Kentucky high school basketball has something that makes it fundamentally different from almost anywhere else in the country: when the season ends, there is only one state champion. There are no separate championships based on school enrollment and no divisions that allow programs to compete for a title against schools of similar size. Every team begins the season with the same ultimate goal - make it through its region, get to Lexington and win the Sweet Sixteen. The KHSAA's boys basketball tournament is built around 16 regional champions coming together for one statewide championship.
That is what makes the road to a championship so difficult. Before a team can worry about what happens at Rupp Arena, it has to survive the teams in its own region. A program can be one of the best teams in Kentucky and still never make it to the state tournament because it happened to be playing in a loaded region. The regional tournament isn't simply a qualification step; for many teams, it is the most difficult part of their entire postseason.
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