By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Northern Kentucky teams are among the leading contenders in the All “A” Classic state basketball tournament brackets, according to the latest statewide power rankings published by the Lexington Herald Leader.
In the 16-team boys bracket, St. Henry has the highest power ranking (77.1), followed by Somerset (71.7), University Heights (69.1) Brossart (68.4) and Murray (66.1).
The top five teams in the girls bracket are Bardstown Bethlehem (82.6), Brossart (74.5), Walton-Verona (73.2), Glasgow (72.3) and West Carter (72.3).
The opening round of the girls state tournament will be played Wednesday at Eastern Kentucky University’s McBrayer Arena in Richmond. The games include Brossart vs. Owensboro Catholic at 5 p.m. and Walton-Verona vs. Newport Central Catholic at 8 p.m. The power rankings have Owensboro Catholic (70.8) at No. 6 and NewCath (67.8) at No. 9.
The first round of the boys tournament will be played Thursday at McBrayer Arena. Brossart will take on Frankfort at 10 a.m and St. Henry will face Campbellsville at 9:30 p.m. In the power rankings, Frankfort (56.2) is 13th and Campbellsville (53.4) is 14th.
Northern Kentucky teams have won four girls titles and seven boys titles in the history of the All “A” Classic small-school state basketball tournaments. The last ones came in 2015 when the Holy Cross girls and NewCath boys brought home state championship trophies.
Live broadcasts of the All “A” Classic games will be provided online by koolhits1057.com and scoring summaries will be posted on allaclassic.org.
ALL “A” CLASSIC GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT
(at EKU McBrayer Arena in Richmond)
Wednesday — Upper bracket
Berea vs. Bardstown Bethlehem, 8:30 a.m.
West Carter vs. Lyon County, 10 a.m.
Williamsburg vs. Glasgow, 11:30 a.m.
Danville vs. Louisville Collegiate, 1 p.m.
Wednesday — Lower bracket
Brossart vs. Owensboro Catholic, 5 p.m.
Knott County Central vs. Murray, 6:30 p.m.
Walton-Verona vs. Newport Central Catholic, 8 p.m.
Louisville Holy Cross vs. Shelby Valley, 9:30 p.m.
Friday
Upper bracket quarterfinals, 8:30 and 10 a.m.
Lower bracket quarterfinals, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Saturday
Semifinals, noon and 1:30 p.m.
Sunday
Championship game, noon
ALL “A” CLASSIC BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT
(at EKU McBrayer Arena in Richmond)
Thursday — Upper bracket
Owensboro Catholic vs. West Carter, 8:30 a.m.
Brossart vs. Frankfort, 10 a.m.
Louisville Holy Cross vs. Metcalfe County, 11:30 a.m.
University Heights vs. Murray, 1 p.m.
Thursday — Lower bracket
Hazard vs. Louisville Collegiate, 5 p.m.
Harlan vs. Painstville, 6:30 p.m.
Somerset vs. Gallatin County, 8 p.m.
St. Henry vs. Campbellsville, 9:30 p.m.
Friday
Upper bracket quarterfinals, 5 and 6:30 p.m.
Lower bracket quarterfinals, 8 and 9:30 p.m.
Saturday
Semifinals, 6 and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday
Championship game, 2 p.m.