Regional Championship Predictions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The regular season will be over for some in about a month and we're cruising towards the postseason. With the postseason comes award season and it never hurts to predict who (in strictly my opinion) are the favorites to cut the nets and get to Rupp Arena in March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>First Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McCracken County - There are a handful of teams that can win the first region and if [player_tooltip player_id='932780' first='Grant' last='Whitaker'] is back and 100% for Murray, it could be a game changer. Highly competitive region for sure!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Second Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lyon County - After failing to win the All A Regional, Lyon County has been quiet. Look for that to change as they'll be the favorites to win the region and return to Rupp. [player_tooltip player_id='939117' first='Travis' last='Perry'] is the best player in the region and could make the difference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Third Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ohio County - The Eagles knocked off Owensboro Catholic by 12 at the Sportscenter once already. The 3rd region always has to get through the 9th district champs and runners up though. Don't sleep on Owensboro.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fourth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Warren Central - Barring a surprise along the way, the Dragons should enter Rupp Arena as the favorites to win it all. They have too much offensive firepower and are able to switch everything on defense. Just a tough matchup for most teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fifth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taylor County - The 5th could be won by as many as 6 different schools but Taylor has had an awesome season thus far and has the pieces to continue riding their momentum into Rupp Arena.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sixth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evangel Christian - The newly crowned All A Champs could get to Rupp. But so could Butler, DeSales, Western, PRP or Fairdale depending on which team is hottest at the right time. The 6th is going to be wild.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Seventh Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ballard - The Bruins are the favorites but they just lost to Male and Trinity probably has the deepest roster of anyone in the 7th. It won't be as fun as the 6th but the 7th is by no means a lock for Ballard. [player_tooltip player_id='1768688' first='Gabe' last='Sisk'] will need to be the best player in the region for them to make the run at Valley.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eighth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Oldham - Possibly the most wide open region and the hardest to predict. I think any of the following have legitimate chances to win the 8th: Collins, Grant County, Simon Kenton, Spencer County, Owen County, Oldham County and Woodford County. What a fun regional that should be!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ninth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Conner - Holy Cross, Covington Catholic and Highlands could all make a run at the trophy. Newport, Lloyd Memorial and Cooper could all play spoiler along the way. Another fun region to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>George Rogers Clark - GRC has quietly been racking up wins since a tough early schedule. As Ric Flair says, "To be the man, you've got to beat the man" and until Mason County beats GRC, the Cardinals will be the pick for another year. And [player_tooltip player_id='692930' first='Jerone' last='Morton'] remains the best player in the region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eleventh Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lexington Catholic - With their win over Great Crossing this past weekend, they solidify themselves as favorites. But the Knights have seen some early dismissals from the regional tournament the last few years and will need to get over that hump to get to Rupp.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Twelfth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pulaski County - Pulaski and Lincoln are the top two teams in the 12th and look like they're on a path to another showdown for the regional crown. [player_tooltip player_id='1511830' first='Cayden' last='Lancaster'] has been awesome lately and could be the difference maker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thirteenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Laurel - Harlan, Harlan County, Corbin and South Laurel could all end up winning the region but the nod goes to [player_tooltip player_id='932765' first='Reed' last='Sheppard'] and the North team that has played a crazy schedule and will be battle tested heading into postseason. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fourteenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Breathitt County - There are multiple teams who can in the 14th but I'll give the edge to the talented trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1111948' first='Austin' last='Sperry'], [player_tooltip player_id='1215546' first='Christian' last='Collins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1215567' first='Bryce' last='Hoskins'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fifteenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pikeville - Similar to GRC and Mason County, Pikeville will need to lose to Martin County with their season on the line before I believe that [player_tooltip player_id='926887' first='Rylee' last='Samons'] will finish his career anywhere other than the court at Rupp Arena.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sixteenth Region:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ashland Blazer - After a rough start to the season that included their coach being fired in November, the Tomcats have won 8 of their last 10. Boyd County has a lot of firepower but if they have an off shooting night, their season could end rather quickly. Regardless, the 16th is another super close region that will be fun to watch unfold.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->