that is Greenwood was the lone exception. The very day I released my last rankings, they fell to Franklin-Simpson. That would be the 4-6 Wildcats who were outside of the top ten at the time. They followed that by winning a razor-thin game against Glasgow, pummeling South Warren again, and then losing to Bowling Green on the road - where they haven't won in a decade and play again in 11 days. The Gators are 3-1 in play against Bowling Green and Glasgow. They're 5-1 against the top 6 teams. They're 1-3 against the region teams below that point. It's honestly baffling. -Perhaps one insight into why Greenwood has so much variance is that they have won several games on the back of their defense. They are holding opponents to 56.75 PPG, but are scoring just 60.58 PPG themselves. They haven't topped 60 points in their last five games, and have gone over 63 just once in their last 10 games. It's not an easy task to win games when you score so low. -Bowling Green still had their shaky moments, but the win over Greenwood was a needed boost, and won them their home tournament in the process. They still may fall to Greenwood again when they meet on the 10th, but falling to them twice in the matter of 11 days when they hadn't lost to them in years would have been a psychological blow. The Purples managed to overcome 12/23 shooting from three by Greenwood by doing what they do best - get inside. The Purples were 15/29 in the paint, and made enough from three (5/13) to do enough to open everything up. Bowling Green used only a nine man rotation in that game, perhaps a sign of things to come - keeping their studs on the floor for longer stretches. -Logan County has kept on trucking along, winning their fifth straight game in taking their Christmas tournament title. The Cougars are one of only two unbeaten teams in region play (Russellville has yet to play one), and appear to be the a solid front runner in the 13th. Logan County is tied with Clinton County for the most wins overall in the region (in two less games) and is averaging a 13.16 margin of victory. What players are leading them in scoring is a mystery - they barely ever report stats. Yes, it upsets me. -South Warren had better hope it's just a mental block that is getting them against Greenwood. They're out to one of their best records in years - they're five games over .500 for the first time since their first season in 2010/11 - but they have lost to Greenwood by an average of 20 PPG in their two matchups. Considering they've never beaten Bowling Green and they have only defeated Warren Central once in the history of the program, that's not a positive sign for their region aspirations. We're still two weeks from finding out how they do against Bowling Green. -This week features the first of two monster games in the 15th district between rivals Glasgow and Barren County. The first matchup is at Glasgow this Friday. Last season, their games were decided by five, two, and five points, with the last one going to overtime. It's always a must watch. -The rest of the region is light in marquee games this week, though Warren Central and Bowling Green both travel to South Oldham to take part in the South Oldham Classic. Bowling Green will meet solid teams in Spencer County and Bullitt East, while Warren Central will face the same pair while also taking on host South Warren. These are great benchmarks for the two.

1) Warren Central (20-6) - 2/14 60-52 W #5 Greenwood Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 2/18 at #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/21 at LaRue County 2) Bowling Green (22-5) - 2/11 62-61 W at Owensboro, 2/14 74-47 W #14 Warren East Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 2/18 vs. Hopkinsville, 2/21 at Ballard 3) Logan County (23-3) - 2/11 75-66 W #5 Greenwood, 2/15 77-49 W #10 Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 2/18 at Ohio County, 2/20 at #15 Cumberland County 4) Barren County (19-8) - 2/11 70-63 W #11 Russell County, 2/14 93-61 W at #15 Cumberland County Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 2/18 vs. #13 Metcalfe County, 2/20 at #6 Clinton County 5) Greenwood (15-13) - 2/11 66-75 L at #3 Logan County, 2/14 52-60 L at #2 Warren Central Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 2/18 vs. #12 Monroe County, 2/21 vs. Edmonson County 6) Clinton County (20-6) - 2/11 54-48 W at McCreary Central, 2/14 59-53 W at #12 Monroe County Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 2/17 vs. #8 South Warren, 2/20 vs. #4 Barren County 7) Franklin-Simpson (12-13) - 2/10 64-70 L at Butler County, 2/13 78-74 W at #6 South Warren Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 2/18 vs. #14 Warren East, 2/20 at #9 Glasgow 8) South Warren (14-13) - 2/11 76-50 W at #14 Warren East, 2/13 74-78 L #8 Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 2/17 at #6 Clinton County, 2/21 vs. Butler County 9) Glasgow (12-13) - 2/10 64-65 OT L #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/11 71-49 W at #13 Metcalfe County, 2/14 66-52 W at Caverna Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 2/18 vs. #15 Cumberland County, 2/20 vs. #7 Franklin-Simpson 10) Allen County-Scottsville (13-13) - 2/10 65-64 OT W at #9 Glasgow, 2/13 89-78 2OT W Metcalfe County, 49-77 L at #3 Logan County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 2/18 vs. #1 Warren Central, 2/20 at #17 Russellville 11) Russell County (13-14) - 2/11 63-70 L at #4 Barren County, 2/14 61-45 W Adair County, 2/15 60-47 W Jackson County Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 2/18 at Danville, 2/21 at Rockcastle County 12) Monroe County (10-15) - 2/11 59-50 W #15 Cumberland County, 2/14 53-59 L #7 Clinton County Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 2/18 at #5 Greenwood, 2/20 at #14 Warren East 13) Metcalfe County (14-13) - 2/11 49-71 L #9 Glasgow, 2/13 78-89 2OT L at #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/15 87-78 W #17 Russellville Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 2/18 at #4 Barren County, 2/21 at Caverna 14) Warren East (4-19) - 2/11 50-76 L #6 South Warren, 2/14 47-74 L at #1 Bowling Green Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 2/17 at Caverna, 2/18 at #7 Franklin-Simpson, 2/20 vs. #12 Monroe County 15) Cumberland County (6-18) - 2/11 50-59 L at #12 Monroe County, 2/14 61-93 L #4 Barren County Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 2/18 at #9 Glasgow, 2/20 vs. #3 Logan County 16) Todd County Central (6-18) - 2/14 80-78 2OT W at #17 Russellville Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 2/17 at Hopkins County Central, 2/18 vs. Muhlenberg County, 2/21 at Dawson Springs 17) Russellville (6-18) - 2/11 76-78 L Edmonson County, 2/14 78-80 2OT L #16 Todd County Central, 2/15 78-87 L at #13 Metcalfe County Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 2/18 vs. Fort Campbell, 2/20 vs. #10 Allen County-Scottsville Notes -In a true rarity, all the district matchups are set without requiring tiebreakers - everything settled on the court. The only tie across all four districts was for the 2 seed in the 16th District - Russell County won the coin flip with Cumberland County for that - but that didn't alter the matchup. In the 13th at Russellville, it will be Logan County (6-0) vs. Russellville (0-6) and Franklin-Simpson (4-2) vs. Todd County Central (2-4). In the 14th at South Warren, South Warren (2-6) will open with Warren East (0-8), with the winner facing Warren Central (7-1) - Bowling Green (6-2) will face Greenwood (5-3) in the 2/3 game. In the 15th at Allen County-Scottsville, Barren County (5-1) will face Monroe County (0-6), while Glasgow (4-2) will take on Allen County-Scottsville (3-3). Finally, in the 16th at Russell County, Clinton County (6-0) will face Metcalfe County (0-6) with Russell County (3-3) hosting Cumberland County (3-3). It all makes life easier on the district tournament managers. -The highest drama of the week came in battles for the top seed in the 14th and 15th. Glasgow hosted Allen County-Scottsville on Monday, needing a win to tie Barren County to push that to a coin flip. The Scotties finally had the services of their full team, and jumped out to a five point halftime lead on AC/S. But they were unable to hold it as Mason Shirley began an assault that would see him score 32 of the final 45 points for ACS en route to a (then) career-high 35 points. The game would go to extra time tied at 56, and Shirley would draw a questionable foul with 2 seconds remaining, hitting a pair of free throws to give them a 65-64 OT win, pulling Glasgow into the 2/3 game with them. Meanwhile in the 14th District on Friday, Greenwood visited Warren Central, hoping to get a road win and force a three-way tie for #1 along with Bowling Green. The first half was not a pretty sight as both teams saw huge stretches of time with difficulty making shots. Central jumped out to a 14-4 lead with 1:45 left in the first, and then scored only four points in the next 12 minutes of game-time. Greenwood took a while to take advantage, before grabbing a 19-18 lead after scoring five straight to start the third quarter. A Dragon three ended the run and the Gators never led again, frequently trailing by between 8-12 points in the second half. They whittled it down to four at 52-48 with just over a minute remaining, but a pair of Tay Smith threes pushed it back to ten, and that was that. It gave Warren Central their first outright #1 seed in six years, and pushed them back to our #1 for the first time since December. Greenwood would have needed some luck plus the win over Warren Central to grab the #1 seed, but with that loss, Warren East in 2013 (beneficiaries of a three-way tie that broke for them) remains the only team besides Warren Central or Bowling Green to be the #1 seed since it began in the 14th District in 1999. -Mason Shirley had a career week in an overtime week for the Patriots. Following that thriller against Glasgow, they needed two overtimes to knock off Metcalfe County. Shirley posted a double double in that one, with a new career high of 39 points to go with 11 rebounds. His 39 was just three shy of the school record. It's not been quite as good a year from Shirley as was expected after his breakout sophomore campaign a season ago, but those two games this week raised his scoring average by two full points, and they'll look to build some momentum going into a home district tournament meeting with Glasgow. They had won four in a row prior to dropping a matchup at Logan County on Saturday. -Logan County moved to 23-3 by knocking off Greenwood on Tuesday 75-66 and AC/S 77-49 on Saturday. Though they still have a matchup with Cumberland County, realistically, the matchup with Greenwood was their last hurdle between them and a perfect region record. With wins over Barren County and Greenwood under their belt, it adds some legitimacy to that record, despite not playing Warren Central or Bowling Green this season. They're 13-0 in region play, 13-1 at home, and carry a 19 game winning streak. If they clear Ohio County on Tuesday, they will almost certainly enter the region tournament in a few weeks on a 23 game winning streak and with their best record overall since 1984. -Bowling Green pushed their winning streak against Warren East to 52 with a 74-47 win on Friday. The stat is so large it literally numbs you to how impressive it is. FIFTY-TWO. The Raiders haven't beaten Bowling Green in the entire seeded era of the 14th District. They haven't been within single digits of the Purples in six years, and haven't lost by less than five in eight. With the win, Bowling Green closed their regular season region slate at 11-2 in region play, 7-2 against District 14 teams (with an extra win over Greenwood coming in their Christmas tournament). They have a layup on Tuesday in hosting Hopkinsville, before a daunting trip to Ballard on Friday. -Not much else of note happened during the week, as we've touched on the games that decided postseason seeding. The region now has four teams with 20+ wins with a week to go. Barren County should join them as soon as Tuesday, but it will be a longshot for anyone else to be added. Greenwood is the next highest total at 15 - they will need multiple postseason wins to reach the threshold. They are seeking their first 20-win season since 2011/12. -Both Greenwood and South Warren have endured a difficult stretch against a challenging schedule. Greenwood is now just 3-6 in their last nine games, with four losses against the #1, #3, and #4 teams in our rankings. South Warren is 3-7 in their last ten games, dropping a pair of games against Warren Central, and falling to Bowling Green, Greenwood, and Franklin-Simpson in-region as well. Both teams remain dangerous, but both are also in serious need of some momentum going into tough postseason games. The Spartans have the tougher schedule this week, and will need to win both to guarantee themselves their second winning record in the past seven seasons, though in all likelihood a split would do it given they'll be favored over Warren East in their first postseason game. If they can reach 17 wins, it would be the second highest total in program history.

