Western Kentucky joins the party tonight, with Boys' Basketball Regional action tipping off in the First and Second Region. Here are today's games featuring top 20 teams:
Eighth Region Quarter-Finals (at Henry Co.)
(8) N. Oldham v. Gallatin Co.
Simon Kenton v. (13) Woodford Co.
Ninth Region Quarter-Finals (at No. Kentucky U.):
(6) Cov. Catholic v. Dixie Heights
(14) Cooper v. Ft. Thomas Highlands
Sixteenth Region Quarter-Finals (at Morehead St.):
(17) Boyd Co. v. E. Carter
Tonight UK plays its last home game of the year. College basketball season lasts for five months, but seems to end really quickly.
ReplyDeleteReally hard to believe that we won't see the Cats at Rupp again until early November, and when we do they'll be a very different team.
ReplyDeleteLast night, (16) Male and (20) Bryan Station were eliminated. 18 of the top 20 remain.
ReplyDeleteWe could have some drama in the English Premier League this year. With 11 games left in the season, the top of the table looks like this:
ReplyDelete1. Liverpool: 19-2-6 (63 points)
2. Man City: 19-3-5 (62)
3. Arsenal: 19-4-4 (61)
Meanwhile, in Columbia, the two top teams in the SEC are in a rock fight. Tennessee (13-3) leads South Carolina (12-4) by 22 to 19 with 6 minutes left in the first half.
ReplyDeleteIf Tennessee wins, they clinch first place in the SEC. The Vols looked great last week -- beating Auburn at home and Alabama on the road. But South Carolina is a whole different type of challenge.
ReplyDeleteUT leads 30-22 with 1:20 left in the first half. The Vols are really good, and they are playing together as a team. On paper, they aren't as good as Alabama's number-one seed from last year. But I think they're more dependable than Alabama was.
ReplyDeleteTennessee leads 35-24 at the half. Carolina is 4-17 from 3-point range and 6-14 from 2-point range. Of course, this is how you're supposed to beat a team like South Carolina -- you just don't let them score, and eventually (even if you aren't scoring very fast), you can start to pull away. I used to watch Pitino win a lot of games this way.
ReplyDeleteKen Pom had UT winning this game 72 to 67.
DeleteThere are 26 regional games tonight, but the only final so far is from the Fifth Region: Bethlehem 58, Taylor Co. 54.
ReplyDeleteHere are Rick Barnes's last six seasons at Tennessee:
ReplyDelete2018: 26-9 (13-5) (lost in Second Round to Loyola of Chicago, 63 to 62)
2019: 31-6 (15-3) (lost in Sweet 16 to Purdue, 99 to 94 in OT)
2020: 17-14 (9-9) (still beat UK in Lexington on Senior Night)
2021: 18-9 (10-7) (lost in First Round to Oregon St., 70 to 56)
2022: 27-8 (14-4) (SEC Tourney Champs) (lost in Second Round to Michigan, 76 to 68)
2023: 25-11 (11-7) (lost in Sweet 16 to Fla. Atlantic, 62 to 55)
That loss to Purdue was one of the best games I've ever seen -- both teams were amazing in that game. But that loss to Michigan in 2022 was a mistake; the Vols were the better team and they should have won.
DeleteLast year they did great to beat Duke in the Second Round -- the Blue Devils couldn't believe anyone could play like UT and not foul out. But FAU loves that type of meat grinder, so it didn't bother them.
DeleteThis is UT's best team since the days of Bernard King, and it may be better than those guys. They are currently at number 4 in the AP Poll, and number 6 on Ken Pom. Rick Barnes is 69 years old, and he has to feel like this is really his big chance.
ReplyDeleteBarnes has been to the NCAA Tournament 26 different times, but has only reached the Final Four once. His all-time record in the NCAA Tournament is 27--26.
DeleteVols lead 38-28 with 15:43 left. I'll be disappointed if Carolina doesn't make at least one run.
ReplyDeleteIn the Ninth Region, (6) Cov. Catholic survives, 49 to 47 against Dixie Heights. That Ninth Region Tournament is always a doozy.
ReplyDeleteIn the Sixteenth Region, (17) Boyd Co. beats East Carter 60 to 52.
ReplyDeleteS. Carolina 34 - 40 Tennessee (12:42 left)
ReplyDeleteS. Carolina 34 - 40 Tennessee (11:41 left)
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of rock fights, McCracken Co. beats Graves Co. 40 to 34 in the First Region Tournament. Eric Chumbler reports that the Mustangs have beaten Graves Co. 13 times in a row.
ReplyDeleteWith 10:56 left, Dalton Knecht makes a four-point play to put the Vols up 46 to 34. They've needed him tonight, and he's gone 5-8 from 3-point range and has scored 22 of their 46 points. If they'd had him last year, they'd have gotten past FAU.
ReplyDeleteIt's been interesting to watch UT go through the other contenders down the stretch. Auburn is clearly better than Alabama or SC -- Knecht had to go into hero mode to win that game. And then Alabama is clearly better than SC -- the Tide led for much of the second half. SC is just a bunch of grinders -- a challenge for schools like Kentucky and Florida, but not at UT's level.
ReplyDeleteKen Pom ranks them like this:
ReplyDelete5. Auburn
9. Alabama
44. S. Carolina
And that's pretty much how they've looked against Tennessee.
This the third straight year UK has ended the regular season on the road. They also ended the regular season on the road in 2020. Here's how they've done:
ReplyDelete2020: lost on Senior Night to UT; beat Fla. on the road
2022: beat Ole Miss on Senior Night; beat Fla. on the road
2023: lost on Senior Night to Vandy; beat Ark. on the road
Carolina made their run. They got to within 60-56 with 40 seconds left. Here's what happened:
ReplyDelete1. South Carolina player drives to the basket, crashes into two Vols, loses the ball, no foul.
2. Vols miss the front end of a 1-and-1
3. South Carolina fakes a three, gets the Vol defender in the air, and shoots as the Vol is crashing into him. No foul.
Tennessee wins in Colombia 66 to 59. They have beaten Alabama and South Carolina on the road in back-to-back games, and that wraps up the SEC. The Vols move to 14-3, and the Gamecocks fall to 12-5.
ReplyDeleteAgainst Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Florida, and South Carolina -- the best teams in the SEC -- Tennessee has gone 6-1.
ReplyDelete(8) N. Oldham beats Gallatin Co., 77 to 52
ReplyDelete(13) Woodford Co. goes down, losing to Simon Kenton 58 to 53 in the Eighth Region. That leaves 17 of the top 20.
ReplyDeleteFirst Region: Murray 56, Carlisle Co. 43
ReplyDeleteSecond Region: Henderson Co. 66, Trigg Co. 49
Second Region: University Heights 81, Caldwell Co. 60
In the last game he will play at Rupp Arena, my hero Rob Dillingham went 3-4 from 3-point range, 6-11 from 2-point range, 2-2 from the line, for 23 points and 5 assists, and the Cats rolled over Vandy 93 to 77. Cats move to 12-5.
ReplyDeleteAnd now, with one game left, the top of the SEC looks like this:
ReplyDeleteTenn: 14-3
Ky: 12-5
Aub: 12-5
Ala: 12-5
SC: 12-5
(14) Cooper 81 - 46 Ft. Thomas Highlands
ReplyDelete