It’s that time of year again. With the regular season over, the final rankings made, and the sectional pairing drawn, it’s time for the tournament to begin. Four classes. Four state champions. Like it or not, that’s the way we do it in Indiana. And this year’s tournament has potential to be a great one in all four classes.
So let’s get to it. I’m about to pick winners in all 64 sectionals and break down some of the key ones. Starting… NOW.
Class A
Sectional 64 at Tecumseh: #12 Evansville Day.
Sectional 63 at North Davies
In a sectional with three ranked teams, the clear favorite is class 1A #1 Barr-Reeve, but an upset could be brewing. Reeve cruises past Washington Catholic in the first round. They find #7 Logotee waiting for them in the next round. Reeve won by three the first time these two played, and I’ll take them in a close one. #13 North Davies rolls through the other side of the bracket to meet Barr Reeve in the title game. North Davies hangs around on their home floor, but I’ll take Bar Reeve to win the sectional.
Sectional 62 at Borden: #3 Borden.
Sectional 61 at Orleans
Orleans. Really a toss-up in this sectional. I’ll take Orleans because they got an easier draw than Crothersville and NE Dubois, who will have to play each other in the semi-finals. Orleans wins it on their home floor.
Sectional 60 at South Decatur: Hauser
Sectional 59 at Edinburgh
#2 Edinburgh is the favorite to win this one on their home floor. I’ll take Edinburgh, but it’s not going to be easy. They will roll to an easy win in the first round, but in the second round will meet the winner of Morristown and Irvington Prep. Either game would be a challenge, but I’ll take Edinburgh in a close win over Morristown. In the sectional championship they are likely to face #15 Greenwood Christian. Greenwood got an easy draw, and with one of the top scorers in the state in Kyle Stidom on their team, they have a shot to beat the Lancers. And how about this for incentive? Greenwood Christian has never won a sectional title. I’ll take Edinburg in a thrilling sectional title game.
Sectional 58 at University: #11 University
Sectional 57 at White River Valley
Clay City. I’ll take Clay City over two teams that are tied for #15, Shakamak and White River Valley. Shakamak and White River Valley will have to play each other in the semifinals, while Clay City only has to win one game to get to the final.
Sectional 56 at Blue River: Blue River
Sectional 55 at Monroe Central: Liberty Christian wins their first ever sectional title.
Sectional 54 at Tri Central: Lafayette Central Catholic wins their 11th straight sectional championship.
Sectional 53 at North Vermillion: #6 Rockville.
Sectional 52 at Fort Wayne Blackhawk
The tournament technically began today, with one game being played in this sectional between Howe School and Bethany Christian. Howe won a close win 57-53 and they will make it to the sectional title game, but I’ll take #9 Fort Wayne Canterbury to win the title. It won’t be easy for Canterbury though. They will have to go beat the winner of Lakewood Park and Elkhart Christian in the semi-finals.
Sectional 51 at Triton: #5 Triton.
Sectional 50 at West Central: #14 Pioneer.
Sectional 49 at Morgan Township: #4 Kouts.
Class 2A
Sectional 48 at Southridge
I’ll take Forest Park in a tough, tough sectional. Evansville Mater Dei and Perry Central are very capable of winning this one as well, but Forrest Park has the easiest draw of those three teams.
Sectional 47 at North Knox
If it pans out the way it should, #2 Eastern Greene vs. #6 Sullivan will be a heck of a sectional title game. I’ll take Rhett Smith and Sullivan in the upset. Sullivan gets a bye first round and may be peeking at the right time. Sullivan has won seven straight while Eastern Greene hasn’t lost since their first game of the season. Eastern Greene runs out of gas against a very tough Sullivan team.
Sectional 46 at Paoli
I’ll take #11 Providence in a sectional that features three teams with 17 wins or more. Providence and #9 Clarksville would meet in the semi-finals with #15 Crawford County on the other side of the bracket. Providence avenges a regular season loss to Clarksville then slides past Crawford County in the title game.
Sectional 45 at South Ripley: South Ripley wins the rubber match with Milan in the final to win the title on their home floor. Look out for North Decatur as a dark horse in this one.
Sectional 44 at South Putnam: Cascade.
Sectional 43 at Triton Central: Scecina.
