Four Northern Kentucky basketball teams ranked in top 10 heading into postseason

James Weber and Jason Frakes, Cincinnati Enquirer

February 20, 2023 at 4:06 PM·5 min read

Evan Ipsaro and Covington Catholic are ranked fifth in the state.

The best month of the year for high school basketball fans begins Monday, with district tournaments beginning around Northern Kentucky and the rest of the state.

Here is the final top 10 of the season for the Kentucky High School Basketball Media Poll. Tabulated by Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier-Journal, the poll has one journalist representing each of the 16 regions in KHSAA basketball. The Cincinnati Enquirer is the poll voter for the Ninth Region.

Check out the fields' picks for the champion of each region here.

More:Who could Northern Kentucky basketball teams face in the KHSAA Sweet 16?

Boys statewide poll

First-place votes are in parentheses. Records are through Sunday’s games.

Rank-school (FPV) Record Pts LW

1. Warren Central (16) 27-1 160 1

2. Lexington Catholic 28-2 144 2

3. North Oldham 23-5 106 3

4. George Rogers Clark 22-5 95 4

5. Covington Catholic 24-4 69 5

6. Ballard 23-4 63 T6

7. Great Crossing 25-5 61 T6

8. Frederick Douglass 26-2 57 9

9. Lyon County 25-5 55 8

10. Evangel Christian 26-4 33 10

Others receiving votes: Male 20, Bowling Green 9, North Laurel 6, Conner 1, McCracken County 1.

Abby Holtman and Kay Freihofer have Ryle and Cooper in the top 10 in the state.

Girls statewide poll

First-place votes are in parentheses. Records are through Sunday’s games.

Rank-school (FPV) Record Pts LW

1. Sacred Heart (16) 27-3 160 1

2. Manual 25-2 144 2

3. Cooper 24-3 126 3

4. McCracken County 27-2 109 4

5. Mercy 19-9 87 5

6. George Rogers Clark 21-7 82 6

7. Henderson County 22-4 66 7

8. Ryle 21-8 39 9

9. Holy Cross 24-6 33 8

10. Bethlehem 23-7 13 NR

Others receiving votes: Christian Academy 5, Pikeville 5, Bowling Green 4, Graves County 3, Meade County 3, Danville 1.

James Weber's Ninth Region rankings

Boys basketball

1. Conner

2. Covington Catholic

3. Holy Cross

4. Lloyd Memorial

5. Newport

Girls basketball

1. Cooper

2. Ryle

3. Holy Cross

4. Conner

5. Dixie Heights

Statewide regional rankings

If you're looking to handicap the Sweet 16, here are the final regional top 5 rankings by each voter who covers that region.

First Region (Chelsea Parker, The Paducah Sun): Boys - 1. McCracken County, 2. Murray, 3. Paducah Tilghman, 4. Marshall County, 5. Mayfield. Girls – 1. McCracken County, 2. Graves County, 3. Mayfield, 4. Paducah Tilghman, 5. Marshall County.

Second Region (Scott Brown, YourSportsEdge.com/WKDZ-FM): Boys - 1. Lyon County, 2. Christian County, 3. Henderson County, 4. University Heights, 5. Madisonville-North Hopkins. Girls – 1. Henderson County, 2. Hopkins County Central, 3. Crittenden County, 4. Union County, 5. Madisonville-North Hopkins.

Third Region (Mark Mathis, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer): Boys - 1. Owensboro Catholic, 2. Ohio County, 3. Owensboro, 4. McLean County, 5. Butler County. Girls – 1. Meade County, 2. Owensboro Catholic, 3. Owensboro, 4. Breckinridge County, 5. Butler County.

Fourth Region (Micheal Compton, Bowling Green Daily News): Boys - 1. Warren Central, 2. Bowling Green, 3. South Warren, 4. Warren East, 5. Franklin-Simpson. Girls – 1. Bowling Green, 2. Barren County, 3. South Warren, 4. Franklin-Simpson, 5. Cumberland County.

Fifth Region (Josh Claywell, Bardstown Kentucky Standard/LaRue County Herald News): Boys - 1. LaRue County, 2. Taylor County, 3. Elizabethtown, 4. North Hardin, 5. Washington County. Girls – 1. Bethlehem, 2. Taylor County, 3. Nelson County, 4. North Hardin, 5. Green County.

Sixth Region (Dominique Yates, WLKY-TV): Boys - 1. Evangel Christian, 2. Pleasure Ridge Park, 3. Western, 4. Butler, 5. DeSales. Girls – 1. Mercy, 2. Bullitt East, 3. Whitefield Academy, 4. Bullitt Central, 5. North Bullitt.

Seventh Region (Jason Frakes, Louisville Courier Journal): Boys - 1. Ballard, 2. Male, 3. Trinity, 4. Manual, 5. St. Xavier. Girls – 1. Sacred Heart, 2. Manual, 3. Central, 4. Christian Academy-Louisville, 5. Assumption.

Eighth Region (Josiah Koenig, Oldham Era): Boys - 1. North Oldham, 2. Grant County, 3. Collins, 4. Simon Kenton, 5. Spencer County. Girls – 1. Anderson County, 2. Spencer County, 3. Grant County, 4. South Oldham, 5. Simon Kenton.

10^th Region (Evan Dennison, LinkNKY.com/formerly of Maysville Ledger-Independent): Boys - 1. George Rogers Clark, 2. Mason County, 3. Campbell County, 4. Harrison County, 5. Bracken County. Girls – 1. George Rogers Clark, 2. Montgomery County, 3. Bishop Brossart, 4. Paris, 5. Pendleton County.

11^th Region (Jared Peck, Lexington Herald-Leader): Boys - 1. Lexington Catholic, 2. Frederick Douglass, 3. Great Crossing, 4. Madison Central, 5. Lexington Christian. Girls – 1. Frederick Douglass, 2. Franklin County, 3. Madison Central, 4. Great Crossing, 5. Henry Clay.

12^th Region (Mike Marsee, Danville freelancer): Boys - 1. Pulaski County, 2. Lincoln County, 3. West Jessamine, 4. Danville, 5. Boyle County. Girls – 1. Danville, 2. Mercer County, 3. Pulaski County, 4. Southwestern, 5. Danville Christian.

13^th Region (Les Dixon, 13thRegionMediaNetwork.com): Boys - 1. North Laurel, 2. Harlan County, 3. South Laurel, 4. Corbin, 5. Harlan. Girls - 1. North Laurel, 2. Knox Central, 3. Corbin, 4. South Laurel, 5. Jackson County.

14^th Region (John Lowe, WYMT-TV): Boys - 1. Hazard, 2. Perry County Central, 3. Breathitt County, 4. Letcher County Central, 5. Estill County; Girls - 1. Leslie County, 2. Perry County Central, 3. Owsley County, 4. Knott County Central, 5. Wolfe County.

15^th Region (Randy White, Appalachian News-Express): Boys - 1. Pikeville, 2. Pike County Central, 3. Shelby Valley, 4. Martin County, 5. Floyd Central; Girls - 1. Pikeville, 2. Lawrence County, 3. Johnson Central, 4. Paintsville, 5. Pike County Central.

16^th Region (Matthew Sparks, Ashland Daily Independent): Boys - 1. Boyd County, 2. Russell, 3. Ashland Blazer, 4. Morgan County, 5. Fleming County. Girls - 1. Rowan County, 2. Russell, 3. Boyd County, 4. Ashland Blazer, 5. Lewis County.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Four Northern Kentucky basketball teams in top 10 entering postseason

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Boys statewide poll

Girls statewide poll

James Weber's Ninth Region rankings

Statewide regional rankings

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