The 64: Facts about every district basketball tournament

Just now tuning into what has thus far been an unpredictable Kentucky high school basketball season? Here’s a handy guide to give you a little bit of insight into every district tournament taking place across the state beginning Monday night. Good luck picking winners.

1st Region

1st District: Carlisle County was this district’s last boys’ team to become a 1st Region champion, doing so in 2004. It’s been nearly 20 years since the district produced a girls’ Sweet Sixteen contender (Fulton County in 1998).

2nd: Boys’ favorite Paducah Tilghman went 6-0 against its district companions. Girls’ favorite McCracken County did the same thing. Both are looking up to Murray in the regional pecking order.

3rd: Graves County’s girls haven’t lost to a district opponent in over three years, their last loss coming at Ballard Memorial on Feb. 5, 2013.

4th: Murray’s girls bring a 23-game win streak into the tournament along with a 28-1 record. Their only loss was a 55-53 decision to Mason County in the Republic Bank Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic.

2nd Region

5th: Trigg County’s boys, 6-0 in district play this season, have won the past three district tournaments.

6th: Girls’ region favorite Henderson County has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen from this district nine of the previous 11 years.

7th: Madisonville was the last boys’ team to reach Rupp Arena out of the seventh district. The Maroons took a 15-game win streak into the big dance before falling to Fairdale by three points in the first round in 2001.

8th: Region favorite Christian County was ranked No. 8 in last week’s Cantrall Ratings but first in the season’s final Associated Press poll. The Colonels are 23-2 with an undefeated record against Kentucky competition.

3rd Region

9th: Reigning boys’ state champion Owensboro came out of the third region a year ago. The Red Devils are 9-13 this season after advancing to consecutive Sweet Sixteens.

10th: Girls’ favorite McLean County snapped a four-game skid with a 56-54 victory over Union County heading into the postseason. Boys’ favorite Muhlenberg County ended the regular season on a seven-game win streak, including a 50-48 nailbiter over Owensboro Catholic to close.

11th: Three of the district’s four teams have reached the Sweet Sixteen, but two did it from different regions: Hancock County from Region 4 in 1963 and Meade County from Region 5 in 1984. Breckinridge County represented Region 3 in 1995.

12th: Grayson County, this season’s host, has the highest Cantrall Rating but is just 3-3 in boys’ district play and 10-14 overall. Edmonson County, 16-9 with a 6-0 district record, is rated second here.

4th Region

13th: Balance is key for girls’ favorite Logan County. Four Cougars — Brooke Barnes, Rachel Barnett, Taleia Mason and Torrie Pollard — average at least 10 points.

14th: Bowling Green is the favorite to win the district and region for both the boys and girls. One school has represented the region in both state tournaments only one time — when Warren Central advanced to each in 1983 (the girls won the title that year).

15th: Three of the top five girls’ teams in the region — Allen County-Scottsville, Glasgow and Monroe County — are here, meaning someone strong will get left out of the 4th Region field at WKU.

16th: A mere 0.1 point separated boys’ favorite Russell County from Clinton County in last week’s Cantrall Ratings. The margin was much wider on the floor — Russell County won the first meeting 74-65 and the second 64-43.

5th Region

17th: National player of the year candidate Erin Boley looks to lead Elizabethtown to its 11th straight district title. She’s averaging 25 points and 11.4 rebounds for the Panthers.

18th: Two of the top boys’ scorers — Caverna’s Mason Faulkner (1st, 35.4 ppg) and Green County’s Dominique Compton (3rd, 29.5) — compete in this district. Madison Faulkner, Mason’s sister, averages 24 points for Caverna’s girls, good for ninth in the state.

19th: Bardstown’s boys — winners of 10 of their last 11 — have quietly positioned themselves as a region contender. Santrel Farmer, a junior, leads the Tigers with 12.9 points a game.

20th: Taylor County’s boys have won 12 of their last 13 games after stumbling out of the gate. Xavier signee and Mr. Basketball candidate Quentin Goodin grabs most of the headlines, but juniors David Sloan (19.3 ppg) and Dylan Gaines (13.3 ppg) are also names to watch.

