The matchups for the boys’ and girls’ basketball state tournament were determined on Wednesday during the KHSAA Sweet 16 draw show, setting the tournament up for some great games in the opening round.
On the boys’ side, the winner of the 10th Region will face off with the 8th Region winner on the first day of the tournament on March 31 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
The favorites to come out of the tenth region include Mason County, George Rogers Clark and Montgomery County. Teams out of the eighth region to watch are Oldham County, Spencer County and Simon Kenton. The last time these two regions met in the first round was in 2011, when GRC took the win over Oldham County, 56-39. All time, there have been six meetings, with the 10th winning five of the six.
The top of the bracket with this matchup, also features some of the heavyweights across the state. The 11th region and the 7th Region will play in the first round, with possible teams like Lexington Catholic, Frederick Douglass, and Paul Laurence Dunbar from the 11th out of Lexington and Ballard, Trinity, and Male from the 7th out of Louisville.
The 5th region would play the 14th Region on the top half of the bracket and the 4th Region faces the 2nd Region in the other matchups on that side of the bracket. Adding to the list of heavyweight teams could possibly include top teams Elizabethtown out of the 5th and Bowling Green out of the 4th.
On the bottom side of the bracket, played on April 1, it brings Region 13 and Region 16, setting for a possible North Laurel-Ashland matchup for the second time this season, the Tomcats with a blowout victory on March 5. Also included in this side of the bracket, is a chance for other top ten teams in the state, with St. Henry or Covington Catholic possibly coming out of the 9th region and DeSales and Fern Creek from the 6th region.
Matchups in the first round include the 12th versus the 15th, winner of that playing the 13th-16th winner.
The final two first round matchups is the 6th Region against the 1st Region and the 3rd Region taking on the 9th Region.
Quarterfinals follow on April 2, semifinals and finals played on the same day, semifinal matchups at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., state championship coming April 3 at 8 p.m.
For the girls’ tournament, the 10th region drew the 4th region in the first round. Possible teams to come out of both regions are Bowling Green and Barren County from the 4th and GRC and Bishop Brossart from the 10th. This is just the second time these two regions have met in the first round. The only other time was in 2002 when Harrison County took on Clinton County, winning 62-53. This game will be played on April 7, the first day of the tournament.
Other top teams in the top side of the bracket are the 7th region who will take on the 14th Region, with Sacred Heart and another big matchup possibly between Anderson County out of the 8th and Southwestern out of the 12th.
The bottom side of the bracket features regions with some more top teams like Marshall County out of the 1st region taking on the 15th region with potentially Pikeville. Other matchups setting up to be heavyweight games are the 9thregion, with top teams like Ryle, Notre Dame, Dixie Heights, and Cooper potentially taking on Russell or Boyd County out of the 16th region. The 5th region, including teams like Elizabethtown and Bethlehem will take on the sixth region, with Bullitt East and Butler being the favorites out of there.
The girls’ first round takes place April 7-8, quarterfinals April 9, semifinals and finals played on April 10 with all games played at Rupp Arena as well.
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