1) Bowling Green (19-4) - 1/28 84-57 W at #7 Franklin-Simpson, 1/31 55-61 L at #2 Warren Central, 2/1 79-65 W #11 Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 2/4 at #5 South Warren, 2/7 vs. John Hardin 2) Warren Central (15-6) - 1/28 79-74 W at #5 South Warren, 1/31 61-55 W #1 Bowling Green Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 2/3 at Christian County, 2/5 vs. Hopkinsville, 2/7 vs. #14 Warren East, 2/8 vs. Lafayette Jefferson (IN) 3) Logan County (19-3) - 1/28 50-49 W #6 Barren County, 1/31 82-54 W at #17 Russellville, 2/1 72-61 W #9 Glasgow Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 2/4 at McLean County, 2/7 at #16 Todd County Central, 2/8 vs. #11 Russell County 4) Greenwood (14-9) - 1/28 72-68 W at #11 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/31 67-54 W #14 Warren East Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 2/4 vs. #6 Barren County, 2/7 vs. #5 South Warren, 2/8 vs. Bardstown (at Warren Central) 5) South Warren (13-10) - 1/28 74-79 L #2 Warren Central, 1/31 69-72 L Ohio County, 2/1 76-51 W #13 Monroe County Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 2/4 vs. #1 Bowling Green, 2/7 at #4 Greenwood 6) Barren County (16-7) - 1/27 73-58 W at Hart County, 1/28 49-50 L at #3 Logan County, 1/31 80-63 W #9 Glasgow, 2/1 73-49 W at #16 Todd County Central Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 1/27 at Hart County, 1/28 at #3 Logan County, 1/31 vs. #9 Glasgow, 2/1 at #16 Todd County Central 7) Franklin-Simpson (10-11) - 1/28 57-84 L #1 Bowling Green, 1/31 63-39 W #16 Todd County Central Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 2/4 at #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/7 vs. #17 Russellville 8) Clinton County (17-6) - 1/27 56-44 W at Campbellsville, 1/31 59-56 W at #11 Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 2/7 vs. Madison Southern, 2/8 vs. Breathitt County 9) Glasgow (9-12) - 1/28 39-62 L LaRue County, 1/31 63-80 L at #6 Barren County, 2/1 61-72 L at #3 Logan County Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 2/4 vs. #12 Monroe County 10) Allen County-Scottsville (9-12) - 1/28 68-72 L #4 Greenwood, 1/31 56-59 L #8 Clinton County, 2/1 65-79 L at #1 Bowling Green Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 2/4 vs. #7 Franklin-Simpson, 2/7 at #12 Monroe County 11) Russell County (10-12) - 1/27 56-46 W at #15 Cumberland County, 1/31 78-56 W Casey County Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 2/4 vs. #13 Metcalfe County, 2/7 vs. Breathitt County, 2/8 at #3 Logan County 12) Monroe County (9-12) - 1/27 67-62 OT W #10 Metcalfe County, 1/31 70-61 W Adair County, 2/1 51-76 L at #5 South Warren Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 2/4 at #9 Glasgow, 2/7 vs. #10 Allen County-Scottsville 13) Metcalfe County (13-10) - 1/27 62-67 OT L at #13 Monroe County, 1/31 51-79 L #15 Cumberland County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 2/4 at #11 Russell County, 2/7 at Casey County 14) Warren East (3-16) - 1/31 54-67 L at #4 Greenwood, 2/1 36-70 L at Marshall County Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 2/4 at #17 Russellville, 2/7 at #2 Warren Central 15) Cumberland County (6-16) - 1/27 46-56 L #12 Russell County, 1/28 63-60 W at #16 Todd County Central, 1/31 79-51 W at #10 Metcalfe County Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 2/6 vs. Caverna 16) Todd County Central (4-17) - 1/28 60-63 L #15 Cumberland County, 1/31 39-63 L at #7 Franklin-Simpson, 2/1 49-73 L #6 Barren County Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 2/4 at Montgomery Central (TN), 2/7 vs. #3 Logan County 17) Russellville (6-13) - 1/28 58-53 W at Fort Campbell, 1/31 54-82 L at #3 Logan County, 2/1 48-58 L Caverna (at Adair County) Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 2/4 vs. #14 Warren East, 2/7 at #7 Franklin-Simpson Notes -It was right around the time that Bowling Green was finishing their 12-0 run to take their largest lead of the game against Warren Central in the first half that I made my decision that even if the Dragons came back, I was keeping Bowling Green as the top team in the rankings. It was the end of a 15 game win streak, but Bowling Green remains the team with the more impressive resume and the more impressive win in the two games between the two. The first half took a bit different route to Bowling Green getting a big run (threes), but at halftime, the game was eerily similar to how the first one played out. They couldn't hold the win, but it was impressive enough to keep them at the top. -That being said, that was a critical win for Warren Central. They needed the confidence boost, because at halftime, it sure was beginning to feel like they just simply weren't on the same level as Bowling Green. Few teams are, the way Bowling Green shot early. Bowling Green is a team that wants to get to the rim and finish in close. That has been their identity for years. IMO the goal in any game is to make them beat you from the outside. Well, they shot 4/5 from three in the first quarter and 6/11 for the first half - they were beating them from the outside. When you saw that they were only 5/14 from inside the arc (they shot 75% inside the first game), then you start to get a picture of how things might go wrong. Sure enough, they were just 1/5 from three in the second half, and while the percentage improved from two (6/14), it wasn't enough. It was a better defensive effort for Central this time, and Bowling Green was held to only seven points in the fourth quarter. Dre Boyd had a performance for the ages in the third quarter, dropping twenty points to close the deficit for Central. The Kobe Brents' three were the only points in the quarter for the Dragons that didn't come from Boyd. -The fallout from the game means that Warren Central has the inside track to the outright #1 in the district. All they have to do is beat Warren East and Greenwood to clinch. If they were to lose to Greenwood, depending on how the other games played out, it may be a three way tie at the top between those two and Bowling Green. -With Bowling Green's loss, the best record in the region and the longest winning streak belongs to Logan County. The Cougars have won 15 in a row, and only a ten point loss to Eastern has set them back in their last twenty games. Their 19-3 record is the best overall in the region, and they remain the only unbeaten team in region play, moving to 11-0 with three region wins during the week. Their 50-49 win over Barren County to open the week was a close shave, but made impressive when you understand that the team is without junior Rooster Woodard, one of the region's top players and their leading scorer and rebounder prior to suffering an injury. Nyekan missed a shot at the buzzer that would have given the Trojans the win, but Logan County survived. -The 16th District continues to be inexplicable, as Cumberland County dropped the house on Metcalfe County, winning by a 79-51 margin in a game that set the postseason pairings in the district in stone. Despite having the second best overall record in the district and winning the region's All "A" Classic tournament, Metcalfe County is officially 0-5 in the district and locked into the 4 seed. They will take on top seed Clinton County, who had a perfect 6-0 record in the official standings this season, but did fall to that same Metcalfe County team in the All "A". Russell County and Cumberland County will meet, having split their regular season matchups. -Logan County's win over Russellville made their #1 seed in the postseason official, while Franklin-Simpson locked into the 2 seed. Todd County Central needs a win and a Russellville loss to clinch the 3 seed. They play Logan County on the 7th while Russellville plays Franklin-Simpson that same night, while the two teams then meet on the 14th. -Barren County's 17 point win over hobbled Glasgow finished their district slate at 5-1, clinching at least a tie for the district's top spot. Glasgow is 3-1, and must beat both Monroe County on the 4th and Allen County-Scottsville on the 10th to prevent Barren County from getting the top spot outright. A win in either of those games will clinch at least the 2 seed for Glasgow. The Scotties remain without Jaden Franklin, who has been out for weeks now. Franklin is the team's second leading scorer and leading rebounder. The Scotties have lost all three games in his absence, as part of a four game losing streak. No word has been given on his long-term prognosis.