6th Region

21st: Pleasure Ridge Park was the last girls’ team to represent the region from here, doing so in 2002. PRP’s boys also hold that distinction, going to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens in 2013 and 2014.

22nd: State No. 1 Butler already earned its berth to the girls’ 6th Region tournament at Fairdale after fourth-seed Iroquois elected to not compete in the district tournament.

23rd: Boys’ favorite North Bullitt started the season 7-0 and won 14 of its first 15. The Eagles, led by Ryan Henson’s 19.5 ppg, enter the postseason on a three-game losing streak.

24th: Bullitt East, a would-be region contender in both the boys’ and girls’ field, is the region’s best shot at sending the same school to the state tournaments for the first time since PRP swept the berths in 1998.

7th Region

25th: Manual’s Krys McCune was a McDonald All-America nominee. She’s signed with West Virginia, where former Bardstown star Alexis Brewer is a freshman.

26th: Male’s girls have only lost two games this season — both to Butler. The Bulldogs surely would love a third go at the Bearettes, which would have to occur in the state semifinals on March 19.

27th: Trinity, rated fifth in the state, finished the season like it started: strong. The Shamrocks won their first nine games and their last seven games, the latter including five wins by 20 or more points.

28th: Ballard’s boys, along with Trinity and 22nd District favorite Doss, make up a triumverate of Louisville squads ranked among the state’s top seven teams. Only two could reach Rupp Arena.

8th Region

29th: Oldham County came into the week rated above Owen County as the region favorite; the Colonels lost 71-58 on the Rebels’ home floor on Thursday night.

30th: Anderson County is the slight favorite over Collins in one of the more muddier boys’ districts to project. Cobe Penny averages a team-high 20.7 ppg for the Bearcats.

31st: Owen County’s boys had no trouble running the table in a five-team district whose other four are rated among the region’s bottom six squads.

32nd: Four of the five losses suffered by girls’ favorite Simon Kenton were to top-20 teams. The Pioneers, paced by Allyson Niece’s 21.1 ppg, have won eight straight after a double overtime loss to Mason County.

9th Region

33rd: Don’t count out Cooper as a region player; the Jaguars own the 9th’s best record at 23-3 and opened the year with a convincing win over Covington Catholic, the most recent No. 1 team.

34th: Dixie Heights, 12-15, is the girls’ favorite over Lloyd Memorial, 18-8, after drubbing the Juggernauts 66-39 in January.

35th: Holmes quietly put itself in the conversation as a girls’ Sweet Sixteen contender after going 12-0 against 9th Region opponents. Jynea Harria, Laila Johnson and Tyrah McClendon-Englemon all average double-figure scoring for the Bulldogs.

36th: Newport Central Catholic, the expected challenger to boys’ favorite Covington Catholic, won five straight to end the year following an upset loss to Cordia in the All “A” State Tournament semifinals. Thoroughbreds big man Ben Weyer is a Mr. Basketball candidate.

10th Region

37th: Campbell County’s boys are the region favorite but lost close games to Bishop Brossart and Pendleton County, both of whom are rated well below the Camels. Campbell’s girls, ranked in the top 20, defeated region favorite Mason County handily at home.

38th: Girls’ favorite Nicholas County went 4-0 in district play but lost five of its last six, including a 76-73 finale at Frankfort. The optimists’ view? That was the Jackets’ eighth loss by single digits this season.

39th: Antwavon Williams averages 19.7 points for Mason County, which won seven of nine down the stretch. That included wins over fellow region contenders Paris and Montgomery County.

40th: The Paris boys won 20 games for the first time since 1999. Koebe Garrard, who quarterbacked the Greyhounds to an 11-1 season on the football field, leads them on the court at 16.3 ppg.

11th Region

41st: It’s a shame Frankfort, which features the state’s second leading scorer in BriAnna Burbridge, and Franklin County — a top-10 fixture with several D-I prospects — have to meet in the girls’ first round.

