48 Teams Left

Now the season starts to run out very quickly, and there were huge games all over the Commonwealth on Saturday, with a fair number of upsets:

FIRST REGION SEMI-FINALS (at Murray St. U.):

Marshall Co. 47, (11) McCracken Co. 44

Paducah Tilghman 53, Murray 51

THIRD REGION SEMI-FINALS (at Owensboro Sportscenter):

Grayson Co. 65, (8) Daviess Co. 62

Meade Co. 48, Owensboro Apollo 46

SIXTH REGION SEMI-FINALS (at Valley H.S.):

(19) Lou. Butler 62, Lou. W.E.B. DuBois 56

(13) Lou. Jeffersontown 63, Lou. DeSales 45

NINTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at N. Kentucky U.):

Conner 79, Ft. Thomas Highlands 76

(1) Cov. Catholic 71, Dixie Heights 41

Erlanger Lloyd 63, Cov. Holy Cross 50

Ryle 56, Newport 46

ELEVENTH REGION SEMI-FINALS (at E. Kentucky U.):

Great Crossing 50, (15) Lex. Catholic 41

(7) Lex. Frederick Douglass 58, (2) Madison Cent. 49

THIRTEENTH REGION SEMI-FINALS (at Corbin Arena):

Bell Co. 68, Whitley Co. 39

(16) N. Laurel 66, Corbin 46

FOURTEENTH REGION SEMI-FINALS (at Breathitt Co. H.S.):

Powell Co. 56, Perry Co. Cent. 54

Hazard 57, Wolfe Co. 46

FIFTEENTH REGION SEMI-FINALS (at Pikeville Expo Center):

Johnson Cent. 79, Floyd Cent. 59

Pikeville 70, Martin Co. 61

SIXTEENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Morehead St. U.):

(10) Boyd Co. 63, Elliott Co. 53

Russell 68, Fleming Co. 47

Raceland 64, Morgan Co. 61

Ashland Blazer 75, Rowan Co. 40

Pope Update

UK was flattened at home on Senior Day by the dominant team in the SEC, Florida.  The Gators jumped out to an 11-0 lead and were never challenged.  They led by 17 at the half, but eased up down the stretch, allowing UK to make the final score a less embarrassing 84 to 77.  The Cats finish with a record of 10-8 in the SEC and 19-12 overall.  They are ranked 27 on Ken Pom, and in SEC play they outscored their opponents by 10 points:  1,414 to 1,404.  They played 80 minutes of basketball against Florida, and never held the lead.  They will be seeded 9th in the SEC Tournament, where they will play LSU on Wednesday.  I believe that this will be the lowest seed UK has ever had in the SEC Tournament.  And yet, they will probably still get into the NCAA Tournament -- which means that Mark Pope is coming back for another year.  So, from the perspective of the UK Athletics Department, it's been an almost perfect season.

Credit to Vandy, which went to Knoxville on the last day of the season and beat Tennessee 86 to 82.  Vandy is ranked 13 on Ken Pom.  In the entire Ken Pom database -- going back to 1997 -- the highest Vandy has ever finished is 16 -- which was their mark in 2012.  I think Todd Golden or Mark Byington should be the SEC Coach of the Year.

According to Ken Pom, Vandy's point guard -- a sophomore named Tyler Tanner -- was the best player in the SEC this year.  I agree with that.  Here's Ken-Pom's all-conference team:

1.  Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt (sophomore)

2.  Darius Acuff, Arkansas (freshman)

3.  Alex Condon, Florida (junior)

4.  Labaron Philon, Alabama (sophomore)

5.  Thomas Haugh, Florida (junior)

The last Kentucky player to make Ken-Pom's all-conference team was Oscar Tshiebwe in 2023.

Here are the final standings, along with each team's seed in the SEC Tournament:

1.  Florida:  16-2

2.  Alabama:  13-5

3.  Arkansas:  13-5

4.  Vanderbilt:  11-7

5.  Tennessee:  11-7

6.  Texas A & M:  11-7

7.  Georgia:  10-8

8.  Missouri:  10-8

9.  Kentucky:  10-8

10.  Texas:  9-9

11.  Oklahoma:  7-11

12.  Auburn:  7-11

13.  Mississippi St:  5-13

14.  S. Carolina:  4-12

15.  Mississippi:  4-12

16.  Louisiana St:  3-15

Ken Pom has UK beating LSU 79 to 74, but there's a 31 percent chance the Tigers will pull the upset.  That would be awkward for the Powers That Be in Lexington, but it would be unlikely to change their minds.