DragonFire trying to figure out how to rank these teams 1) Warren Central (4-1) - 12/16 48-49 L #3 Glasgow, 12/19 71-59 W at #9 Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 12/27 vs. Lewis County (at Ashland), 12/28 vs. TBA (at Ashland), 12/29 vs. TBA (at Ashland) 2) Greenwood (5-3) - 12/17 54-42 W #2 Bowling Green, 12/20 73-52 W at #5 South Warren, 12/21 58-55 W North Hardin (at South Warren) Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 12/23 at #11 Franklin-Simpson, 12/26 vs. #4 Glasgow (at Bowling Green), 12/27 vs. TBA (at Bowling Green), 12/28 vs. TBA (at Bowling Green) 3) Bowling Green (4-3) - 12/17 42-54 L at #8 Greenwood, 12/21 66-51 W Christian County (at South Warren) Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 12/26 vs. North Hardin, 12/27 vs. TBA, 12/28 vs. TBA 4) Glasgow (4-6) - 12/16 49-48 W at #1 Warren Central, 12/20 60-71 L Manual (at PRP), 12/21 61-76 L DeSales (at PRP), 56-55 W Paintsville (at PRP), 12/22 64-73 L Owensboro (at PRP) Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 12/26 vs. Greenwood (at Bowling Green), 12/27 vs. TBA (at Bowling Green), 12/28 vs. TBA (at Bowling Green) 5) Logan County (5-3) - 12/17 78-37 W Apollo, 12/20 84-47 W Taylor County (at Clinton County), 12/21 61-71 L Eastern (at Clinton County), 12/22 65-39 W Hopkins County Central, 12/22 65-56 W at #10 Clinton County Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 12/27 vs. Daviess County, 12/28 vs. TBA, 12/29 vs. TBA 6) South Warren (6-2) - 12/16 67-51 W at #15 Todd County Central, 12/20 52-73 L #8 Greenwood, 12/21 81-53 W Apollo Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 12/26 vs. Owensboro (at Bowling Green), 12/27 vs. TBA (at Bowling Green), 12/28 vs. TBA (at Bowling Green) 7) Barren County (6-2) - 12/16 81-51 W at Edmonson County, 12/17 74-40 W Caverna, 12/20 61-46 W at #7 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/21 65-35 W Meade County (at South Warren) Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 12/27 vs. Bell County (at South Laurel), 12/28 vs. TBA (at South Laurel), 12/29 vs. TBA (at South Laurel) 8) Clinton County (8-2) - 12/17 67-54 W #16 Cumberland County, 12/20 54-48 W Taylor County, 12/21 46-32 W Hopkins County Central, 12/21 61-59 W Eastern, 12/22 56-65 L #4 Logan County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 12/27 vs. Grayson County (at Logan County), 12/28 vs. TBA (at Logan County), 12/29 vs. TBA (at Logan County) 9) Russell County (5-3) - 12/16 57-54 W at #12 Metcalfe County, 12/19 73-62 2OT W Claiborne (TN) (at Gatlinburg-Pittman), 12/20 70-74 OT L at Gatlinburg-Pittman (TN), 12/21 58-46 W Buckhorn Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 12/27 vs. Owen County (at South Laurel), 12/28 vs. TBA (at South Laurel), 12/29 vs. TBA (at South Laurel) 10) Allen County-Scottsville (5-4) - 12/17 65-62 W at #17 Warren East, 12/20 46-61 L #6 Barren County, 12/21 37-74 L St. Xavier (at Warren East), 12/21 69-30 W #16 Cumberland County (at Warren East) Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 12/23 vs. TBA (at Warren East), 12/27 at Hancock County 11) Franklin-Simpson (2-4) - 12/16 64-62 W at #17 Warren East, 12/19 59-71 L #1 Warren Central Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 12/23 vs. #2 Greenwood, 12/26 vs. TBA (at Bowling Green), 12/27 vs. TBA (at Bowling Green), 12/28 vs. TBA (at Bowling Green) 12) Metcalfe County (5-4) - 12/16 54-57 L #11 Russell County, 12/17 80-72 W Hart County, 12/19 93-86 2OT W at Edmonson County, 12/20 64-74 L Thomas Nelson (at Edmonson County), 12/21 62-60 W Green County (at Edmonson County) Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 12/26 vs. Breathitt County (at Williamstown), 12/27 vs. TBA (at Williamstown), 12/28 vs. TBA (at Williamstown) 13) Monroe County (2-7) - 12/19 64-77 L Cordia (at Berea), 12/20 78-64 W Bluegrass United (at Berea), 12/21 67-70 L Menifee County (at Berea) Previous Rank: 13 This Week: No games scheduled 14) Russellville (3-3) - 12/17 62-68 L Butler County, 12/20 41-79 L at Caldwell County Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 12/27 vs. Beth Haven, 12/28 vs. TBA, 12/29 vs. TBA 15) Todd County Central (2-6) - 12/16 51-67 L #5 South Warren, 12/17 49-54 L at Caldwell County, 12/20 41-55 L Owensboro Catholic (at Butler County), 12/21 35-71 L Murray (at Butler County), 12/21 62-68 L at Butler County Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 12/27 at Ohio County, 12/27 vs. Henderson County (at Ohio County), 12/28 vs. Edmonson County (at Ohio County) 16) Warren East (1-7) - 12/16 62-64 L #9 Franklin-Simpson, 12/17 62-65 L #7 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/21 85-60 W Caverna, 12/21 53-80 L Ohio County Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 12/23 vs. TBA, 12/28 vs. Meade County 17) Cumberland County (1-7) - 12/17 54-67 L at #10 Clinton County, 12/21 30-69 L #7 Allen County-Scottsville (at Warren East), 12/21 43-58 L St. Xavier (at Warren East) Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 12/23 vs. Caverna (at Warren East), 12/27 vs. TBA (at Russellville), 12/27 vs. Murray (at Russellville) Notes -Holy cow what an unsatisfying endeavor it was trying to decide how I wanted to rank these teams this week. There are now only two teams that are undefeated in region play. One is Russellville, who hasn't been beaten in region play because they have not yet played a game in the region. The other is Logan County, at just 2-0 inside the region, and 3-3 outside it. With that much chaos, there really wasn't a good, iron clad way to rate everyone. -I believe you saw about as bad a game as Warren Central can play when they hosted Glasgow on Monday. The Dragons are shooting 45.5% from three in their four wins, averaging 11.5 makes per game, and have an effective field goal percentage of 57.8% overall in those games. Against Glasgow, that dipped to 27.8% from three on 5/18 shooting and just 35.2 effective field goal percentage. They shot 32.6% from two, 27.8% from three, and 35.7% from the foul line. They lost by one. And they lost by one on a finger roll that refused to crawl over the rim at the buzzer. Glasgow deserves a lot of credit for their play, including perimeter defense, knocking down free throws, and the way they were able to battle back after blowing a lead, but it is hard to imagine that Central shoots that poorly again and the fact remains that as atrocious as they were, they were literally that close to winning anyway. I've got bias, but I believe if that game were played again tomorrow, the Dragons win comfortably. Still, it was a signature win for Glasgow, which won at Warren Central for the first time since 1985, and first time anywhere since 2006. -I probably would have made the same argument for keeping Bowling Green #2 if not for what Greenwood has done otherwise. Unlike Glasgow, which currently has a losing record, Greenwood has played very well outside of a week that now appears even more inexplicable. Greenwood knocked off BG by double digits and demolished South Warren. They throttled Glasgow earlier this season. If they hadn't been basically inexplicable against Russell County and Allen County-Scottsville, they'd be my clear #1. Those other games are why I elevated them above Bowling Green while I did not do the same for Glasgow over Central, along with the margin. That win snapped a 16 game losing streak for the Gators against the Purples. -The win over South Warren pushed Greenwood to 2-0 in the district for the first time since 2011/12 when they finished as co-district champions of the regular season, but that 2-0 start featured both wins over South Warren. It's their first 2-0 start in the district since 06/07 with one of those wins coming over Bowling Green. It's a crucial start as they pursue a region title. They have never been a #1 seed in the 14th District tournament, and historically that is a direct path to the region. -Barren County is also out to a 2-0 start in district play after winning by 15 at Allen County-Scottsville. Aden Nyekan and Will Bandy are both averaging over 14 PPG for the Trojans, whose current four game winning streak is their longest since winning 11 in a row in the 2017/18 season. They play in a holiday tournament at South Laurel this week, ahead of a very big in-region week to start the new year when they visit rival Glasgow. -Bowling Green was 1/16 from three and 5/9 from the foul line against Greenwood. They shoot just over 39% from three otherwise. I believe they are a better team than they showed that day. Several local teams are in the Bowling Green Christmas tournament, so perhaps they'll get a chance to prove it much sooner than later. One of those teams - Greenwood. -Logan County dropped a game to Eastern, but their tiebreakers put them into the title game of Clinton County's holiday tournament, knocking off the hosts by 9 today to take home the title. The Cougars do a very poor job of reporting stats, so we only have them from their first three games, but it appears a big reason for their success is more balance than expected in their scoring. Jose Nazario and Jay Hardison join Anthony Woodard in providing double digit scoring thus far, a key element for the team as Woodard is considered a superstar in the region. -Russell County already has five wins after notching only seven in the entire season a year ago. They've already avenged their loss in the district tournament at Metcalfe County a season ago, have knocked off Greenwood and played Glasgow to a two point result. It's safe to say the results have been much more positive this go around for the Lakers.

