maddams

I just went to pull the box score from TSSAA website. Burdette played 16 minutes in the game. Major blow for Summertown offensively and defensively. You're right about Loretto. They peaked at the right time and were the best team in the last week of the season, which is when it matters most

This game looked fairly similar to the previous 3 meetings between Summertown and Loretto. A few differences, in my opinion, were the difference in the outcome. 1. Loretto took care of the ball. In their previous meetings, Loretto's guards not named Karly struggled with turnovers against Summertown's defense. Those same guards played very well in the championship game and avoided turnovers. This allowed Loretto to keep Summertown out of transition, which is where Summertown was at its best. 2. Summertown did not shoot well. This was the case in all three games at the Murphy Center. They had several looks in the championship game that would have changed momentum or, in the 3rd quarter, extended their lead. They just couldn't knock them down. 3. Loretto's ability to get to the free throw line was huge. If I remember the final stats correctly, Loretto was 19-26 from the FT line compared to Summertown at 5-8. In previous meetings this year, those numbers were much closer. 4. Burdette being in foul trouble. She had no issues with foul trouble in previous matchups. She was really good in the championship game and her minutes being limited due to foul trouble was a big blow for Summertown. All that to say, Loretto deserved to win that game. They played their best basketball in the last couple weeks of the season. Karly Weathers is a special talent and will give Loretto a chance to compete again next season. Summertown had a heck of a season and will have to figure out how to replace 4 senior starters.

Take a breath. I think he misspelled a word, and has since edited it to correct the mistake.

Exactly. 400 people in a gym like Huntland, Summertown, Clarkrange feels like a lot more

Accurate

I suspect that most coaches aren’t spending much time on the TSSAA website right now with region and sectional games going on. I’m not for TSSAA doing anything behind closed doors, but at the least, they should have sent an email to coaches and ADs to make them aware or remind them what was going on. Not saying it was done unfairly, but certainly could have been handled better

400 people in Huntland’s gym won’t hinder the atmosphere much. Fun place to watch a game

This is a great point. Unfortunately it’s absolutely true. TSSAA has made so many questionable decisions that most people don’t trust them to do anything other than collect money.

That bracket is disappointing. If Clarkrange or Summertown wins the thing, they will have earned it. That’s brutal.

I'll take North Greene, Oneida, Clarkrange, Huntland, Loretto, Summertown, Gibson Co, and Peabody. I expect a few of these games to not be very close. Best games on the list are probably Cloudland/Oneida and Clay/Huntland

I expect this game to be closer than the previous two matchups. Loretto seems to be playing better basketball at the right time of year and having the best player on the court always helps. This game matters tremendously to both teams, but in the grand scheme, I'm not sure it makes much difference. I think both end up in Murfreesboro next week. I don't see either one losing to Houston Co or Jo Byrns in the substate game

Loretto at McKenzie should be the game of the night. My opinion, Karly gets hers. Nobody has stopped Karly all year, but if you can make her inefficient, you’ve got a good shot. The key to beating Loretto is not letting other players hurt you. If Kinsey Weathers or the other other post player get 12+ or if one of their other guards shoots open 3s, Loretto wins. McKenzie’s press could really bother Loretto’s other guards. McKenzie will need to get TOs and shoot the 3 ball well. Last thing, it’s gonna be a 2+ hour ride for Loretto. That’s a long way to drive to play the same day. I think McKenzie wins by less than possessions

I think that's a good prediction. Gleason is certainly capable of winning this game, but I agree that Peabody wins it by 4-8 points at home.

You may be right. Whitwell beat them earlier this year (I did not see the game) and Pickett does not seem to be playing very well as of late. Honest question, why are you so sure that Pickett blows them out?

First round of region tends to be a lot of blowouts. Looking across the state, I only see about 5-6 games with questionable outcomes. Unaka @ Greenback Sunbright @ Copper Basin Pickett Co @ Whitwell Wayne Co @ Huntingdon Gleason @ Peabody Did I miss any?

This won't be close. Collinwood has some length but their guard play is not great. I expect McKenzie's press to really bother them. McKenzie by 30+

I would say Fairview has a pretty good shot at beating Forrest.

