Ballard Memorial proved the point a year ago, knocking off three higher-seeded teams en route to the school's first All A Classic regional title.
This year, the shoe could be on the other foot.
A little over 24 hours after the Bombers were awarded the top seed in this year's small-school meet, the Bombers were beaten 59-49 at Carlisle County, which had dropped to the No. 7 seed after a disastrous three-game visit to Allen County's Christmas tournament.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we dropped a spot with every loss," said Carlisle coach Brian O'Neill, whose club went into the tournament with a 6-2 record and shot less than 30 percent in losses to the host school, Christian Academy of Louisville and Gallatin County "Going up there, I thought we had a chance at being either three or four, and on the way back, I knew we could be anywhere down to seven."
Ballard, Fulton County and Heath are the top three seeds and considered nearly equals, but Carlisle's win is an indication that one of the middle-tier clubs could rise up and knock off a top-tier team in a couple of weeks.
Mayfield is starting to get healthy, with guard William Higginson and forward Jonathan Jackson recovering from football injuries. St. Mary, which took Heath to the wire on Tuesday night, plays solid defense but has problems putting points on the board.
There will be a few more key matchups to watch in the week leading up to the All A Classic. Mayfield takes on district rivals Ballard and St. Mary next week and Carlisle hosts Fulton County on Thursday.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Superman Classic pairings ...
Seedings and pairings for the Superman Classic were determined today. The tournament is Jan. 17-22 at Massac County. Madison, which finished third in the Illinois Class A state tournament a year ago, is the defending champion.
There is a slight change in the tournament format, the first since it became an eight-team bracket tournament in 1988. Because certain teams can only play on certain nights for travel reasons and potential scheduling conflicts, one semifinal will be played on Thursday night and another on Friday night instead of both being played in the Friday session.
These are the seedings, with each team's record (as of today) in parentheses:
1. Paducah Tilghman (9-3)
2. Carbondale (8-5)
3. Martin Westview, Tenn. (12-3)
4. Massac County (10-6)
5. Madison (8-4)
6. Calloway County (5-7)
7. St. Louis Sumner (3-7)
8. Vienna (6-6)
This is the schedule:
Jan. 17
Game 1: Carbondale vs. St. Louis Sumner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 2: Calloway County vs. Martin Westview, 8 p.m.
Jan. 18
Game 3: Paducah Tilghman vs. Vienna, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4: Massac County vs. Madison, 8 p.m.
Jan. 20
Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 6:30 p.m.
Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 8 p.m.
Jan. 21
Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 6:30 p.m.
Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8 p.m.
Jan. 22
Seventh-place game, 1 p.m.
Fifth-place game, 2:30 p.m.
Third-place game, 6:30 p.m.
Championship, 8 p.m.
There is a slight change in the tournament format, the first since it became an eight-team bracket tournament in 1988. Because certain teams can only play on certain nights for travel reasons and potential scheduling conflicts, one semifinal will be played on Thursday night and another on Friday night instead of both being played in the Friday session.
These are the seedings, with each team's record (as of today) in parentheses:
1. Paducah Tilghman (9-3)
2. Carbondale (8-5)
3. Martin Westview, Tenn. (12-3)
4. Massac County (10-6)
5. Madison (8-4)
6. Calloway County (5-7)
7. St. Louis Sumner (3-7)
8. Vienna (6-6)
This is the schedule:
Jan. 17
Game 1: Carbondale vs. St. Louis Sumner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 2: Calloway County vs. Martin Westview, 8 p.m.
Jan. 18
Game 3: Paducah Tilghman vs. Vienna, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4: Massac County vs. Madison, 8 p.m.
Jan. 20
Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 6:30 p.m.
Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 8 p.m.
Jan. 21
Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 6:30 p.m.
Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8 p.m.
Jan. 22
Seventh-place game, 1 p.m.
Fifth-place game, 2:30 p.m.
Third-place game, 6:30 p.m.
Championship, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
BluegrassPreps.com basketball rankings ...
Paducah Tilghman checks in at No. 16 in the BluegrassPreps.com rankings. All three of the Tornado's losses are to ranked teams — No. 3 Louisville Ballard, fifth-ranked Christian County and 12th-ranked Warren Central.
On the girls' side, I believe it's the first time in the nine-year history of BGP's rankings that two First Region schools have cracked the top 20.
