Sizing Up IHSAA Area Sectionals
Now that you’ve had a few days to digest the IHSAA boys sectional draws, what do you think?
Do you like your team’s draw?
Is your team’s sectional wide open or is there a prohibitive favorite?
Well, we decided it’s time to dive into a couple of the sectionals we at Kankakee Valley Broadcasting will be covering next week.
Beginning Tuesday Feb. 28, MAX 98.3 FM WYMR will broadcast four games from the Knox Sectional, which features John Glenn, Tippecanoe Valley, Knox, Culver Academies and Bremen.
In addition, MAX 98.3 FM will broadcast one game from the Triton Sectional – the Argos versus Triton game on Wednesday March 1.
WKVI 99.3 FM will cover all of the games from the North Judson-San Pierre Sectional, which includes Wheeler, North Judson-San Pierre, LaVille, Hebron, South Central and South Bend Career Academy.
Below we take a look at the three sectionals we will be broadcasting games from and provide you some nuggets to consider.
KNOX SECTIONAL
No. 10 Tippecanoe Valley has a stellar 18-4 record heading into the final week of the regular season.
No doubt first-year head coach Joe Luce’s Vikings will be a tough out. One of their four losses was to top-ranked Northwood in Class 3A. There other three losses are to teams with winning records this season, including a pair of 4A teams in Lake Central and Mishawaka.
Prior to its home game against Marian Friday, Tippy had won 13 of its last 14 games.
Tippy is led by senior Nolan Cumberland, who averages 18.4 points per game.
The Vikings will have to survive a first-round clash with Glenn, a team it defeated by 12 in December.
Travis Hannah’s Falcons are a sleeper and have to love the IHSAA’s realignment since they no longer have to navigate through the Marians and St. Joes of the world to win sectional.
Glenn senior star Brycen Hannah might have to be better than good if his high school career is to continue into the sectional semis. Without question, Hannah’s supporting cast will have to shoot well from the outside if it wants to upset Tippy.
Bremen will be awaiting the Glenn-Tippy winner in the semis.
It’s been an excruciating season for Matt Miller’s Lions as they are just 1-20 with their lone win coming against Oregon-Davis.
It would take a Herculean effort by Bremen for it to advance to the sectional championship, especially considering it lost to Glenn by 30 points earlier this month.
Mark Galloway’s Culver Academy Eagles will be a handful for Knox in the opening game on Friday night.
CMA is 14-7 and is playing some pretty good basketball heading into the postseason having won eight of its last 11 ball games.
Four of the Eagles’ six losses are to 4A teams, and they lost to 3A No. 2 Marian and to 2A seventh-ranked Gary 21st Century.
The play of seniors Cooper Farrall and Folabomi Fayemi will go along way in determining just how much noise CMA can make in this sectional.
If Tippy Valley doesn’t win this sectional, CMA very well could.
Expect 12-9 Knox to put up a good fight against CMA. After all, the Redskins have won five of their last six games and get the benefit of playing on their home court.
First-year Knox head coach Joe Eskridge will rely heavily on seniors Owen Binkley and Declan Austin as they are this team’s one-two punch.
Favorite: Tippecanoe Valley
NORTH JUDSON-SAN PIERRE SECTIONAL
It’s puzzling that North Judson-San Pierre isn’t ranked in 2A, especially since it is 19-3 and won nine games in a row.
The Bluejays, who won the HNAC with a 7-0 record, are unbeaten in seven games against 2A opponents this season and have already defeated three teams in their sectional (South Central by 24, LaVille by three and Hebron by eight).
Judson has a lot of weapons like senior Ty Schumacher, who earlier this season eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his prep career.
Judson’s opening-round opponent – Wheeler – shouldn’t be much of a test for the hosts. Wheeler has had a long season winning just three of 20 games.
In reality, Judson should cruise to the sectional championship game. South Central awaits in the sectional semis, but the Satellites are just 5-15 on the year. They’ve won just twice since the New Year.
The bottom part of the bracket is really intriguing. The first-round game that pits LaVille against Hebron should be something.
Can Michael Edison work his magic yet again in the postseason for LaVille?
He hopes so as his team will have to avenge an earlier-season 13-point loss to Hebron, but this is a different Lancer team than the 11-10 Hawks saw around Christmas.
Remember LaVille knocked off Glenn to win the Bi-County Tournament and have a 13-9 record heading into its regular-season finale.
LaVille has three players averaging double digits in scoring led by sophomore Collin Czarnecki’s 18.7 points per game. Michael Good and Lucas Plummer are threats, too.
The Lancers have won nine of their last 11.
Hebron has lost three of its last four so it will have to reverse that trend if it doesn’t want to be one-and-done.
The Hawks are led by junior Landen Hale, who leads the team in scoring (16.9 points per game) and rebounding (7.4). He is the only Hebron player averaging double figures scoring.
South Bend Career Academy (10-12 overall) got the bye and will play the winner of the LaVille-Hebron game. The Trailblazers have a prolific scorer in senior guard Tyvon Henry, who averages more than 20 points per game.
Favorite: North Judson-San Pierre
TRITON SECTIONAL
Argos could be the favorite here when you consider the Dragons have amassed a 5-0 record against the teams in this sectional (although they didn’t face Marquette Catholic).
Oregon-Davis, on the other hand, caught a break by getting a bye, but it is winless in five tries this season against its sectional foes, including a 19-point loss to Culver.
You would figure the 10-10 Cavaliers will advance to face OD since they beat their first-round opponent – Trinity Greenlawn by 15 points earlier in the season.
Culver got a really good draw and if it gets good production from leading scorer Emiliano Ortiz and wide body Shane Shuman, the Cavaliers will be playing for a sectional championship.
Remember Culver beat OD by 19 in January.
Marquette Catholic is 16-7 and Westville is 15-7 so their first-round matchup could be quite the clash.
Speaking of good ones, on paper 13-7 Argos and 12-9 Triton figures to be the best game in this sectional and they play right out of the gate. The two teams needed overtime to settle their first meeting this season (a five-point Argos victory) on Feb. 2. Don’t be surprised if extra time is needed to settle this one.
The Dragons will advance as far as senior big man J.J. Morris will take them. Morris can score in a variety of ways and averages just under 20 points per game.
Don’t count out Jason Groves Triton Trojans either. The guy can flat out coach and knows a thing or two about winning in the postseason.
Back to Marquette Catholic. The Blazers are the favorites as they are red hot having won 11 games in a row. They are ranked 10th in the state.
Marquette Catholic is a senior-laden ball club as their top six scorers are all graduating this spring. Jason Kobe leads the way, averaging just under 19 points per game.
Favorite: Marquette Catholic
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