70 Teams Left

Only two games on Friday, but they were big ones -- the Seventh Region semi-finals:

SEVENTH REGION SEMI-FINALS (at Valley H.S.):

(4) Lou. St. Xavier 61, Lou. Trinity 46

(9) Lou. Ballard 75, (12) Lou. DuPont Manual 55

72 Teams Left

Lots more quarter-final action last night:

FIRST REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Murray St. U.):

Murray 57, Carlisle Co. 48

Paducah Tilghman 45, Graves Co. 32

SECOND REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Madisonville-N. Hopkins H.S.):

Lyon Co. 88, Union Co. 60

Hopkinsville 70, Madisonville-N. Hopkins 50

THIRD REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Owensboro Sportscenter):

Meade Co. 62, Whitesville Trinity 48

Owensboro Apollo 61, Ohio Co. 38

FIFTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Green Co. H.S.):

N. Hardin 60, LaRue Co. 56

Adair Co. 71, Bardstown 59

EIGHTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Henry Co. H.S.):

(5) N. Oldham 84, Walton-Verona 38

(20) Woodford Co. 72, Gallatin Co. 27

TENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Mason Co. Fieldhouse):

Montgomery Co. 91, Bracken Co. 39

Campbell Co. 85, Nichols Co. 56

ELEVENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at E. Kentucky U.):

(7) Lex. Frederick Douglass 61, Franklin Co. 35

(2) Madison Cent. 67, Lex. Tates Creek 47

TWELFTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Pulaski Co. H.S.):

Rockcastle Co. 61, Southwestern 49

Danville Christian 66, E. Jessamine 39

THIRTEENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Corbin Arena):

(16) N. Laurel 49, Harlan 36

Corbin 54, Knox Cent. 32

FOURTEENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Breathitt Co. H.S.):

Hazard 43, Knott Co. Cent. 40

Wolfe Co. 65, Lee Co. 52

FIFTEENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Pikeville Expo Center):

Martin Co. 78, Belfry 60

Pikeville 79, Paintsville 59

94 Teams Left

Lots of action last night in the Boys' Regionals:

FIRST REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Murray St. U.):

Marshall Co. 98, Fulton Co. 35

(11) McCracken Co. 63, Mayfield 49

SECOND REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Madisonville-North Hopkins H.S.):

Henderson Co. 52, Christian Co. 39

Hopkins Co. Cent. 98, Livingston Cent. 51

THIRD REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Owensboro Sportscenter):

(8) Daviess Co. 53, Breckinridge Co. 33

Grayson Co. 91, Muhlenberg Co. 65

FOURTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at W. Kentucky U.):

S. Warren 57, Logan Co. 44

Monroe Co. 63, Glasgow 61

FIFTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Green Co. H.S.):

Taylor Co. 70, Thomas Nelson 44

Caverna 73, Elizabethtown 44

EIGHTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Henry Co. H.S.):

Henry Co. 66, (18) S. Oldham 63

Spencer Co. 64, Simon Kenton 57

TENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Mason Co. H.S.):

Scott 84, Mason Co. 57

(6) Geo. Rogers Clark 84, Pendleton Co. 42

ELEVENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at E. Kentucky U.):

Great Crossing 82, Model 41

(15) Lex. Catholic 42, (17) Lex. Bryan Station 41

TWELFTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Pulaski Co. H.S.):

Boyle Co. 51, Somerset 48 (OT)

W. Jessamine 64, Somerset Christian School 61

THIRTEENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Corbin Arena):

Bell Co. 46, Clay Co. 30

Whitley Co. 76, Pineville 48

FOURTEENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Breathitt Co. H.S.):

Perry Co. Cent. 64, Breathitt Co. 55

Powell Co. 73, Letcher Co. Cent:  71

FIFTEENTH REGION QUARTER-FINALS (at Pikeville Expo Center):

Floyd Cent. 53, Pike Co. Cent. 42

Johnson Cent. 93, Phelps 58