Boys
1. Jeffersontown
2. Louisville Eastern
3. Louisville Ballard
4. Clark County
5. Christian County
6. Scott County
7. Lexington Catholic
8. Lexington Tates Creek
9. Bowling Green
10. Louisville Trinity
11. Louisville Moore
12. Warren Central
13. Louisville Western
14. Bullitt East
15. Pleasure Ridge Park
16. Paducah Tilghman
17. Dixie Heights
18. Covington Catholic
19. Louisville Seneca
20. Simon Kenton
Girls
1. Louisville Mercy
2. Rockcastle County
3. Louisville Manual
4. Louisville Sacred Heart
5. Boone County
6. Marion County
7. Scott County
8. Madison Central
9. Bowling Green
10. Perry Central
11. Ryle
12. Elizabethtown
13. Calloway County
14. Anderson County
15. Franklin-Simpson
16. Franklin County
17. Grayson County
18. Monroe County
19. Clay County
20. Murray
On the girls' side, I believe it's the first time in the nine-year history of BGP's rankings that two First Region schools have cracked the top 20.
Boys
1. Jeffersontown
2. Louisville Eastern
3. Louisville Ballard
4. Clark County
5. Christian County
6. Scott County
7. Lexington Catholic
8. Lexington Tates Creek
9. Bowling Green
10. Louisville Trinity
11. Louisville Moore
12. Warren Central
13. Louisville Western
14. Bullitt East
15. Pleasure Ridge Park
16. Paducah Tilghman
17. Dixie Heights
18. Covington Catholic
19. Louisville Seneca
20. Simon Kenton
Girls
1. Louisville Mercy
2. Rockcastle County
3. Louisville Manual
4. Louisville Sacred Heart
5. Boone County
6. Marion County
7. Scott County
8. Madison Central
9. Bowling Green
10. Perry Central
11. Ryle
12. Elizabethtown
13. Calloway County
14. Anderson County
15. Franklin-Simpson
16. Franklin County
17. Grayson County
18. Monroe County
19. Clay County
20. Murray
Monday, January 3, 2011
All A Classic boys seedings ...
Ballard Memorial, which won its first All A Classic regional boys' basketball title after being seeded sixth, is the No. 1 seed for this year's event, which begins Jan. 15 at Graves County's Eagles' Nest.
The seedings are determined by the Litkenhous Ratings, which were released on the Louisville Courier-Journal's website on Monday afternoon.
Fulton County and Heath, as expected, round out the top three seeds. Fulton City is the No. 6 seed, which sets up a potentially very interesting quarterfinal-round game between the Bulldogs, coached by Jimmy Long, and his former Heath squad, coached by longtime assistant Burlin Brower.
Here are the seedings:
1. Ballard Memorial
2. Fulton County
3. Heath
4. Mayfield
5. St. Mary
6. Fulton City
7. Carlisle County
8. Hickman County
9. Murray
10. Community Christian
11. Reidland
The seedings are determined by the Litkenhous Ratings, which were released on the Louisville Courier-Journal's website on Monday afternoon.
Fulton County and Heath, as expected, round out the top three seeds. Fulton City is the No. 6 seed, which sets up a potentially very interesting quarterfinal-round game between the Bulldogs, coached by Jimmy Long, and his former Heath squad, coached by longtime assistant Burlin Brower.
Here are the seedings:
1. Ballard Memorial
2. Fulton County
3. Heath
4. Mayfield
5. St. Mary
6. Fulton City
7. Carlisle County
8. Hickman County
9. Murray
10. Community Christian
11. Reidland
Basketball happenings ...
The first Cantrall ratings of the season were published in Monday's Lexington Herald-Leader, and there were a couple of surprises on the girls' side. Calloway County is ranked ninth and Murray is ranked 17th, the first time in several years — perhaps a decade or longer — that the First Region has had two schools ranked in the top 20.
The Cantralls don't count out-of-state games, so Murray's two early-season hiccups against two Tennesee clubs — nearby Henry County and defending private-school state champion Ensworth — don't figure into the equation. Neither does Calloway's two wins over Martin Westview (a final four team in Tennessee Class 2A a year ago) and the solid 2-1 performance at a tournament in Orlando last week.
Murray and Calloway meet for the first time on Jan. 14, which could be the first of four meetings this season.
Paducah Tilghman was the First Region's top team in the rankings and tied for 32nd overall with Louisville Western.
• Marshall County point guard Margaret Thomas is expected to make her debut on Tuesday night against Lone Oak and potentially see major minutes when the Lady Marshals host Calloway County on Friday night.
Thomas, a Paducah Sun All-Purchase selection a year ago, originally opted not to play this season, reportedly because she was upset that Marshall assistant Aaron Beth didn't get the head coaching job this summer after the retirement of his father, Howard Beth.
She changed her mind after the Lady Marshals played their first two games in Marshall County's Hoop Fest, but Marshall coach Joseph Simmons decreed that Thomas would have to practice with the team for a few weeks before being eligible to play.