42nd: Last season was the first time Scott County’s boys didn’t make a region tournament since 2003, when they played in the 8th Region. This year’s edition of the red birds is green but talented enough to reach Rupp Arena.

43rd: Four of the district’s five boys teams — Paul Laurence Dunbar (No. 3), Lexington Catholic (No. 13), Lafayette (No. 19) and Lexington Christian (No. 24) — are ranked. Enough said.

44th: The Madison Central boys have won every district title since 1995. Their last loss was 70-62 in overtime to Madison Southern.

12th Region

45th: Lincoln County’s girls won 11 straight games during the season and are a dark horse behind Mercer County and Southwestern.

46th: Mercer County has won 58 consecutive girls’ games against district companions, a streak dating to a three-point loss to East Jessamine in the 46th finals on Feb. 28, 2008. A hypothetical finals meeting with the Jaguars would occur on Feb. 25, nearly seven years to the date.

47th: All-state quarterback Riley Hall averages 15.8 points for Pulaski County, one of its five players averaging double-figure scoring. Landon Powell leads the Maroons at 17.6 ppg.

48th: Southwestern, which had lost just once since the calender turned, dropped its final two games of the regular season (at Somerset and at home to Mercer County). The Warriors’ five losses this year were all by five points or fewer; three were by a single possession.

13th Region

49th: Clay County defeated district favorite North Laurel by a bucket on the road before turning around the next game and losing to the Jaguars by four at home in January.

50th: Region favorite South Laurel lost to fellow Sweet Sixteen contenders Mercer County and Owen County by a combined three points on back-to-back nights in December.

51st: Dinky Phipps, one of the state’s winningest coaches after more than three decades at Barbourville, has district rival Lynn Camp out to a 16-9 record after two straight losing seasons.

52nd: Harlan, the girls’ region favorite, features a dynamic backcourt in junior Jordan Brock (19 ppg) and senior Brooklyn Massingill (17 ppg). Harlan County sophomore Blair Green is rated among the top players in her class nationally.

14th Region

53rd: Whitney Creech needs to lift Jenkins over June Buchanan in order to reach her first region tournament. The schools split their head-to-head meetings this season.

54th: Perry County Central, 21-4, is favored to win the boys’ region title. Imagine what the Commodores would look like with former star Braxton Beverly, who recently scored 70 points in a game for Hargrave Military Academy.

55th: Breathitt County was the only girls’ team in the region to reach 20 wins in the regular season. Knott County Central could become the second if it wins in the 53rd semifinals.

56th: Both Powell County teams are favored to claim the title here, with Estill County expected to be each one’s strongest challenger.

15th Region

57th: Johnson Central and Sheldon Clark have met in four of the last five boys’ district finals, splitting those meetings. The Golden Eagles swept the Cardinals this season, 73-59 at home and 76-75 in overtime on the road.

58th: South Floyd’s boys are favored to win consecutive district titles for the first time since 2002 and 2003. Andrew Tackett leads the Raiders at 19.7 ppg.

59th: Shelby Valley’s girls could win their fifth straight title. They advanced to the All “A” State Tournament after winning their regional games by an average of 30 points.

60th: Boys’ regional favorite Lawrence County snapped a five-game losing streak to four-time defending region champ Johnson Central earlier this month with a 93-84 overtime win at home.

16th Region

61st: Bath County’s Sarah Price is one of three Kentucky girls in the class of 2016 (Franklin County’s Malaka Frank, Jenkins’ Whitney Creech) signed with Western Kentucky University.

62nd: Morgan County and Elliott County, who met in the 16th Region boys’ championship game a season ago and were expected to be there again, will instead face off in the first round of district play.

63rd: Greenup County’s boys have won seven of their last eight games and seem capable of crashing the Sweet Sixteen. Gage Hughes leads them at 22.9 ppg.

64th: Ashland Blazer isn’t expected to reach the girls’ Sweet Sixteen after four straight trips to the big show, but the Kittens should still attract attention because of Mykasa Robinson. The sophomore is rated as the nation’s No. 1 point guard in the class of 2018.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 6:59 PM with the headline "The 64: Facts about every district basketball tournament."