Recent history tells us that there are very few good draws for 12th Region boys and girls teams in the state basketball tournaments, but the 12th fared pretty well today when the KHSAA’s Butch Cope pulled the ping-pong balls for this year’s Sweet Sixteen tourneys.
In the Boys Sweet Sixteen, the 12th Region was paired with the 8th Region for a Thursday afternoon game. According to the latest Litkenhous Ratings, the top-rated team in the 12th, defending champion Lincoln County, is a notch above the highest-ranked team in the 8th, Shelby County. The rest of the top five teams in each region have very similar ratings: Simon Kenton, Anderson County, South Oldham and North Oldham in the 8th and McCreary Central, Somerset, Wayne County and Boyle County in the 12th.
Defending 8th Region champ Oldham County was beaten by 5-14 Danville on opening night, but Oldham is ranked only seventh in its region.
In the Girls Sweet Sixteen, the 12th is matched with the 3rd Region in a Wednesday night game. Again, the current Litkenhous Ratings show that the top five teams in the 3rd: Muhlenberg North, Ohio County, Owensboro Catholic, Owensboro and Apollo; are very comparable to the top five teams in the 12th: Casey County, Rockcastle County, Wayne County, Lincoln County and Southwestern. Muhlenberg North and Wayne are the defending champions.
Remember, the girls tournament is first this year. It will be played March 12-15, followed by the boys tournament March 19-22. Here are the first-round pairings for each, in bracket order:
GIRLS
March 12-15 at Bowling Green
Wednesday, March 12
7th Region vs. 13th Region, 1 p.m.; 16th Region vs. 14th Region, 2:30 p.m.; 1st Region vs. 6th Region, 7:30 p.m.; 12th Region vs. 3rd Region, 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 13
9th Region vs. 2nd Region, 1 p.m.; 15th Region vs. 5th Region, 2:30 p.m.; 8th Region vs. 4th Region, 7:30 p.m.; 11th Region vs. 10th Region, 9 p.m.
BOYS
March 19-22 at Lexington
Wednesday, March 19
2nd Region vs. 11th Region, noon; 6th Region vs. 3rd Region, 1:30 p.m.; 7th Region vs. 15th Region, 6:30 p.m.; 9th Region vs. 5th Region, 8 p.m.
13th Region vs. 14th Region, noon; 8th Region vs. 12th Region, 1:30 p.m.; 1st Region vs. 4th Region, 6:30 p.m.; 10th Region vs. 16th Region, 8 p.m.
Of course South Laurel, who won it all in 2005, played on Saturday morning, but I was curious as to when the last “current” 12th Region played in the state semifinals.
The most recent are as follows:
1989: Wayne County (state runner-up)
1986: Pulaski County (state champ)
1982: Laurel County (state champ)
1965: Hazel Green (state semifinalist)
1960: Monticello (state runner-up)
As you can tell, it’s pretty rare for a local bunch to be playing in the state final four. The draw sets up for a potential run by Lincoln County or McCreary Central, but as always, it will be tough.