Kentucky Sweet Sixteen Preview: Cooper vs. Meade County (3/16)
Prep Hoops Kentucky previews Thursday’s Kentucky Sweet Sixteen State Tournament match-up between Cooper and Meade County. Thursday will complete ‘sweet sixteen’ play. The Elite Eight will feature those first round winners playing on Friday. Saturday will wrap-up the event with both the Final Four and championship game played on that day.
COOPER VS. MEADE COUNTY
Cooper (9th Region, 28-4) and Meade County (3rd Region, 13-21) square off in Kentucky’s Sweet Sixteen Thursday (March 16th, 8:00 pm) in Lexington. This will be the first time the teams have met each other this season.
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Cooper took down reigning 9th Region champions Covington Catholic 51-38 at Northern Kentucky University’s BB&T Arena. In that game junior guard Adam Kunkel scored 24 points off 50% shooting from the field. The Jags have won 23 of their last 24 games.
Despite Meade County’s 13-21 overall record, they’ve persevered. At one point the Green Wave lost 19 out 22 games, 14 in a row. During that time they were without their leading scorer James Baker. They lost their district final game to Hancock County by 1 point. They could’ve packed it all up out of frustration and quit. Instead they won three straight, including their close fought win against Daviess County in the regional final (a 2-point win). Welcome to Rupp, Green Wave.
WHO TO WATCH FOR:
Adam Kunkel (2018), Cooper
The Jaguar guard is averaging 16.8 points per game and already has offers from Central Arkansas, Samford, and Winthrop.
Sean McNeil (2017), Cooper
The Bellarmine University commit is averaging 16.9 points per game. McNeil and Kunkel make a lethal one-two punch on the perimeter.
James Baker (2017), Meade County
Baker has only played 19 games this season, but based off their record without him, it’s clear how important he can be when on the court. Baker is averaging a team high 16.3 points and 7 rebounds. He is getting interest from both D-1 and D-2 programs.