Sectional 42 at Broad Ripple
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when #1 Park Tudor and #8 Broad Ripple were put on opposite sides of the bracket. Ripple and Park Tudor roll in the first round games. Ripple does the same in the semi-finals, while Park Tudor is tested by Anthony Warrum and Herritage Christian, but prevails. Then, in what could be the best sectional championship game in all the state, Yogi Ferrell and Park Tudor sneak past Broad Ripple in the final game.
Sectional 41 at Hagerstown: A semi-final game between #17 Union County and Centerville could likely decide this one. I’ll take Union City to win the title.
Sectioanl 40 at Lapel
#10 Wapanhani and #16 Lapel is the projected title game, but with five teams above .500 in the sectional, this one will be tough. I’ll take Lapel but it won’t be easy.
Sectional 39 at Tipton: #7 Tipton.
Sectional 38 at Fountain Central: Sheridan.
Sectional 37 at Manchester
Northfield, but look out for Oak Hill. They get a first round bye and would be waiting for Northfield in the semi-finals.
Sectional 36 at South Adams: #13 Adams Central gets by Churubusco and cruises by South Adams in the semi’s to get to the title game. On the other side, Bluffton cruises in the first round, grinds out a tough win against Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, but then loses to Adam Central in the championship.
Sectional 35 at Westview
LaVille slides past a stuggling Westview team in the first round, cruises in the semi-finals, and then gets rid of a pesky Fremont team in the final. LaVille.
Sectional 34 at Winamac
A first round game between #4 North Judson and #14 Hebron could decide this one. I’ll take North Judson in that game and in the sectional, but look out for Winamac in the bottom half of the bracket.
Sectional 33 at Wheeler
Five teams with 12 or more wins in this sectional makes this one a very interesting one to watch. No game will be easy, but I’ll take #5 Bowman Academy to pull through. Bowman gets a bye first round, and they have played one of the toughest schedules in the state this season. That pays off for them as they slide past #3 Hammond Noll in what will be a great title game.
Class 3A
Sectional 32 at Boonville
Jaquan Lyle and #6 Evansville Bosse slides past #16 Evansville Memorial in a fantastic sectional championship game.
Sectional 31 at Washington: Vincennes Lincoln.
Sectional 30 at Salem
#8 Brownstown Central, but look out for Silver Creek. Those two teams meet in the first round with the winner likely to be favored through the rest of the sectional. I’ll take Brownstown Central to avenge their lost to Silver Creek from early in the season.
Sectional 29 at Greensburg
#1 Greensburg rolls through this sectional. A semi-final game between Greensburg and Batesville would set up a re-match of a game that went into overtime earlier this year. Greensburg is the only team in the state that is undefeated in the tournament, and the sectional keeps them that way.
Sectional 28 at Greencastle: Greencastle.
Sectional 27 at Beech Grove
Northwest grinds out two tough wins against Indian Creek and Danville in the first two rounds and then beats Manuel in a highly competitive sectional title game.
Sectional 26 at Mount Vernon
Perhaps the toughest sectional in class 3A. Bishop Chatard gets an easy win against Arlington in the first round, while Mount Vernon upsets #10 Guerin Catholic in the bottom half of the bracket. Brebeuf Jesuit grinds out a win against Chatard, while Mount Vernon is able to sneak past Howe. In the title game, PJ Thompson’s talent is too much to handle and Brebeuf wins the sectional title.
Sectional 25 at Frankfot: #5 Lebanon.
Sectional 24 at Muncie South: #2 Muncie Central rolls through this sectional.
Sectional 23 at Norwell: #4 Norwell, but watch Logan Irwin and Whitiko.
Sectional 22 at Garrett: #11 Fort Wayne Concordia.
Sectional 21 at Northwood: #15 Tippecanoe Valley.
Sectional 20 at Twin Lakes
Another sectional with five teams over .500, and this one is a toss-up. #9 Northwestern and West Lafayette could be an exciting first round matchup. The winner of that game would likely face #12 Western in the semi’s. I’ll take Western to prevail to the title game to play Twin Lakes, and Western is my pick to win this one.
Sectional 19 at Plymouth
#7 Mishawaka Marian defeats #12 Plymouth in a thrilling semi-final game and rolls in the final.