1) Bowling Green (20-5) - 2/4 72-64 W at #5 South Warren, 2/7 51-66 L John Hardin Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 2/11 at Owensboro, 2/14 vs. #14 Warren East 2) Warren Central (19-6) - 2/3 56-35 W at Christian County, 2/5 79-38 W Hopkinsville, 2/7 82-35 W #14 Warren East, 2/8 67-64 W Lafayette Jefferson (IN) Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 2/14 vs. #5 Greenwood 3) Logan County (21-3) - 2/4 79-56 W at McLean County, 2/8 81-45 W at #16 Todd County Central Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 2/11 vs. #5 Greenwood, 2/15 vs. #10 Allen County-Scottsville 4) Barren County (17-8) - 2/4 74-69 W #4 Greenwood, 2/7 48-67 L Central Hardin Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 2/11 vs. #11 Russell County, 2/14 at #15 Cumberland County 5) Greenwood (15-11) - 2/4 69-74 L #6 Barren County, 2/7 65-60 W #5 South Warren, 2/8 61-68 L Bardstown (at Warren Central) Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 2/11 at #3 Logan County, 2/14 at #2 Warren Central 6) South Warren (13-12) - 2/4 64-72 L #1 Bowling Green, 2/7 60-65 L at #4 Greenwood Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 2/11 at #14 Warren East, 2/13 vs. #8 Franklin-Simpson 7) Clinton County (18-6) - 2/8 66-44 W Breathitt County Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 2/11 at McCreary Central, 2/14 at #12 Monroe County 8) Franklin-Simpson (11-12) - 2/4 55-56 L at #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/7 78-49 W #17 Russellville Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 2/10 at Butler County, 2/13 at #6 South Warren 9) Glasgow (10-12) - 2/4 63-61 W #12 Monroe County Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 2/10 vs. #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/11 at #13 Metcalfe County, 2/14 at Caverna 10) Allen County-Scottsville (11-12) - 2/4 56-55 W #7 Franklin-Simpson, 2/7 66-56 W at #12 Monroe County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 2/10 at #9 Glasgow, 2/13 vs. Metcalfe County 11) Russell County (11-13) - 2/4 67-46 W #13 Metcalfe County, 2/7 60-64 L Breathitt County Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 2/11 at #4 Barren County, 2/14 vs. Adair County, 2/15 vs. Jackson County 12) Monroe County (9-14) - 2/4 61-63 L at #9 Glasgow, 2/7 56-66 L #10 Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 2/11 vs. #15 Cumberland County, 2/14 vs. #7 Clinton County 13) Metcalfe County (13-11) - 2/4 46-67 L at #11 Russell County Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 2/11 vs. #9 Glasgow, 2/13 at #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/15 vs. #17 Russellville 14) Warren East (4-17) - 2/4 71-70 W at #17 Russellville, 2/7 35-82 L at #2 Warren Central Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 2/11 vs. #6 South Warren, 2/14 at #1 Bowling Green 15) Cumberland County (6-16) - No games Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 2/11 at #12 Monroe County, 2/14 vs. #4 Barren County 16) Todd County Central (5-18) - 2/4 47-41 W at Montgomery Central (TN), 2/8 45-81 L #3 Logan County Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 2/14 at #17 Russellville 17) Russellville (6-15) - 2/4 70-71 L #14 Warren East, 2/7 49-78 L at #7 Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 2/11 vs. Edmonson County, 2/14 vs. #16 Todd County Central, 2/15 at #13 Metcalfe County Notes -It was a bit more difficult for me to leave the status quo at the top two this week. Bowling Green and Warren Central now sport almost identical records (20-5 to 19-6). Both have similar losses to quality teams, with Bowling Green having three of their five losses to BGP top-20 teams and Warren Central having four of their six in the same category (one is BG themselves). Central has the worst loss (Glasgow), but now has the best win, that coming on Saturday against Lafayette Jefferson (IN), a team that is rated 11th in all of Indiana by MaxPreps and the Sagarin ratings. If both teams hold serve this week, then likely I will move Warren Central ahead next week. But let's see what Greenwood does with the Dragons. The two teams meet at Warren Central, where the Dragons have beaten them two straight years after losing three straight to them in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. Those are the only three Gator wins at Warren Central in the past 20 years. -Speaking of that, a crowded scenario at the top of District 14 has played out. South Warren did their best to muddy the waters this week, rallying from 27 down against Bowling Green to draw within four with the ball before falling by eight, and then holding a four point lead at Greenwood late before allowing the Gators to score the final nine of the game to fall by five. We are left with Warren Central alone at the top with a 6-1 district record, and both Bowling Green and Greenwood at 5-2 apiece (in official standings). Bowling Green will meet Warren East at the end of the week, which, that's a win, let's just be honest. That means that if Greenwood were to win at Warren Central, all three teams would be 6-2 in the district, and we'd go to a three-way tiebreak, where any of the three teams could end up matched with one of the others in the 2/3 game. You'd hear the cheers of the region if Bowling Green and Warren Central were matched in the district semifinals. -Logan County keeps humming along, and they have extended their winning streak to 17 games, second only to Ashland's unbeaten record for longest streak in Kentucky. It's the longest win streak for Logan County in the Riherds scoreboard era (since 1998), and my guess is that it's their longest since they won the state title in 1984 - if it wasn't then, it's their longest ever. They completed their district slate at a perfect 6-0, and their 7 point win over Franklin-Simpson in December was their only district game that was even close. There is no team in the region as much a lock for the region tournament. In all likelihood, their matchup with #5 Greenwood on Tuesday and a road trip to Ohio County on February 18th are the only barriers to them taking this win streak into the postseason. -Barren County's week ended with a thud on Friday when they dropped a 19 point decision at Central Hardin, but prior to that, they had run off 10 wins in 11 games, with the lone loss coming at Logan County by a single point. They have quietly rounded into shape the last month, beginning with close calls with a healthier Glasgow and Bowling Green right before that 11 game stretch. The Trojans were 7-6 on January 8th, and now with a run through the 16th District coming up, look like they will enter the postseason with 20 wins at least. Aden Nyekan has pushed his average up to 16.8 PPG, and dropped 27 in a road win over Greenwood on Tuesday, going 13/22 from the field. The sophomore is one of the best of the best in the region. -Glasgow remains an intriguing team. They're still without Jaden Franklin, but Tucker Kirkpatrick has been back on the floor, helping the Scotties end their four game skid in staying alive for the top seed in the 15th District with a 63-61 win over Monroe County. They have seen their record dip under .500 thanks to a 2-5 stretch, but if they were to get fully healthy, they could be very dangerous. Nick Sorrell had 19 points in the win over Monroe County, right at his 19.1 PPG average for the season. -Allen County-Scottsville locked themselves into the 3 seed in the 15th District with a ten point win over Monroe County, pushing the Falcons to an 0-6 slate in-district for the season, and locking them into the 4 spot. AC/S can pull Glasgow into the 2/3 game with them by winning on the road on Monday. If the Scotties win, then there will be a coin flip for the 1 seed.

