Coin Flips, Pill Bottles, and More

District Tournament Brackets are Nearly Set  but coin flips and pill bottles may help decide the seeding for the events

By Perry Swack

With the final weekend of regular-season district play upon us, teams across the 4th Region are looking to see what they must do to improve their district tournament seeding. With most teams having one more district game to play, tie-breaking procedures are assured of coming into play. The KHSAA allows each district to utilize its own tie-breaking procedure from RPI to coin flips to pill-bottle drawings. Below we will look at each district in the 4th Region and determine what’s left to play for as teams take to the hardwood against their district rivals one more time before the postseason begins in two weeks.

13th District Standings

  1. Franklin-Simpson 5-0
  2. Logan County 3-2
  3. Todd County Central 2-3
  4. Russellville 0-5

Remaining Games

Friday, February 9 @ 7:30 PM – Todd County Central @ Russellville

Friday, February 9 @ 7:30 PM – Franklin-Simpson @ Logan County

Russellville will host the 13th District Tournament at the end of the month. The matchups for the event are set as Franklin-Simpson has clinched the 1-seed and will play host (and 4-seed) Russellville regardless of the results this weekend. The 2-3 matchup is also set as Logan County and Todd County Central will face off in this game; however, the seeding is not completely finalized. If Logan County defeats Franklin-Simpson on Friday, the Cougars will clinch the 2-seed. If Todd County Central loses to Russellville, Logan County will clinch the 2-seed regardless of its result with Franklin-Simpson.

Should Logan County lose and Todd County Central win, both the Cougars and Rebels will be 3-3 in district play. Things will then get interesting. Let’s look at the 13th District tie-breaking procedures to determine who will get the 2-seed.

Tie-BreakerLogan County & Todd County Central
#1 Head-to-HeadSplit Season Series
#2 Points allowed against other teamTwo-Game Aggregate
LC – 136
TCC – 130

Logan allowed six less points than Todd and therefore would receive the 2-seed in the event of a tie.

Projected Seeding for 13th District Tournament

  1. Franklin-Simpson
  2. Logan County
  3. Todd County Central
  4. Russellville
Mason Ritter and the Purples will likely be the 14th District #1 seed

14th District Standings

  1. Bowling Green 5-0
  2. Warren Central 4-1
  3. South Warren 1-4
  4. Greenwood 0-5

Remaining Games

Friday, February 9 @ 7:30 PM – Warren Central @ Bowling Green

Friday, February 9 @ 7:30 PM – Greenwood @ South Warren

In the years of a coin flip tiebreak, everything would seemingly be on the line for the 14th District this weekend. Bowling Green and Warren Central will face off with the Purples holding a one-game lead on the Dragons, while across town the Spartans and Gators are within one game of each other with a head-to-head on the schedule. However, the 14th District recently changed its tie-breaking procedures to incorporate the KHSAA ratings percentage index (RPI) after head-to-head meetings. This will create a tall task for Warren Central and Greenwood to overcome BG or SW, should they finish the district slate tied with either school.

If Warren Central defeats Bowling Green and both are tied at 5-1 in district play, the tie-breaking procedure determines the 1-seed by RPI on the day after the final district game is played (February 10). The Purples currently have an RPI of .665, the Dragons are at .560. A Bowling Green loss would still likely leave them as the higher-rated team. It’s a similar situation for Greenwood and South Warren. A Gator victory would leave the teams tied at 1-5, but the Spartans’ RPI is .529 compared to GHS’ .489 entering Friday’s game. It’s possible that Greenwood could supplant South, but it seems like the Gators would still be in fourth on Saturday morning.

The four teams will decide who is district champion at the end of the month at South Warren.

Projected Seeding for 14th District Tournament

  1. Bowling Green
  2. Warren Central
  3. South Warren
  4. Greenwood
Graham Hall and Barren have clinched the 15th District #1 seed

15th District Standings

  1. Barren County 4-2
  2. Warren East 4-2
  3. Glasgow 2-3
  4. Allen County-Scottsville 1-4

Remaining Game

Friday, February 9 @ 7:30 PM – Allen County-Scottsville @ Glasgow

Although Barren County and Warren East are tied atop the 15th District standings, the Trojans have already clinched the 1-seed for the tournament due to its 2-0 head-to-head record against the Raiders. The only possibility for excitement will be in the Glasgow-Allen County game scheduled for Friday evening. A Scottie victory would ensure it plays as the 3-seed; however, a Patriot win would make things interesting. Read below to see how things would shake out if ACS defeats Glasgow.

Tie-BreakerGlasgow & ACS (if ACS wins on 2/9)
#1 Head-to-HeadSplit Season Series
#2 Team with best record against highest other seed in ascending orderRecords against #2 Warren East
Glasgow 0-2
ACS 0-2
Records against #1 Barren County
Glasgow 1-1
ACS 1-1
#3 Draw from pill bottle beginning with district host and follow district host rotationACS is hosting the 2024 Tournament and would draw first from the pill bottle

If ACS finds a way to defeat the Scotties, we would get one of the most unusual tie-breaking procedures across the state: a pill bottle drawing to determine district seeding.

Projected Seeding for 15th District Tournament

  1. Barren County
  2. Warren East
  3. Glasgow
  4. Allen County-Scottsville

16th District Standings

  1. Russell County 6-1
  2. Cumberland County 4-2
  3. Clinton County 4-2
  4. Metcalfe County 2-6
  5. Monroe County 1-6

Remaining Games

Thursday, February 8 @ 7:30 PM – Monroe County @ Cumberland County

Sunday, February 11 @ 4:00 PM – Clinton County @ Cumberland County

Wednesday, February 14 @ 7:30 PM – Russell County @ Clinton County

In the region’s only five-team district, there is a lot to be decided as four of the five teams take to the court against one another over the next week. We will show you the Tie-Breaking Procedures utilized by the 16th District before we tell you how it may play out.

Tie-Breaker (Two Teams)Tie-Breaker (Three Teams)
#1 Head-to-Head#1 Head-to-Head
#2 Coin Flip between two teams#2 Coin Flip if down to teams
#3 If still three teams are tied, draw based on the district tournament host rotation with host drawing first 

Russell County has the clear edge for the district’s 1-seed as if they win, they clinch. However, should they lose to Clinton County on Valentine’s Day, it could open Pandora’s box. If Clinton County defeats Cumberland County and Russell County to finish tied 6-2 with RC, it would go to a coin flip (as teams would split season series). Since Cumberland County and Clinton County play one another on Sunday, we will avoid a three-team tie as either the Panthers or Bulldogs will have three district losses. If Cumberland County finishes 6-2 and are tied with Russell County, the Lakers would clinch the #1 seed due to their season sweep over the Panthers.

While Monroe County and Metcalfe County are locked into the 4-5 game regardless of the week’s results, the Falcons can earn the 4-seed with a win over Cumberland County on Thursday coupled with a coin flip victory over the Hornets (due to the split season series). Russell County will host the 16th District Tournament at the end of the month.

Projected Seeding for 16th District Tournament

  1. Russell County
  2. Clinton County
  3. Cumberland County
  4. Metcalfe County
  5. Monroe County
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