District Tournament Previews: 16th Region
The postseason is finally upon us and the Road to Rupp Arena starts this week. The amount of schools in the postseason will be cut down to 128 once the district rounds are complete. Only district champions and runners-up move on to regional tournaments and there are sure to be several upsets this week. As we continue with our postseason previews, we move to the Sixteenth region where 3 different teams look to make a push to get to Rupp Arena. Here’s a district by district breakdown of the match-ups:
61st District (Games played at Fleming County):
Semifinal play tips off on Tuesday night as the hosting Panthers take on Rowan County. Fleming won both regular season matchups in close games and Rowan is more than capable of pulling off the upset on Tuesday night.
Wednesday is when the other finalist will be determined. Menifee County goes up against Bath County. The first time the two squared off, Menifee won by 6. The second time around, Bath won by 40. So who knows what the heck will happen in the rubber match on Wednesday.
62nd District (Games played at Morgan County):
Tuesday night the action starts with Morgan County hosting West Carter. Morgan won the first meeting by 17 points but the second meeting was just a two point overtime win for Morgan. It’s entirely possible that West Carter could spring the upset and knock off Morgan.
The second semifinal is Wednesday night as Elliott County goes up against East Carter. Elliott has won both games against East Carter this season but the second one was only a two point win. It seems like this district is wide open and any combination could be left standing for the championship game on Friday night.
63rd District (Games played at Russell):
Tuesday night will be a showdown between host Russell and visiting Lewis County. Russell won the first meeting by 21 and then by 8 the second time around. Russell figures to be a double digit favorite in the third matchup, especially with homecourt advantage.
The other semifinal takes place on Wednesday features Raceland taking on Greenup County. Raceland won both regular season games by 24 and 6 respectively and they should be favorites in the third matchup.
64th District (Games played at Boyd County):
Monday night Boyd County takes on Rose Hill Christian. Boyd beat Rose Hill by a combined 88 points in their two regular season games. Don’t expect Rose Hill to pull off the win on Monday night.
Tuesday night the second semifinal will be Ashland Blazer taking on Fairview. Ashland Blazer if the favorite to win the region and should be favored over Fairview as they won by 37 and 9 in the two regular season games between the two.
Predictions:
Champions: Fleming County, Morgan County, Russell, Ashland Blazer
Runners-Up: Bath County, Elliott County, Raceland, Boyd County