1) Bowling Green (17-3) - 1/20 79-62 W #2 Warren Central, 1/21 64-50 W Christian County, 1/24 70-41 W at #14 Warren East Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 1/28 at #7 Franklin-Simpson, 1/31 at #2 Warren Central 2) Warren Central (13-6) - 1/20 62-79 L at #1 Bowling Green, 1/21 61-45 W #5 South Warren, 1/24 70-63 OT W at #3 Greenwood Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 1/28 at #5 South Warren, 1/31 vs. #1 Bowling Green 3) Logan County (16-3) - 1/21 76-43 W #14 Warren East, 1/24 65-51 W at #7 Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 1/28 vs. #6 Barren County, 1/31 at #17 Russellville, 2/1 vs. #9 Glasgow 4) Greenwood (12-9) - 1/21 54-51 W #7 Franklin-Simpson, 1/24 63-70 OT L #2 Warren Central, 1/25 52-76 L LaRue County (at John Hardin) Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 1/28 at #11 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/31 vs. #14 Warren East 5) South Warren (12-8) - 1/21 45-61 L at #2 Warren Central, 1/24 77-46 W at #12 Russell County Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 1/28 vs. #2 Warren Central, 1/31 vs. Ohio County, 2/1 vs. #13 Monroe County 6) Barren County (13-6) - 1/20 47-45 W at #13 Monroe County, 1/21 63-61 W Ohio County, 1/24 57-45 W #11 Allen County-Scottsville, 1/25 77-50 W at #7 Franklin-Simpson Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 1/27 at Hart County, 1/28 at #3 Logan County, 1/31 vs. #9 Glasgow, 2/1 at #16 Todd County Central 7) Franklin-Simpson (9-10) - 1/21 51-54 L at #3 Greenwood, 1/24 51-65 L #4 Logan County, 1/25 50-77 L #6 Barren County Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 1/28 vs. #1 Bowling Green, 1/31 vs. #16 Todd County Central 8) Clinton County (15-6) - 1/21 60-41 W #12 Russell County Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 1/27 at Campbellsville, 1/31 at #11 Allen County-Scottsville, 2/1 vs. Jackson County 9) Glasgow (9-9) - No games Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 1/28 vs. LaRue County, 1/31 at #6 Barren County, 2/1 at #3 Logan County 10) Metcalfe County (13-8) - 1/23 48-47 W Louisville Holy Cross (at Eastern Kentucky University), 1/24 55-67 L Murray Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 1/27 at #13 Monroe County, 1/31 vs. #15 Cumberland County 11) Allen County-Scottsville (9-9) - 1/24 45-57 L at #6 Barren County Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 1/28 vs. #4 Greenwood, 1/31 vs. #8 Clinton County, 2/1 at #1 Bowling Green 12) Russell County (8-12) - 1/21 41-60 L at #8 Clinton County, 1/24 46-77 L #5 South Warren, 1/25 43-79 L at Pulaski County Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 1/27 at #15 Cumberland County, 1/31 vs. Casey County 13) Monroe County (7-11) - 1/20 45-47 L #6 Barren County, 1/24 50-84 L Taylor County Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 1/27 vs. #10 Metcalfe County, 1/31 vs. Adair County, 2/1 at #5 South Warren 14) Warren East (3-14) - 1/21 43-76 L at #5 Logan County, 1/24 41-70 L #1 Bowling Green, 1/25 59-50 W #15 Cumberland County Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 1/31 at #4 Greenwood, 2/1 at Marshall County 15) Cumberland County (4-15) - 1/24 61-64 L Hart County, 1/25 50-59 L at #14 Warren East Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 1/27 vs. #12 Russell County, 1/28 at #16 Todd County Central, 1/31 at #10 Metcalfe County, 2/1 at McCreary Central 16) Todd County Central (4-14) - 1/21 65-62 W #16 Russellville Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 1/28 vs. #15 Cumberland County, 1/31 at #7 Franklin-Simpson, 2/1 vs. #6 Barren County 17) Russellville (5-11) - 1/21 62-65 L at #17 Todd County Central, 1/24 60-67 L at Edmonson County Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 1/28 at Fort Campbell, 1/31 at #3 Logan County, 2/1 vs. Caverna (at Adair County) Notes -The early season struggles for Bowling Green seem a distant memory now. Even as recently as their matchup with Barren County on January 7th, there were signs of weakness. But the Purples are now the owners of a 14 game winning streak, third longest in the state. Since the Barren County game, they have not scored less than 64 points, and have won those six games by an average of 16.8 PPG. That includes their 79-62 win over Warren Central, which marked a season high for points, and kept them in control of their own destiny for the #1 seed in District 14. The Purples shot 65.9% from the field in that game, and were 17/23 from the foul line. It cemented their status as the top team in the region, at the very least until their rematch at Warren Central this Friday. If they win that rematch with Central, then they become a virtual lock for the top spot in the district. They'd need only beat South Warren and Warren East in their final two district games. They've never lost to South Warren, and they just finished polishing off their 51st straight victory over East, this week by a 70-41 score. -The Purples have now won 19 of 20 at home, encompassing the past two seasons. It is likely that the only hurdle they have between them and a perfect season at home is their matchup with John Hardin on February 7th. -For Warren Central, the loss to Bowling Green was a gut check, the second straight in blowout fashion after getting their heads handed to them by John Hardin. They found a way to a fairly easy win against South Warren on Tuesday despite having a short bench due to illness and injury, but the jewel of the week was a critical overtime victory over Greenwood by a 70-63 score. The Dragons trailed by 8 in the fourth quarter and by six with less than two minutes left. But after starting a ghastly 3/25 from three, they finally found the touch, going 4/5 in the final six minutes of basketball, and never trailed in overtime. They too control their own destiny in District 14, needing only to win out to take the top seed. Their schedule is slightly more difficult than Bowling Green, because in addition to playing the Purples, Central still has a mid-February return date with Greenwood, albeit both coming at home. -Greenwood is a hard luck loser out of the #3 spot, dropping to #4. By almost any measure, they should have won the game against Warren Central, which would have kept them in a stronger position for chasing the top spot. Greenwood repeatedly missed free throws as they tried to close the game out, missing six of their last seven attempts. Two of those misses came from an ill Noah Stansbury, who had missed only seven free throws all year entering the contest. The last three misses came with a 58-56 lead, and that margin allowed Dre Boyd to drive the lane and draw a foul, tying the game with two free throws. Ben Carroll missed a fadeaway 18 footer at the buzzer that would have given them the win, and the rest was history. Their game against LaRue County hardly factors, as they were missing three starters with the flu in the game. -Meanwhile, it is finally time to move Logan County up. The Cougars are 16-1 after starting the year 0-2, and are the last unbeaten team in games against 4th Region opponents. They have not scored less than 65 points since their last loss on December 21st, and after a 14 point win over Franklin-Simpson, they need only a single win against Russellville or Todd County Central to clinch the top seed, or a single loss by Todd County Central. In other words, they've clinched the top spot. The team remains remarkably balanced, with four players averaging in double figures, led by Anthony Woodard's 13.3 PPG. I've mentioned this previously, but I consider it a legitimate possibility that they don't lose another game before the postseason. Their only truly daunting matchups are home games against Glasgow and Greenwood, and a road trip to Ohio County on February 18th. -Barren County had a strong week, bringing home four wins, including two District 15 wins to move them to 4-1 in district play. That sets up this week's matchup with Glasgow at Barren County as a very, very big game. Glasgow remains 3-0 in district play, but would have to win against both Monroe County and Allen County-Scottsville should they falter against Barren County, while the Trojans would be in the clubhouse with a 5-1 record. It also means that Glasgow will clinch the top spot if they can win on Friday. Barren County has won six in a row since they failed to hold on to a double digit lead against Bowling Green on January 7th. -Clinton County finished off their 6-0 district record (not counting their All "A" loss), but they'd already clinched the 16th's top spot. This week may sort out the rest. Tomorrow, Russell County will travel to Cumberland County. Russell County sports a 1-3 district record, while Cumberland County is 2-2. If Cumberland County wins, they will assure themselves of no worse than the #3 seed, staying away from Clinton County. If Russell County wins, it means that either of the two teams plus Metcalfe County could end up anywhere from 2-4. Metcalfe County will join the action as they host Cumberland County on Friday. -There aren't quite as many top tier games this week as there were last week, but several of great importance. The games this week most likely to change rankings: 1/27 #12 Russell County at #15 Cumberland County, 1/31 #1 Bowling Green at #2 Warren Central, 1/31 #9 Glasgow at #6 Barren County, 1/31 #8 Clinton County at #11 Allen County-Scottsville.

