Lyon County will begin its 2nd Region tournament title defense Wednesday night against Hopkins County Central.
The Lyons and Storm will play the second game of the 2023 regional tourney at 7:30 that night at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School.
At 27-5, Lyon is not only the defending champion, but a strong favorite to return to Rupp Arena in Lexington for the Sweet 16.
Hopkins Central (14-17), the 7th District runner-up, gets first crack at derailing the Lyon train.
Lyon, the 5th District champion for the fifth straight year, handled the Storm by 34 points when the teams met Dec. 15 in Eddyville.
The Lyons are 16-1 against 2nd Region competition this season. The only loss was to University Heights Academy in the All A Classic, but the Blazers are not in the regional field after being bumped out by Hopkinsville in the 8th District semifinals.
The 2nd Region tournament begins with Christian County and Webster County squaring off at 6:00 Wednesday.
The 8th District champion Colonels (18-12) and the 6th District runner-up Trojans (17-12) did not meet during the regular season. The KHSAA RPI has those teams virtually even in its rankings.
The other side of the draw on Thursday has Henderson County and Trigg County meeting at 6:00.
The Colonels are 21-8 and ranked second behind Lyon in the 2nd Region RPI after winning the 6th District.
The 5th District runner-up Wildcats are 15-16.
The teams did not meet during the regular season.
The opening round concludes at 7:30 Thursday with host Madisonville (22-9) taking on Hopkinsville (13-16).
Madisonville enters the regional field as a district champion for the 14th straight year.
The Maroons and 8th District runner-up Tigers met twice in Madisonville during the season. Madisonville won 63-58 in the First United Bank Holiday Classic on Dec. 20, but Hoptown rallied from 15 points down to prevail 65-50 on Jan. 16.
The regional semifinals are set for Monday, March 6.
The championship game is Tuesday, March 7, at 6:00.