• As one All-Purchase player rejoins the regional ranks, another of the area's most dynamic guards is sidelined for the rest of the season. Paducah Tilghman playmaker Chelsey Shumpert, a sophomore who had a chance to become a four-time All-Purchase pick, has a torn ACL in her right knee and is out for the remainder of the season.
Shumpert will do some rehabilitation work and have surgery within a few weeks. She originally tweaked the knee while playing AAU ball this summer, but the injury was diagnosed at the time as a strained ligament. She went down in the second quarter of Tilghman's Dec. 18 game with Lone Oak, but the torn ACL wasn't diagnosed until nearly a week later, after the Lady Tornado returned from playing in the Kenton County Classic in northern Kentucky.
• The All A Classic First Region tournament will be seeded via the first batch of Litkenhous Ratings, which will be released this week in the Louisville Courier-Journal. The boys' ratings will be published on Tuesday with the girls' ratings set for release on Friday.
The Cantralls don't count out-of-state games, so Murray's two early-season hiccups against two Tennesee clubs — nearby Henry County and defending private-school state champion Ensworth — don't figure into the equation. Neither does Calloway's two wins over Martin Westview (a final four team in Tennessee Class 2A a year ago) and the solid 2-1 performance at a tournament in Orlando last week.
Murray and Calloway meet for the first time on Jan. 14, which could be the first of four meetings this season.
Paducah Tilghman was the First Region's top team in the rankings and tied for 32nd overall with Louisville Western.
• Marshall County point guard Margaret Thomas is expected to make her debut on Tuesday night against Lone Oak and potentially see major minutes when the Lady Marshals host Calloway County on Friday night.
Thomas, a Paducah Sun All-Purchase selection a year ago, originally opted not to play this season, reportedly because she was upset that Marshall assistant Aaron Beth didn't get the head coaching job this summer after the retirement of his father, Howard Beth.
She changed her mind after the Lady Marshals played their first two games in Marshall County's Hoop Fest, but Marshall coach Joseph Simmons decreed that Thomas would have to practice with the team for a few weeks before being eligible to play.
• As one All-Purchase player rejoins the regional ranks, another of the area's most dynamic guards is sidelined for the rest of the season. Paducah Tilghman playmaker Chelsey Shumpert, a sophomore who had a chance to become a four-time All-Purchase pick, has a torn ACL in her right knee and is out for the remainder of the season.
Shumpert will do some rehabilitation work and have surgery within a few weeks. She originally tweaked the knee while playing AAU ball this summer, but the injury was diagnosed at the time as a strained ligament. She went down in the second quarter of Tilghman's Dec. 18 game with Lone Oak, but the torn ACL wasn't diagnosed until nearly a week later, after the Lady Tornado returned from playing in the Kenton County Classic in northern Kentucky.
• The All A Classic First Region tournament will be seeded via the first batch of Litkenhous Ratings, which will be released this week in the Louisville Courier-Journal. The boys' ratings will be published on Tuesday with the girls' ratings set for release on Friday.
The Big Ten's meltdown ...
Ohio State University president Dr. Gordon Gee ruffled a few feathers a while back with his comments that football programs such as Texas Christian and Boise State didn't deserve to be considered for Bowl Championship Series honors because of their supposedly weak conference affiliations.
Even worse was his characterization of the Buckeyes' Big Ten schedule as a "Murderers' Row."
On New Year's Day, the murderers were ... well, murdered.
Northwestern lost to Texas Tech in the Ticketcity Bowl, whatever that is. Penn State gave up 20 unanswered points in the last 18 minutes to fall to Florida in the Outback Bowl.
And it got worse. Wisconsin, the Big Ten champion, was beaten by undeserving TCU in the Rose Bowl. Michigan was utterly humiliated by Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, outscored 42-0 in the final three quarters.
To top it off, Big Ten co-champion Michigan State was bombed, battered and blasted by Alabama, outgained 3-1 and held to minus-48 yards rushing in a 49-7 rout in the Capital One Bowl. But the Spartans did make it respectable, right, by scoring an "oh, by the way" touchdown after falling behind 49-0?
Dr. Gee might want to stick to running his university and refrain from future smug and pretentious comments about the Big Ten, whose reputation has taken a beating in recent years. Maybe the league should spend more time working to modernize and upgrade its football programs instead of gerrymandering its divisions and choosing haughty division names like "Leaders" and "Legends."
Oh, and the Buckeyes still have to play their bowl game, with several players whose suspensions have been delayed until next season so they can "preserve the integrity" of Tuesday night's Sugar Bowl. I suspect there are a lot of college football fans who will be yelling "Wooo, pig sooie" for Arkansas' Razorbacks.
Even worse was his characterization of the Buckeyes' Big Ten schedule as a "Murderers' Row."
