Wabash Valley —
It’s been a very mild winter, so the usual prediction of snow falling for the upcoming Indiana boys high school sectional might just be wishful thinking.
Maybe you might hope for even a snow flurry to put you in a proper tournament mood. Whatever the case weather-wise, there will certainly be a flurry of action at five sectional sites involving local and area teams.
In all four classifications, one other thing is certain: There are no clear-cut favorites. Dates and times will be announced later for the sectional assignments, but they will be conducted between Feb. 27 and Mar. 3.
Northview will be the host site for the Class 4A sectional, featuring three teams with gaudy records — Martinsville (17-2), Mooresville (16-3) and Terre Haute North (16-5).
The Patriots have a slight advantage being in the opposite bracket of the other two aforementioned schools. But they also have to defeat the host school on its home court in the opening round.
North defeated Northview 54-41 in the Patriots’ gym way back in the first game of the season. If North wins, they would face Plainfield (1-18) in the semifinals.
“It’s an exciting time of the year,” North coach Todd Woelfle said. “It’s fun to look ahead in the tournament, but we have to just look at the next 32 minutes … nothing is guaranteed.
“Northview will be confident playing at home, a tough opponent. Every year there is a surprise in our sectional. I expect this to be a wide-open sectional.”
Terre Haute South (7-14) probably has the toughest draw of all in this sectional. To win, it would have to defeat Martinsville, Mooresville, then North. The Braves have not faced Martinsville this season.
“Martinsville is very experienced, a lot of guys starting the last three years,” South coach Scott Ridge noted. “It will be a tough matchup. They are fundamentally sound, play together well. We will have to beat three tough teams. It’s a tough road, but we’re playing better late in the season.”
One carrot dangling for the Northview sectional winner is the opportunity to play in the regional at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“That’s an extra motivation, a historical place that has a lot of tradition with high school basketball in the state of Indiana,” Woelfle said.
In the Class 3A sectional at Greencastle, West Vigo earned a favorable draw with a first-round bye. West Vigo (11-11) will face the winner of South Vermillion vs. Edgewood — a pair of teams it has defeated this season.
In the opposite bracket, Brown County (9-10) plays host Greencastle (11-7), with that winner playing Owen Valley (7-12) in the semifinals.
Peering ahead at a possible championship matchup, West Vigo defeated Greencastle at home in overtime, while its only loss to a team in this sectional field was to Brown County on the road.
“Obviously anybody getting a bye … the fact you can play one less game is nice,” West Vigo coach Joe Boehler said. “This sectional is very competitive and up for grabs. We’ll have to play our best.
“Greencastle is playing at home, their best player Nick Hutcheson is averaging a double-double. Brown County is playing very well. All the teams are pretty capable, no one a head and shoulders above anyone else. If we step up and play well, we have a chance to win.”
The Vikings have already completed their regular season schedule, so with the bye, it will be 13 days between games.
“We plan to use [the layoff] to our advantage, work on what needs to be worked on … maybe throw in a new wrinkle,” Boehler added.
The Greencastle sectional winner will advance to the Southridge regional.
Sullivan has dropped down a notch this season from 3A to 2A, playing in the 2A sectional at North Knox. The Arrows earned the only bye in the seven-team field.
No. 8-ranked Sullivan (18-2) has a tough road to a potential sectional title.
First, it has to defeat either Linton (12-8) — it faces the Miners in the regular season on Tuesday— or Bloomfield (11-10). If that occurs, all it has to do is defeat No. 7-ranked Eastern Greene (18-1) in the championship game. Eastern Greene is riding an 18-game winning streak.
The sectional winner at North Knox would play in the Greencastle regional.
Two sectionals will be played in Class A involving local teams.
At the North Vermillion sectional, No. 8-ranked Rockville (16-4) is the defending sectional and regional champion. The Rox did not earn a bye, and would have to beat Riverton Parke (10-10) for a fourth time, then Attica (12-6) to reach the championship game.