1) Warren Central (1-0) - 12/3 72-56 W Wayne County Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 12/10 vs. Owensboro, 12/14 vs. Henderson County (at Barren County) The back to back region champions opened with a win in their home opener for the fifth straight season, knocking off the always game Wayne County Cardinals by a 16 point margin. Dre Boyd fouled out but had a co-team high 18 points. Tay Smith also had 18 points, fueled by a 5/12 performance from three. 3rd Region favorite Owensboro should provide a much better opponent this week. 2) Bowling Green (1-1) - 12/3 61-69 L at Madisonville-North Hopkins, 12/7 63-46 W Bardstown (at Muhlenberg County) Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 12/10 at #4 Glasgow, 12/13 vs. South Laurel (at Jackson County), 12/14 vs. Pikeville (at Jackson County) The Purples were hampered by a significant size disadvantage in their opener against BGP-top 10 opponent Madisonville, and fell behind by as many as 16 before rallying to make a game of it. They received a couple of reinforcements on Saturday when they took on Bardstown, as football players Conner Cooper and Dez Wilson returned. The Purples weren't particularly sharp offensively in that one, but locked down everyone but Traynor, coasting to an easy win. This week they'll have a top matchup on paper with Glasgow, who they haven't lost to in 11 years. 3) Greenwood (1-1) - 12/3 70-76 L Owensboro Catholic, 12/6 85-70 W #3 Glasgow Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 12/10 at #14 Russell County, 12/12 vs. #8 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/14 at #12 Clinton County Cade Stinnett and Noah Stansbury got the Gators out to a great start to the season. They fell short in a comeback attempt against Owensboro Catholic, but Stinnett dropped 20 and Stansbury dropped 19 in that one. They reversed roles in their win over Glasgow, as Stansbury poured in 21 points and was 3/5 from behind the arc - Stinnett had 17. The Gators absolutely walloped Glasgow from the perimeter, going 10/25 from three, and were never seriously challenged. Greenwood had four players in double digits in each game, with Ben Carroll and Marc Grant joining Stinnett and Stansbury. The Gators are for real, and the teams ahead of them will surely take notice. 4) Glasgow (1-2) - 12/2 51-45 W at #12 Monroe County, 12/6 70-85 L at #4 Greenwood, 12/7 81-83 OT L at Campbellsville Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 12/10 vs. #2 Bowling Green, 12/13 at #14 Russell County The week was no positive for Glasgow. They struggled in their district win over Monroe County, and lost sharpshooter Tucker Kirkpatrick to a knee injury - one that may eliminate him for the season. That means Nick Sorrell and Jaden Franklin will have to carry even more of the load - Sorrell had 33 against Greenwood and Franklin had 22. They will desperately need a third option to emerge. They don't get a respite as they host Bowling Green on Tuesday - it will take them time to regroup. 5) South Warren (2-0) - 12/3 87-68 W #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/6 73-64 W at Barren County Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 12/10 at #11 Franklin-Simpson, 12/13 vs. #13 Warren East, 12/14 at #7 Logan County No one in the region had a better week than South Warren. We thought they could be a dark horse, but they made statements immediately. Jace Carver was relentless in the opener, with 24 points and shooting 4/9 from outside. Tayshaun Jones also posted a strong 20 point effort. The Spartans exploded for 31 points in the first quarter of that one, racing out to a 19 point lead and never leading by less than 12 after. Against Barren County, they weren't quite as dominant early, falling behind by seven in the first quarter and still down five at the half. South slowly reeled them in, taking advantage of some Trojan foul trouble to seize the lead entering the fourth quarter, and closing the game out from the foul line. It was South Warren's first win over Barren County since their inaugural season, breaking a seven game losing streak in the series. They open district play this Friday when they host Warren East, and have a nice benchmark game against Logan County on Saturday. 6) Barren County (1-1) - 12/3 85-47 W Green County, 12/6 64-73 L #8 South Warren Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 12/13 vs. #10 Monroe County, 12/14 vs. Hopkinsville The other side of the coin in that big game, the Trojans opened with a big win over Green County, as expected. Against South, Bandy had 24 points to lead the Trojans, but missed a huge portion of the third quarter along with other primary scorer Aden Nyekan, and that's where Barren County lost control of the game. Barren especially struggled on the boards in that one once those two went to the bench. Jacob Shaw has proven to be a strong addition through two games, transferring in from Glasgow Christian. The Trojans will look to rebound in district play against Monroe County on Friday. 7) Logan County (0-2) - 12/3 57-68 L Muhlenberg County, 12/7 63-67 L Bullitt East (at Campbellsville) Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 12/13 vs. #11 Franklin-Simpson, 12/14 vs. #5 South Warren It was not a strong open for the Cougars, who started last season 6-0 (or 5-1 if you count the actual result they had that was wiped by forfeit). Woodard had 24 to lead Logan County in their opening loss to Muhlenberg County, complimented by Jose Nazario's 18 points. They posted a strong effort against a Bullitt East team that had knocked off Scott County earlier in the week. They'll face the first of two crucial district contests with Franklin-Simpson before a tough back to back with a stronger than expected South Warren squad. 8) Allen County-Scottsville (0-2) - 12/3 68-87 L at #8 South Warren, 12/7 76-78 L at LaRue County Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 12/10 vs. Adair County, 12/12 at #3 Greenwood, 12/13 at #17 Cumberland County The Patriots were on the wrong side of that opening blitz against South Warren, getting as close as 12 points in the second half with five minutes remaining in the contest. Michael Smith was a perfect 7/7 from the field in the game to lead the Patriots with 17 points. Mason Shirley, widely expected to lead them in scoring this season, chipped in with 16. They had better luck in a tight loss to LaRue County as they scorched the nets for 59% shooting in the first half. The problem was that the Hawks shot 61% themselves. They trailed by 14 entering the final quarter but were right there at the end. Jax Cooper had 22 and Owen Stamper had 21 in that one. 9) Metcalfe County (2-0) - 12/3 69-61 W #11 Warren East, 12/6 58-54 W #12 Monroe County Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 12/10 at #17 Cumberland County, 12/13 vs. #12 Clinton County Dating back to last season, the Hornets are no 7-6 in their last 13 games. That may not seem like a big deal, but for a program that was 4-25 just two seasons ago, it very much is. Their opening win over Warren East snapped a seven game losing streak to the Raiders. Peyton Dial led the Hornets in that contest with 24 points, and Boston Devore chipped in 18. They followed that with their first win over old district rival Monroe County since 2011, a span of 14 straight losses. That, combined with losses by some of the other teams ranked around them, catapults them into our region top 10 for the first time ever. They have a big week ahead with two district games - especially that game against Clinton County. If the Hornets can win that one, then we can take them seriously as a real threat to win that district. 10) Monroe County (1-2) - 12/2 45-51 L #3 Glasgow, 12/3 67-59 W #7 Franklin-Simpson, 12/6 54-58 L at #13 Metcalfe County Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 12/10 at #12 Clinton County, 12/13 at #6 Barren County, 12/14 vs. Edmonson County (at Barren County) It was an up and down week for the Falcons. They shot only 30.6% from the field in their opening loss to Glasgow, which was a tight game, so a slight moral victory. They followed that with a bit of an upset over Franklin-Simpson. Grayson Rich had 19 in that one as they rebounded to shoot 48.8% overall and 6/12 from three. But the closing loss to Metcalfe County was a surprise - as mentioned they had not lost to Metcalfe County in nearly nine years. They face their rival from their old district when they visit Clinton County, but of far greater importance is their current district matchup against Barren County on Friday. 11) Franklin-Simpson (1-1) - 12/3 59-67 L at #12 Monroe County, 12/6 46-45 W at #9 Clinton County Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 12/10 vs. #5 South Warren, 12/13 at #7 Logan County Franklin-Simpson almost had a REAL bad week. Andreyous Miller was dominant in the loss to Monroe County, dropping 33 points, shooting 11 of 17 from the floor. They then visited Clinton County and trailed 38-12 with just over 2 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Suddenly, they flipped a switch and flipped the script, stunning the Bulldogs with a 34-7 run and completing the comeback when Miller scored on a putback with 4 seconds remaining. Put another way, Franklin-Simpson averaged .55 points per minute in the first 22 minutes of the game. They increased that by nearly seven times (3.4) in the last ten minutes. They won't be able to get away with that in two tough games this week, including a crucial road trip to Logan County. 12) Clinton County (2-1) - 12/2 56-46 W at Casey County, 12/6 45-46 L #7 Franklin-Simpson, 12/7 54-44 W North Hardin (at Central Hardin) Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 12/10 vs. #10 Monroe County, 12/13 at #9 Metcalfe County, 12/14 vs. #3 Greenwood That loss to Franklin really spoiled a solid week, as the Bulldogs still emerged with a winning record in their first three games. However, the scoring is clearly going to be a concern. They had only eight games out of 32 played a year ago where they failed to score more than the 56 point total that they have as a season-high through three games. They lost a lot of scoring to graduation, and at least early, it appears they are struggling to find a spark. 13) Warren East (0-2) - 12/3 61-69 L at #13 Metcalfe County, 12/6 54-58 L Daviess County Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 12/10 vs. North Hardin, 12/13 at #5 South Warren The Raiders have had documented issues with their record from January on, but they have rarely started poorly in December lately. This is just their second 0-2 start since the 2010/11 season. Ryan Carter (15.5 PPG) and Kaleb Matlock (13.5 PPG) are off to solid starts, but one area of issue that is glaring is the three point shooting. The Raiders shot 33.6% from the perimeter last season, but are just 11/38 (28.9%) from outside so far. They face district foe South Warren on Friday - they have lost 11 in a row in district play. 14) Russell County (1-1) - 12/3 50-66 L at Somerset, 12/7 60-30 W Garrard County (at Mercer County) Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 12/10 vs. #3 Greenwood, 12/13 vs. #4 Glasgow The Lakers lost 10 of their last 11 games last year, failing to reach the region tournament for the first time as a member of Region 4. Ryan Coffey (17), Briley Hadley (15), and Scott Hamm all reached double figures in their loss to Somerset, but the team had a terrible night from the field (36.5%), three (21.4%), and the line (52.9%). They face possibly the toughest region slate this week. 15) Russellville (2-0) - 12/2 57-45 W Greenbrier (TN), 12/7 56-54 W Adair County Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 12/12 at East Robertson (TN), 12/14 at McLean County New head coach Carlos Quarles is unbeaten as the top man, as his Panthers start the year 2-0. The team won only eight games all of last season and started 0-4, so already, things have improved. The Panthers moved away from their traditional scheduling practices this year, and won't play a district game until January. They'll look to solidify some momentum before tackling the important games. 16) Todd County Central (2-0) - 12/2 62-43 W Hopkins County Central, 12/6 60-57 W at Ballard Memorial Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 12/14 vs. Whitesville Trinity Similarly, Todd County Central is already off to a much better start than a season ago under returning HC Dennis Pardue, who coached the team back at the beginning of the 2000s. They won just five games a year ago, so already they have to be psyched with a 2-0 mark. That snapped a 15 game losing streak overall. They too have time to build some momentum, with no district games until January. 17) Cumberland County (0-3) - 12/3 57-69 L at Adair County, 12/6 59-70 L at Campbellsville, 12/7 58-62 L Edmonson County Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 12/10 vs. #9 Metcalfe County, 12/13 at #8 Allen County-Scottsville The news is not so positive for Cumberland County. They fell in their final six contests a season ago, and now extend that streak to nine straight losses. They'll get a chance to turn that around as they open district play on Tuesday.

