The Week Ahead: Regional Championship Week (FREE)
With half the schools in Kentucky already eliminated from the postseason, the field will narrow down to 16 by this time next week. Here’s a look at the biggest games of the week ahead as we start regional play Sunday and all the nets will be cut down by Saturday night.
Sunday, February 24:
- The 4th region starts regional play off with WKU signee Jackson Harlan playing Allen-County Scottsville at Diddle Arena. The Patriots of AC-S have been a huge surprise in the 4th this year and will hope to keep their season going into the semifinals.
- The second game of the day features Isaiah Mason and Bowling Green taking on Franklin-Simpson. BG won their previous meeting by 16 and Franklin will need some magic to knock off the Purples.
Monday, February 25:
- Monstrous game in the 1st region as McCracken County takes on Graves County in a game between two teams that could go on to win the region. They’ve already split two meetings this season and the winner of the rubber match will be expected to compete for the championship this week.
- Taylor County and Central Hardin will be a fun match-up as Trevon Smith and Jacob Hobbs look to extend their high school careers at least one more game.
- In the 6th, Butler hosts Jeffersontown in a rematch of a game the Bears won just a few weeks ago. Butler has the home court advantage but J-Town has more raw talent. This should be a great game.
- In the 7th, we have a Trinity-Male game that is a rematch of a 3OT thriller won just a couple of weeks ago by the Bulldogs.
- The best game in the 8th will be Collins and Oldham County as they run back a game from a few weeks back that the Titans won. The winner of this game could be the winner of the 8th.
- The 11th region bracket is absolutely loaded as red hot Dunbar travels to Frankfort, Woodford County makes their way to LCA and Scott County makes the drive to Richmond to play Madison Central.
- Middlesboro has quietly had their best season since 2012 but they will run into Corbin on Monday night. The Hounds are always dangerous and they get to play at the Corbin Arena.
Tuesday, February 26:
- John Hardin opens regional tournament play against Hart County with a record of 32-0 and their sights set on getting back to Rupp Arena.
- Spencer County will try to get their second win over South Oldham this season when they tip off against the Dragons in the 8th region quarterfinals.
- Newport plays Conner in a rematch from a game that Newport won earlier this season. Conner was up big late and blew it. We’ll see if they can repeat their performance and change the ending this time around in the 9th region.
- The 12th region quarterfinal features Mercer County and Lincoln County. The Patriots are playing their best basketball of the season while the Titans are reeling after losing the district title game to West Jessamine.
- Floyd Central only won 6 games all season but are riding a 3 game winning streak into a game against Paintsville in the 15th. Can they keep their winning ways going or will the Tigers start their trek to a regional championship game?
Wednesday, February 27:
- Semifinals take place in the 6th and 11th regions. The 6th take place at Valley while the 11th is played at EKU.
Thursday, February 28:
- 7th region semifinals go down at Valley High School
Friday, March 1:
- 1st Region Semis take place at Murray State
- 2nd Region Semis tip off at Madisonville-North Hopkins
- The 3rd plays their semifinals at the Owensboro Sportscenter
- The 4th continue with their semifinals at Western Kentucky.
- 5th Region semifinals go down at Hart County.
- The 8th region continues at Henry County with their semifinals.
- The 9th could have some stellar semifinal match-ups at NKU’s BB&T Arena
- Mason County hosts the 10th region semifinals.
- The 11th region will be the first region to name a champion as they play the finals at EKU.
- The 12th continues at Lincoln County
- 13th Region Semis take place at the Corbin Arena
- Powell County hosts the 14th region semifinals.
- The East Kentucky Expo Center is home to the 15th region Semifinals
- Morehead State’s Eagle Arena hosts the 16th region Semifinals
Saturday, March 2:
- Champions will be crowned and nets will be cut in the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th regions.
Sunday, March 3:
- The final 3 regional champions will be decided in the 1st, 3rd and 16th regions.
Plenty of high level tournament games coming up this week. Get out and support your favorite teams and players!