Their title opponent would likely be Covington (10-9) or host team North Vermillion (9-10).
At the White River Valley sectional, Shakamak (13-8) earned the bye and would likely face WRV (14-6) in the semifinals. Clay City, fresh off a win over 4A rival Northview and owning a regular season win over Shakamak, will face off against Union (4-17) in the semifinals.
The North Vermillion sectional winner heads on to the Frankfort regional, while the WRV sectional winner advances to the Martinsville regional. All regionals are Mar. 10.
Semistate sites are Lafayette Jeff, Huntington North, Seymour and Southport, one-game rounds on Mar. 17 while the state finals will be at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Mar. 24.
Indiana boys basketball sectionals
Feb. 27 to Mar. 3
(With current won/loss records)
Class 4A
At Northview
Game 1 — Terre Haute South (7-14) vs. Martinsville (17-2)
Game 2 — Northview (7-13) vs. Terre Haute North (16-5)
Game 3 — Mooresville (16-3) vs. Winner game 1
Game 4 — Plainfield (1-18) vs. Winner game 2
Game 5 — Championship game (winner to Hinkle Fieldhouse regional)
Class 3A
At Greencastle
Game 1 — South Vermillion (4-15) vs. Edgewood (6-13)
Game 2 — Brown County (9-10) vs. Greencastle (11-7)
Game 3 — West Vigo (11-11) vs. Winner game 1
Game 4 — Owen Valley (7-12) vs. Winner game 2
Game 5 — Championship game (winner to Southridge regional)
Class 2A
At North Knox
Game 1 — Linton (12-8) vs. Bloomfield (11-10)
Game 2 — Eastern Greene (18-1) vs. North Knox (7-14)
Game 3 — South Knox (5-14) vs. North Central (5-14)
Game 4 — Sullivan (18-2) vs. Winner game 1
Game 5 — Winner game 2 vs. Winner game 3
Game 6 — Championship game (winner to Greencastle regional)
Class 1A
At North Vermillion
Game 1 — North Vermillion (9-10) vs. Turkey Run (4-16)
Game 2 — Riverton Parke (10-10) vs. Rockville (16-4)
Game 3 — Covington (10-9) vs. Winner game 1
Game 4 — Attica (12-6) vs. Winner game 2
Game 5 — Championship game (winner to Frankfort regional)
At White River Valley
Game 1 — Eminence (6-12) vs. White River Valley (14-6)
Game 2 — Union (4-17) vs. Clay City (13-7)
Game 3 — Shakamak (13-8) vs. Winner game 1
Game 4 — Winner game 2 vs. Winner game 3
Game 5 — Championship game (winner to Martinsville regional)
Illinois boys regionals
(All times CDT)
Class 2A
At Casey
Today
Georgetown vs. Paris, 6 p.m.
Casey vs. Cumberland, 8 p.m.
Class A
At Hutsonville
Edwards County vs. Red Hill, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Class 2A
Marshall vs. Georgetown-Paris winner, 7:30 p.m.
Class A
At Chrisman
Shiloh vs. Villa Grove, 6 p.m.
Martinsville vs. Chrisman, 8:10 p.m.
Class A
At Hutsonville
Oblong vs. Grayville, 6 p.m.
Cisne vs. Clay City, Ill., 8:10 p.m.
Wednesday
Class 2A
At Casey
Robinson vs. Casey-Cumberland winner, 7:30 p.m.
Class A
At Chrisman
Arcola vs. Shiloh-Villa Grove winner, 6 p.m.
Oakland vs. Martinsville-Chrisman winner, 8:10 p.m.
Class A
At Hutsonville
Hutsonville vs. Monday winner, 6 p.m.
Tuesday winners, 8:10 p.m.
Friday
Class 2A
At Casey
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
Class A
At Chrisman
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
Class A
At Hutsonville
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
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