Rankings 1) Warren Central (3-0) - 12/10 68-59 W Owensboro, 12/14 78-41 W Henderson County (at Barren County) Previous Rank: 1 This Week: 12/16 vs. #3 Glasgow, 12/19 at #9 Franklin-Simpson 2) Bowling Green (3-2) - 12/10 64-60 W at #4 Glasgow, 12/13 64-71 L South Laurel (at Jackson County), 12/14 62-45 W Pikeville (at Jackson County) Previous Rank: 2 This Week: 12/17 at #8 Greenwood, 12/21 vs. Christian County (at South Warren) 3) Glasgow (2-3) - 12/10 60-64 L #2 Bowling Green, 12/13 51-49 W at #14 Russell County Previous Rank: 4 This Week: 12/16 at #1 Warren Central, 12/20 vs. Manual (at PRP), 12/21 vs. DeSales (at PRP) 4) Logan County (2-2) - 12/13 64-57 W #11 Franklin-Simpson, 12/14 63-48 W #5 South Warren Previous Rank: 7 This Week: 12/17 vs. Apollo, 12/20 vs. Taylor County (at Clinton County) 5) South Warren (4-1) - 12/10 60-55 W at #11 Franklin-Simpson, 12/13 83-61 W #13 Warren East, 12/14 48-63 L at #7 Logan County Previous Rank: 5 This Week: 12/16 at #15 Todd County Central, 12/20 vs. #8 Greenwood, 12/21 vs. Apollo 6) Barren County (2-2) - 12/13 63-53 W #10 Monroe County, 12/14 59-63 L Hopkinsville Previous Rank: 6 This Week: 12/16 at Edmonson County, 12/17 vs. Caverna, 12/20 at #7 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/21 vs. Meade County (at South Warren) 7) Allen County-Scottsville (3-2) - 12/10 46-44 W Adair County, 12/12 72-63 W at #3 Greenwood, 12/13 62-51 W at #17 Cumberland County Previous Rank: 8 This Week: 12/17 at #17 Warren East, 12/20 vs. #6 Barren County, 12/21 vs. St. Xavier (at Warren East), 12/21 vs. #16 Cumberland County (at Warren East) 8) Greenwood (2-3) - 12/10 53-64 L at #14 Russell County, 12/12 53-64 L #8 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/14 60-53 W at #12 Clinton County Previous Rank: 3 This Week: 12/17 vs. #2 Bowling Green, 12/20 at #5 South Warren, 12/21 vs. North Hardin (at South Warren) 9) Franklin-Simpson (1-3) - 12/10 55-60 L #5 South Warren, 12/13 57-64 L at #7 Logan County Previous Rank: 11 This Week: 12/16 vs. #17 Warren East, 12/19 vs. #1 Warren Central 10) Clinton County (4-2) - 12/10 68-49 W #10 Monroe County, 12/13 53-49 W at #9 Metcalfe County, 12/14 53-60 L #3 Greenwood Previous Rank: 12 This Week: 12/17 vs. #16 Cumberland County, 12/20 vs. Taylor County, 12/21 vs. Hopkins County Central, 12/21 vs. Eastern 11) Russell County (2-2) - 12/10 64-53 W #3 Greenwood, 12/13 49-51 L #4 Glasgow Previous Rank: 14 This Week: 12/16 at #12 Metcalfe County, 12/19 vs. TBA (at Gatlinburg-Pittman) 12) Metcalfe County (2-2) - 12/10 83-86 OT L at #17 Cumberland County, 12/13 49-53 L #12 Clinton County Previous Rank: 9 This Week: 12/16 vs. #11 Russell County, 12/17 vs. Hart County, 12/19 at Edmonson County, 12/20 vs. Thomas Nelson (at Edmonson County), 12/21 vs. Green County (at Edmonson County) 13) Monroe County (1-5) - 12/10 49-68 L at #12 Clinton County, 12/13 53-63 L at #6 Barren County, 12/14 65-75 L Edmonson County (at Barren County) Previous Rank: 10 This Week: 12/19 vs. Cordia (at Berea) 14) Russellville (3-1) - 12/12 68-67 W at East Robertson (TN), 12/14 44-62 L at McLean County Previous Rank: 15 This Week: 12/17 vs. Butler County, 12/20 at Caldwell County 15) Todd County Central (2-1) - 12/14 56-57 L Whitesville Trinity Previous Rank: 16 This Week: 12/16 vs. #5 South Warren, 12/17 at Caldwell County, 12/20 vs. Owensboro Catholic (at Butler County), 12/21 vs. Murray (at Butler County), 12/21 at Butler County 16) Cumberland County (1-4) - 12/10 86-83 OT W #9 Metcalfe County, 12/13 51-62 L at #8 Allen County-Scottsville Previous Rank: 17 This Week: 12/17 at #10 Clinton County, 12/21 vs. #7 Allen County-Scottsville (at Warren East), 12/21 vs. St. Xavier (at Warren East) 17) Warren East (0-4) - 12/10 44-75 L North Hardin, 12/13 61-83 L at #5 South Warren Previous Rank: 13 This Week: 12/16 vs. #9 Franklin-Simpson, 12/17 vs. #7 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/21 vs. Caverna, 12/21 vs. Ohio County Notes -It's official: The 4th Region is a little crazy. Several of these results were out of nowhere. Russell County beats Greenwood? Cumberland County beats Metcalfe County? Even South Warren losing to Logan County was a little surprising, especially the margin. Through two weeks, the only clear things seem to be that Warren Central and Bowling Green are at the top, and that below them just about anything can happen. We'll find out tomorrow when Warren Central hosts Glasgow if we should expand that to the top as well. -Warren Central is now the last unbeaten team in the region after South Warren was knocked off by 15 against Logan County. -South Warren had equaled the best start in school history at 4-0. In failing to get to 5-0, they still have not been five games over .500 at any point in a season since their first year. -Glasgow was missing two starters when they took on Bowling Green (counting Kirkpatrick who may be out the whole season), so to lose by only four, even if it included a decent comeback, was a bit of a moral victory. Nearly losing to Russell County later that same week was..... odd. -Logan County seized control of the 13th district with their win over Franklin. Then again, the Cougars won the early round last season as well before Franklin-Simpson won the January rematch. -I expect it will eventually be better for Barren County, but right now they're doing the exact thing they did a season ago, winning a game, losing the next, always balancing. The Trojans were never two games above or below .500 last year, and they are 19-19 in their last 38 games. -I don't know what to make of Greenwood. They absolutely crushed Glasgow in their game last week, and then completely flatlined against Russell County, including going 4/14 from the foul line. They went 11/13 from the charity stripe when they faced ACS, but lost that one too when they shot 39.3% from the field. They play Bowling Green on Tuesday - they have lost 16 straight and 25 of 26 against their rivals. They need to find the game that led them to a win over Glasgow. -That Cumberland County result was extremely surprising. The Panthers hit 7/14 from three and 29/53 from the field in the OT win, led by Dawson Smith's 28 points. It was the first district win for Cumberland County in two seasons, and ended a 7-51 stretch for the team, including nine straight losses. -This week's schedule highlights are #3 Glasgow at #1 Warren Central (12/16), #2 Bowling Green at #8 Greenwood (12/17), #8 Greenwood at #5 South Warren (12/20), and #6 Barren County at #7 Allen County-Scottsville.