On New Year's Day, the murderers were ... well, murdered.
Northwestern lost to Texas Tech in the Ticketcity Bowl, whatever that is. Penn State gave up 20 unanswered points in the last 18 minutes to fall to Florida in the Outback Bowl.
And it got worse. Wisconsin, the Big Ten champion, was beaten by undeserving TCU in the Rose Bowl. Michigan was utterly humiliated by Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, outscored 42-0 in the final three quarters.
To top it off, Big Ten co-champion Michigan State was bombed, battered and blasted by Alabama, outgained 3-1 and held to minus-48 yards rushing in a 49-7 rout in the Capital One Bowl. But the Spartans did make it respectable, right, by scoring an "oh, by the way" touchdown after falling behind 49-0?
Dr. Gee might want to stick to running his university and refrain from future smug and pretentious comments about the Big Ten, whose reputation has taken a beating in recent years. Maybe the league should spend more time working to modernize and upgrade its football programs instead of gerrymandering its divisions and choosing haughty division names like "Leaders" and "Legends."
Oh, and the Buckeyes still have to play their bowl game, with several players whose suspensions have been delayed until next season so they can "preserve the integrity" of Tuesday night's Sugar Bowl. I suspect there are a lot of college football fans who will be yelling "Wooo, pig sooie" for Arkansas' Razorbacks.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
All A Classic state tournament pairings ...
It's a new year, and it's time to get back on the blogging thing.
To start 2011, let's discuss the All A Classic state tournament pairings, which were released on the small-school state tournament's website this week.
The state tournament is Feb. 2-6 at Eastern Kentucky University's McBrayer Arena and was pushed back a week this year because of a scheduling conflict with Eastern and the Ohio Valley Conference. The regional championship games are on Jan. 22 at Graves County's Eagles' Nest, so each regional champions will have about 10 days to prepare for the state tournament.
On the girls' side, the First Region champion will take on the 15th Region winner — a very winnable contest if, say, Murray or Ballard Memorial wins the regional title. Shelby Valley, Paintsville and Sheldon Clark are the 15th Region favorites, but all three would likely be an underdog against Murray or Ballard.
The Fourth Region representative, potentially Glasgow or Monroe County, could be a tough quarterfinal-round opponent. Murray beat Glasgow in the first round of the state tournament a year ago before losing to eventual champion Newport Catholic in the semifinals. Newport Catholic could be waiting in the semifinals this year, too.
Crittenden County is the Second Region favorite, with Livingston Central looming as the top challenger, but either is likely to be an underdog against Lexington Christian, the likely 11th Region champion.
The boys' First Region race appears to be wide open, with Fulton County, defending champion Ballard Memorial and Heath among the favorites. The first-round opponent in Richmond is the 13th Region winner, which is likely to be Barbourville. Potential second-round opponents include Glasgow, Russellville and Danville.
University Heights is the Second Region favorite and will be among the state favorites. The Second Region drew the 14th Region, where Hazard and Buckhorn are the favorites. Newport Catholic would make for a very tough quarterfinal-round foe.
To start 2011, let's discuss the All A Classic state tournament pairings, which were released on the small-school state tournament's website this week.
The state tournament is Feb. 2-6 at Eastern Kentucky University's McBrayer Arena and was pushed back a week this year because of a scheduling conflict with Eastern and the Ohio Valley Conference. The regional championship games are on Jan. 22 at Graves County's Eagles' Nest, so each regional champions will have about 10 days to prepare for the state tournament.
On the girls' side, the First Region champion will take on the 15th Region winner — a very winnable contest if, say, Murray or Ballard Memorial wins the regional title. Shelby Valley, Paintsville and Sheldon Clark are the 15th Region favorites, but all three would likely be an underdog against Murray or Ballard.
The Fourth Region representative, potentially Glasgow or Monroe County, could be a tough quarterfinal-round opponent. Murray beat Glasgow in the first round of the state tournament a year ago before losing to eventual champion Newport Catholic in the semifinals. Newport Catholic could be waiting in the semifinals this year, too.
Crittenden County is the Second Region favorite, with Livingston Central looming as the top challenger, but either is likely to be an underdog against Lexington Christian, the likely 11th Region champion.
The boys' First Region race appears to be wide open, with Fulton County, defending champion Ballard Memorial and Heath among the favorites. The first-round opponent in Richmond is the 13th Region winner, which is likely to be Barbourville. Potential second-round opponents include Glasgow, Russellville and Danville.
University Heights is the Second Region favorite and will be among the state favorites. The Second Region drew the 14th Region, where Hazard and Buckhorn are the favorites. Newport Catholic would make for a very tough quarterfinal-round foe.
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