Before the boys regional tournament draw Saturday, conventional wisdom held that for the Logan County Cougars to go to state, they would have to beat either Bowling Green or Warren Central in their own bracket and the other in the finals.
The best hope to get the tournament off to a good start was to draw the runner-up from a different district in the first round. And, they did it. The 13th District champion Cougars (27-3) will play Cumberland County (7-21) at 7:45 Tuesday night at Diddle Arena. Bowling Green High (24-7) and Allen County-Scottsville () are in their bracket.
Thirteenth District runner-up Franklin-Simpson (14-15) also got the best draw available in 16th District champion Clinton County (23-27). They will play Wednesday. In the Wildcats’ bracket are 15th District champion Barren County (23-8) and Central (23-7).
The semifinals are scheduled a week later on Monday, March 9. The Cougars would play the first game. The championship game will be played Tuesday, the night before the girls state tournament opens.
Coach John Tinsley’s Cougars are the only undefeated team in region play with a 17-0 record. They also bring the most wins and the fewest losses into the tournament.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Associations RPI shows the Cougars as a 25-point favorite over the Cumberland County Panthers. That same RPI has Central being a 1-point favorite over the Cougars while the RPI for BGH is less than half a point more than the Cougars’ number.