Sweet Sixteen bracketology: Here’s who would play if the tournaments started now
The 101st Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen and the 57th St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet Sixteen are both more than a month away, but a little bracketology never hurt anything.
The regional pairings for both tournaments were drawn Wednesday. Using the teams ranked atop each region in the latest edition of Dave Cantrall’s Rating the State, here are what the brackets for both would look like if the events both started this week.
OFFICIAL 2018 BOYS’ SWEET SIXTEEN BRACKET
OFFICIAL 2018 GIRLS’ SWEET SIXTEEN BRACKET
Boys’ Sweet Sixteen bracketology
(Hypothetical first-round matchups based on the Cantrall Ratings; games in bracket order; top 25 ranking listed if applicable)
Wednesday, March 14
No. 23 Corbin (Region 13) vs. Knott County Central (Region 14)
No. 1 Scott County (Region 11) vs. No. 3 Trinity (Region 7)
Pulaski County (Region 12) vs. Warren Central (4th Region)
Pikeville (Region 15) vs. No. 14 John Hardin (5th Region)
Thursday, March 15
Christian County (Region 2) vs. No. 11 Clark County (Region 10)
No. 12 Walton-Verona (Region 8) vs. No. 15 Paducah Tilghman (Region 1)
No. 19 Owensboro (Region 3) vs. No. 2 Covington Catholic (Region 9)
No. 9 Fern Creek (Region 6) vs. Ashland Blazer (Region 16)
Girls’ Sweet Sixteen bracketology
(Hypothetical first-round matchups based on the Cantrall Ratings; games in bracket order; top 25 ranking listed if applicable)
Wednesday, March 7
Shelby Valley (Region 15) vs. Owensboro Catholic (Region 3)
No. 7 Murray (Region 1) vs. No. 6 Mercer County (Region 12)
No. 2 Campbell County (Region 10) vs. No. 23 Harlan County (Region 13)
No. 3 Elizabethtown (Region 5) vs. No. 8 South Warren (Region 4)
Thursday, March 8
No. 12 Ryle (Region 9) vs. No. 16 Simon Kenton (Region 8)
No. 5 Butler (Region 6) vs. Hazard (Region 14)
No. 14 Boyd County (Region 16) vs. No. 24 Christian County (Region 2)
No. 4 Scott County (Region 11) vs. No. 1 Sacred Heart (Region 7)
This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Sweet Sixteen bracketology: Here’s who would play if the tournaments started now."