A quick snapshot of the matchups in the 4th Region tournament: Game 1: March 3rd – Bowling Green (14th District Champions) vs. Allen County-Scottsville (15th District Runners-Up) -Series at Region: Bowling Green leads 1-0 -Last Region Meeting: Bowling Green 61 Allen County-Scottsville 54 – 1984 4th Region Quarterfinals Bowling Green is into the region tournament yet again, securing their seventh consecutive region tournament appearance – all of them via a district championship. This time they knocked off top seed Warren Central by a 57-51 result, tying their district record for most consecutive district titles, previously set from 1939-1945. They weren’t particularly sharp offensively during that contest, shooting only 43.4% from the field, but defensively, they forced the Dragons into just a 36.2% night. It was the fewest total points Bowling Green allowed to a team not named Warren East in over a month. That earned them the right to take on a familiar opponent, albeit one they don’t see at region often. It’s actually hard to believe that this is just the second meeting at region between the Purples and Allen County-Scottsville, with the last coming back in 1984. Bowling Green has won 13 straight against the Patriots overall, last losing during the 06/07 season. They carry a 37-11 all-time mark against AC/S. Bowling Green won 79-65 when the two teams met at the start of February, getting an extremely balanced attack, with five players in double digits and seven players scoring between 8 and 15 points. They also went 10/18 from three, leaning on that more than normal. The Purples have the second-best record in the region at 24-7. They are favored in this game, but they also probably got as difficult a draw as was available to them, matching with arguably the most dangerous district runner-up they could, and drawing Logan County on their side. The Patriots could not ride recent momentum to a 15th District title, but they have definitely been on an uptick since that meeting with Bowling Green on February 1st. The team has gone 6-3 since, with their only losses coming to Logan County, Warren Central, and Barren County – all teams at the upper echelon of the region. Much of it has been on the back of Mason Shirley. The junior willed the Patriots to two victories over Glasgow, dropping 35 on the road in a mid-February matchup to pull them into a district tournament matchup, and then scoring 25 of Allen County’s 51-point total in a 51-48 district semifinal matchup to give them a berth in the region tournament. They were rewarded with what is arguably the worst draw of any team in the tournament, pulling the top-rated district champion out of the gate, and if they pull that upset, the #2 rated district champion likely waiting in the semifinals. It’s not a positive sign for a program seeking its first region tournament win since 2005, falling in seven straight contests. Incredibly, they haven’t drawn a 14th District team since 2006 – their 1995 win over Warren Central in the region quarterfinals is their only victory over a 14th District team in ten all-time meetings with a rep from that district. Game 2: March 3rd – Logan County (13th District Champions) vs. Cumberland County (16th District Runners-Up) -Series at Region: First Meeting Despite playing in the region together for 38 years, this will be the first region tournament meeting between these two programs. The closest you’d get to a previous meeting was a 1982 64-57 victory by Auburn in the region quarterfinals. Logan County comes into the game as the holders of the second longest current winning streak in the state, and the second longest winning streak in the history of the Cougar program. Logan County has won 23 in a row since falling to Eastern by a 71-61 score on December 21st. They remain the only region team to not drop a game against the rest of the 4th Region, and they outlasted Franklin-Simpson for their second consecutive district title – a feat that they have accomplished only once before, in their first two years as a school. In their 71-21 win over Russellville, they posted the largest margin of victory in a 13th District tournament game in 25 years, and held Russellville to the lowest score in a district tournament game for that district since the 1940s. The Cougars are going to be a very tough out, and will be overwhelming favorites in the opening round. The only thing potentially working against them is a scenario where they may have to beat two 14th District teams on consecutive nights in the semifinals and finals. But it’s entirely possible that Logan County is a co-favorite with both Bowling Green and Warren Central. Meanwhile, Cumberland County has the worst record in the field by a lot, with their 7 wins coming in at just half the 14 that Franklin-Simpson has. The Panthers lost plenty this year, but did go 4-4 overall in 16th District play, winning the ones they needed to. That included overcoming a nine point deficit against Russell County, forcing overtime at the home of the Lakers and sprinting away in the extra session, securing a 67-61 OT victory and reaching their first region tournament since 2009. The Panthers hosted Logan County just two weeks ago, falling 66-50. The combined win totals of the three non-16th District teams Cumberland County beat this year are not even as many as Logan County has on their own – to call them an underdog would be understating it. It would be completely shocking for the Panthers to pull an upset. Game 3: March 4th – Barren County (15th District Champions) vs. Warren Central (14th District Runners-Up) -Series at Region: Warren Central leads 6-1 -Last Region Meeting: Barren County 58 Warren Central 53 - 2016 4th Region Semifinals For the third straight year, the 15th District champion draws Warren Central. The previous two led to defeat for the 15th District rep, while Central went on to win the region title. Barren County does have a win from the last time these two met at Diddle, knocking off the Dragons en route to a region runner-up finish. That’s the only time Warren Central has lost before the final in the last nine region tournaments they’ve made. No players from that team may remain, but Barren County is not likely to be as bright eyed as some might be playing the Dragons. The two teams did not meet this year, as their regular season game was a casualty of Central’s 2A Classic run. Barren County comes in with 16 wins in their last 18 games, and winners of six in a row. They really turned a corner at the start of January, putting a road scare into Bowling Green just prior to the run. The Trojans are a highly capable team, averaging 65 PPG while allowing only 53 PPG. They carry a 16-4 region record, losing only to Glasgow, Bowling Green, Logan County, and South Warren. Their strength is in the interior, where Aden Nyekan and Will Bandy combine to average 30 PPG. The Trojans aren’t going to be favored in this one, but if they can get past it, they become a real threat to take the whole region, as they would not be expected to have as difficult a semifinal as a potential region final opponent would have. Warren Central has had to scratch and claw in each of the two previous seasons in the first round before getting to breathe in the semifinals. If they advance past this one, there’s a good chance that will repeat. While not as difficult a projected first opponent as Logan County, Barren County is a very dangerous draw for the Dragons, starting out with the region’s #4 team entering the postseason. Central saw a 12 game winning streak end in the loss to Bowling Green in the district finals, and it is now their sixth district runner-up finish in the last seven years. Their 51 points in that contest were their least since the 85-47 beating they took at the hands of John Hardin in December. They will need to bounce back immediately on that end, and they will need to do better than the 3/24 three point shooting performance they had against Bowling Green to do it. While Barren County is a difficult draw, it is nevertheless true that Central got about as good a draw as they could hope for with Logan County on the other side with Bowling Green. Central remains the region favorite, and if they get past this difficult opener, they should be extremely favored to reach the finals. Game 4: March 4th – Clinton County (16th District Champions) vs. Franklin-Simpson (13th District Runners-Up) -Series at Region: Franklin-Simpson leads 1-0 -Last Region Meeting: Franklin-Simpson 80 Clinton County 51 - 2002 4th Region Quarterfinals Another matchup without a deep history at the region tournament, this is just the second meeting between these two teams in a region tournament. The two teams do have a history this season, meeting at Clinton County on December 6th. That matchup was a rather strange one, as Clinton County was all over Franklin, leading 38-12 with just over 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Franklin-Simpson unleashed their press and stunned Clinton County with a 34-7 run to win the game 46-45. Clinton County is known for their defensive strength, allowing just under 50 PPG, which leads the region. That’s what made that outburst all the more unexpected. They’ve had some hiccups here and there since, but in typical Bulldog fashion, they reached 20 wins, won the 16th District, and reached the region tournament for the ninth straight year, the current longest streak in the region. They are 14-2 in the 2020 calendar year, falling only to Metcalfe County in the All A Classic, and dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Barren County. They have to be considered the favorite here due to recent play and the total body of work, even with that home loss way back when. The Bulldogs will look to work it down low to Chase Stines, their leading scorer with 15.6 PPG. Clinton County has not won a region tournament game against a 13th District representative since 1982, knocking off Olmstead. They have made the region semifinals in two of the last three region tournaments, but they have never advanced to the region semifinals in consecutive region tournaments. Meanwhile, Franklin-Simpson fits more of the enigma type. The Wildcats played very few games out of region this year. They hovered just above or below .500 for much of the year, and won more than two games in a row only one time, that coming at the start of January. In the district tournament they did as expected with Todd County Central, winning by 20, but gave an unexpectedly strong effort against Logan County, pushing them into the fourth quarter before faltering late. The Wildcats don’t shoot well from the perimeter, but they’re also not afraid to throw up those attempts – the classic live by the three, die by the three approach. That can make them dangerous, as does a full court pressure attack that rates as one of the best at creating turnovers in the region. If they can get hot from three early, and create turnovers with pressure, there’s a pretty good chance of them springing the upset. They are 17-4 all-time against teams from the 16th District, though they did lose their last meeting with a 16th District team, falling to Russell County 53-38 two years ago.