1. Hopkinsville (1-1) – The Tigers had their problems Sunday against Bowling Green in the Hoop Fest. But the Purples are the defending state champs, and favorites in the 4th Region. A little more concerning is how long Hoptown let Caldwell County hang around in the opener. Still, no reason so far to knock the Tigers from their #1 spot.
2. University Heights (1-1) – The Blazers also had their problems in the Hoop Fest, theirs against Graves County. However, if not for a 10 minute stoppage to clean up where a fan got sick on the court, the Blazers furious rally may have caught and passed the Eagles. UHA still needs to rebound better against the top teams. Blazers responded to the loss by routing Fort Campbell.
3. Christian County (2-0) – The Colonels opened the season with an impressive road win at Paducah Tilghman, and then blitzed Madisonville in the final two minutes on the Maroons’ home court. At this point, let’s just say this, games involving the top three teams out of the 8th District are gonna be a great deal of fun to watch.
4. Madisonville (2-1) – The Maroons have looked solid early, and looked very good for 30 minutes against Christian County Tuesday night. With a big win over Daviess County, who beat the Bowling Green team that knocked off Hopkinsville, and a double digit win over Muhlenberg County. Could the Maroons be a dark horse in the region, only time will tell.
5. Henderson County (1-2) – The Colonels opened the season 1-2, but let’s take a look at that early season schedule. The losses came to McCracken County and Warren Central, with the win coming over Barren County. Need a little more time to judge this group of Colonels.
6. Webster County (2-1) – Be very very wary of Jon Newton’s Trojans. This is a team can worry every coach in the area in a one game setting. Two solid wins over Hopkins Central and Crittenden County do nothing to discourage that outlook. A loss to a solid Apollo team Monday does not lessen the potential of this team. Webster against Madisonville Saturday should tell us more about both teams.
7. Union County (3-0) – Like Henderson County, wanna see more to get a feel for this team. They have three big wins. However, competition level could have something to do with the margins in those three games. Middle of the pack seems like a good place for the Braves for right now.
8. Caldwell County (2-1) – The Tigers battled Hopkinsville to a six point game at the half, before the wheels came off in the second half. They also looked solid in double digit wins over former district rivals Lyon County and Crittenden County. This figures to be a hard nosed team that can make it uncomfortable for some of the big boys on just the right night.
9. Hopkins Central (2-1) – The Storm climb two spots this week, after wins over McLean County and Dawson Springs. They did take it in the grille in a loss to Webster County, but by the middle of the season I have the feeling we will be able to stay that about a bunch of other teams across the area.
10. Livingston Central (1-4) – While the Cardinals open 0-4, they have been spending their time against some of the better competition in the first region, with losses to Graves County, McCracken County, Murray, and Ballard Memorial, who combined for only two losses during the first week of the season. The Cards did get their first win of the season Tuesday against district rival Lyon County.
11. Fort Campbell (1-3) – Hard to see it when looking at the scoreboard, but the Falcons are making progress. That is evidenced by their win over Trigg County Tuesday night. May not get to see how much until later in the season, when the schedule maker finally gives the Falcons a little bit of a break.
12. Trigg County (2-1) – The Wildcats got through the first week of the season 2-0, but then dropped a close one Tuesday night down on post at Fort Campbell. District battles against Livingston and Lyon, plus a December 14th date with Madisonville loom in the near future. Will find out much more in the next week or so.
13. Lyon County (0-3) – The Lyons are young, and that can be seen in the results of first three games of the season. However, there are some games coming up that may afford this team the chance to grow in some competitive situations.
14. Crittenden County (0-3) – The Rockets have opened the season at 0-3, including a loss at home to district rival Trigg County, and a 20 point loss at home to former district rival Caldwell County. More concerning is they did so averaging only 40 points per game.
15. Dawson Springs (1-2) – The Panthers opened with a win over Christian Fellowship, but dropped a home district matchup against Hopkins Central, and then got rolled by Union County. Positions 8-15 in the regional rankings could see plenty of upheaval, so Dawson’s stay at the bottom may not be for long.