Sectional 18 at Rensselaer Central: #3 Andrean.
Sectional 17 at Hammond Clark
One of those sectionals where you don’t like any of the teams but you have to pick one. Every team in this sectional is under .500. I’ll take Gary Wallace.
Class 4A
Sectional 16 at Evansville North
Evansville Harrison just gets by Castle in the sectional title game.
Sectional 15 at Seymour
#12 Jeffersonsville is tested in the title game by New Albany, but pulls through to win the school’s 36th sectional championship.
Sectional 14 at Bloomington South
Columbus North is going to be tested no matter who they play in this sectional, but I think they are able to grind out some tough wins and capture the sectional crown.
Sectional 13 at Center Grove
I’ll take Franklin Central, but Center Grove and New Palestine are teams to watch.
Sectional 12 at Northview
Martinsville, Mooresville, and Terre Huate North are all capable of making deep runs in the tournament, but in this sectional, I’ll take Terre Huate North because they got the easiest draw.
Sectional 11 at Southport
Ben Davis and Pike should meet in the sectional title game. They look to be the best two teams in the sectional. I think both make the title game and #14 Ben Davis is able to get a win in what could be a thrilling game. Look out for Avon as possible spoiler in this one.
Sectional 10 at Tech
This is what most people consider to be the deepest sectional in the state. Five teams with 14 wins or more and a combined 15 or more division one prospects on the six teams. Lawrence Central’s experience gets them past #16 Tech in the first round, while Cathedral is just able to slide past Lawrence North in their first round matchup. Jeremy Hollowell is playing out of his mind right now, and he is the difference as LC beats #13 Warren Central in yet another thrilling game between those two. Cathedral is able to grind out another win against Roncalli, setting up a re-match between LC and Cathedral. #6 Cathedral is too much for LC offensively and is able to win the toughest sectional in the state.
Sectioanl 9 at New Castle
#3 Pendleton Heights looks like a team that is determined to never lose again. They win the sectional, but have to fend off a tough Richmond squad in the final to do so.
Sectional 8 at Noblesville:
This one features the matchup that everyone is talking about. #1 Hamilton Southeastern will meet #2 North Central for the third time this in the first round of sectionals. Both teams are playing well coming in and this one will live up to the hype, but Hamilton Southeastern is able to win the rubber match. Gary Harris and Zak Irvin’s length and athleticism will lead the Royals to victory. The rest of this sectional is no joke either. Every team in the sectional has won 10 or more games. In the other first round matchups, Fishers is able to squeak by Zionsville and Carmel rolls over Westfield. Carmel then defeats Fishers in another close game with three point shooting being the difference. Meanwhile, HSE is able to pull away late from a pesky Noblesville team. This sets up #1 HSE vs. #4 Carmel in yet another rematch. Hamilton Southeastern’s size and athleticism is too much for Carmel as the Royals beat the Greyhounds in another close game to win the sectional title.
Sectional 7 at Kokomo: #7 Kokomo.
Sectional 6 at Huntington North
#9 Homestead and New Haven sets up to be a great sectional title game. Homestead beat New Haven by four in their first matchup. I’ll take New Haven with the upset in this one.
Sectional 5 at Dekalb
#11 Fort Wayne Northrop rolls through the first two rounds before meeting Columbia City in the title game. CC puts up a good fight, but Bryson Scott and the Bruins win the sectional.
Sectional 4 at Elkhart Central
#10 Elkhart Memorial is able to slide past Warsaw in the semi’s and then defeats Concord in the title game.
Sectional 3 at Penn: #15 South Bend Washington. But look out for Mishawaka, a team SBW would have to face in semi’s.
Sectional 2 at Michigan City
First round matchup between Valparaiso and Merrillville could decide this one. I’ll take Merrillville to win this sectional.
Sectional 1 at Gary West
Once again, a first round matchup should be the deciding factor. #5 Lake Central and Munster meet in the first round in what should be the second best first round matchup in the tournament. I’ll take Glenn Robinson III and Lake Central in a nail-biter, and I’ll take the Indians to win the sectional title.
So there it is! Those are my picks. Everyone’s opinion is different, but one we all know is, there is no doubt this is the best time of the year.
@Petes_a_ptper
