District Tournament Previews: 3rd 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 Third region where, as usual, the favorites to win the region are all in the 9th district. Here’s a district by district breakdown of the district match-ups:
9th District (Games played at Owensboro):
The 9th district is where I grew up. As a result, I see it as the toughest district in the state. While that may not be true, it is certainly the toughest district in the 3rd region and this year is no exception. Tuesday night Owensboro welcomes Apollo in for the opener of the district. The two teams split the regular season series and Apollo beat the Red Devils just 2 and a half weeks ago. This could be a candidate for a 4 seed knocking off the 1.
Wednesday night is a 2 vs 3 showdown between the two teams that were the preseason favorites to win the region. Daviess County and Owensboro Catholic split wins in the regular season. DC won at Catholic early in the season while Catholic won the rematch by a point 2 and a half weeks ago. The rubber match should be a dogfight.
10th District (Games played at Ohio County):
Because the 10th district only has 3 teams, Muhlenberg County advances to the regional by default. The lone semifinal features McLean County trying to avenge their two losses to Ohio County from earlier this season. In December the Eagles only beat the Cougars by 2 but they dominated McLean last month en route to beating them by 25. If McLean plays their best game, they can pull off the upset.
11th District (Games played at Breckinridge County)
Both 11th district games take place on Tuesday night. The action kicks off with Meade County taking on Frederick Fraize in the opener. In two regular season games, Meade beat Frederick Fraize by a combined 116 points. So, barring a miracle, the Green Wave should advance.
The second game should be more competitive as Breckinridge and Hancock split a pair of games in the regular season. Breck beat Hancock by 12 early in the season and will look to repeat that in the postseason.
12th District (Games played at Whitesville Trinity):
Both games take place on Tuesday night at the Barn in Whitesville. Trinity won an impressive 16 games in the regular season but lost both contests against Edmonson County. They’ll have to get over that hump to advance to the regional.
The second game of the evening is the third contest between Grayson County and Butler County. Grayson knocked off the Bears both times they played this season but both games were competitive and it wouldn’t be shocking for Butler to pull off the upset over the Cougars.
Predictions:
Champions: Owensboro, Muhlenberg County, Breckinridge County, Grayson County
Runners-Up: Daviess County, Ohio County, Meade County, Edmonson County