I think Huntland is the heavy favorite. But it's worth talking about what Coach Lynch has done with this team. Getting Eagleville to the state tournament a couple years ago was impressive, but getting this team to the district championship may be his best coaching job.

Didn't Whitwell beat Pickett earlier this year? I know Whitwell lost to Clay Co twice but neither of those games was a blowout. Region 6A could sweep but I wouldn't call Whitwell or Van Buren beating Red Boiling Springs an upset. That's assuming that Pickett Co beats RBS in the consolation game. Pickett seems to not be playing well right now. You watch more Upper Cumberland basketball than I do. Why do you feel that strongly about 6A sweeping?

For the sake of argument, let's define upsets as lower seeded teams beating higher seeded teams. Potential upsets: Peabody as a 2 seed potentially losing to the 3 seed from District 13 (Gleason, Greenfield, or Union City). 2 seed Cloudland beating 1 seed Cosby in the semifinal. 2 seed Loretto beating 1 seed McKenzie in the semifinal. 2 seed Pickett or Clay Co beating 1 seed Whitwell or Van Buren. I'm not saying any of these will happen, but they seem the most likely potential lower seeds beating higher seeds. The other game people should watch is 3 seed Wayne County at 2 seed Huntingdon. Wayne has gotten healthy and was playing better before the snow hit. They could be a dangerous matchup for Huntingdon

You're absolutely correct. Neither team played a difficult schedule. Westview's schedule may have actually been tougher when you consider district games but those cannot be controlled. If you look at non-district scheduling, South Side only played 6 games due to COVID. Hard to knock them for scheduling poorly in that situation

I watched them both a couple times online. Very good teams. Strong defenses and good shooters. Don’t think either team is particularly deep. I think they’re very evenly matched but a little behind Upperman and SouthSide from a talent standpoint

My last Top 10 as we head into tournament play 1. Upperman (26-1) - loss to Macon could be a positive; relieves any pressure of being undefeated 2. Jackson SouthSide (18-0) - really excited about their likely region matchup vs Westview 3. Northview Academy (27-1) - senior heavy; I expect them in Murfreesboro and could make some noise 4. Grainger (28-3) - experienced and talented; should be in Murfreesboro and would be tough out 5. Westview (20-1) - all about Harrison; will their weak schedule cost them? 6. Meigs Co (16-4) - tough region matchup with any of the top 4 from 8AA 7. Westmoreland (20-3) - really good defensively; can they score enough to get to Murfreesboro 8. Macon Co (18-5) - win over Upperman could right the ship; Gregory is good enough to carry them 9. Covington (20-5) - always tough; will not be challenged until substate game 10. Sullivan East (23-4) - likely region title game v Grainger with loser likely going to Northview for substate Other teams to watch: Alcoa, Creek Wood, East Nashville, Fairview, Livingston Academy, Maplewood, Scotts Hill, Signal Mountain, York Institute

My last Top 10 as we head into tournament play: 1. McKenzie (23-1) - will be challenged in Region Semifinal by Loretto or Summertown 2. Gibson Co (27-1) - expect them to cruise to state tournament; great talent and great coaching 3. Clarkrange (21-5) - guard play is really good; Rogers is a legend; not challenged until Murfreesboro 4. Summertown (23-3) - hard to see anyone winning at Summertown in region semifinal: long layoff 5. Loretto (15-6) - Weathers gives them a chance every game; no bad losses; another team w/ long layoff 6. Peabody (22-5) - will have to win two tough games to get to region final 7. Cloudland (18-4) - district championship tonight vs North Greene; they split season series 8. Greenfield (14-5) - playing better as of late; need to win their district to stay opposite of Gibson 9. Houston Co (17-2) - district championship vs Jo Byrns this week; they split season series 10. Tellico Plains (20-0) - in this spot because they're undefeated but they have played no one Others to watch: Clay Co, Cosby, Gleason, Huntland, Jo Byrns, Moore Co, Oneida, Pickett Co, Richland, Union City, Van Buren Co, Whitwell

Clarkrange and Gibson will definitely be there. You’ve seen more Pickett than I have. Are they better than Clay? I think they split the regular season games. As for favorites to play in championship, that’s completely dependent on the draw. Clarkrange and Gibson could play in the first round.