4A North Preview
With the release of the draws for the 2015-16 IHSAA State Tournament, we take a look at every Sectional in the state. Here we take a look at the northern half of 4A. Sectional 1 – East Chicago Central The…
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Continue ReadingWith the release of the draws for the 2015-16 IHSAA State Tournament, we take a look at every Sectional in the state. Here we take a look at the northern half of 4A.
Sectional 1 – East Chicago Central
The hosts are likely happy to see themselves on the opposite half of the bracket as three of the other top teams in the sectional. East Chicago Central may be the favorite given the draw, but Lowell went 6-0 against sectional opponents. The Red Devils will likely have to beat the next best three teams in the sectional to win it, though. If Lowell gets by Lake Central in the opener, which has struggled later in the season, and it gets another game with Hammond Morton, which has the bye. Lowell won the first contest by two points one week ago. Then look for the East Chicago Central-Munster winner to be awaiting in the finals with Highland or Gary West as their semifinal opponent.
Sectional 2 – Crown Point
Merrillville is the favorite and it opens against what could likely be the second best team Valparaiso. The winner of this game gets Portage, which drew the bye, and should safely make it into the finals. The bottom half is filled with the next tier behind Merrillville and Valparaiso, and Crown Point gets the nod to make the finals thanks to hosting the sectional. If it is Crown Point and Merrillville in the final, look for some vengeance as the Pirates one loss this season came at Crown Point. Don’t be surprised if it is Michigan City or Chesterton who makes it through with a chance to play spoiler either.
Sectional 3 – Plymouth
The top favorites are on opposite sides in South Bend Riley and South Bend Washington. Those two teams went a combined 11-1 against the rest of the sectional. Laporte lingers as an interesting first round game against SB Riley. The two teams met in a six-point game, but that was in November. Also don’t be surprised if Plymouth makes things interesting as the host. It should get by South Bend Clay in the opener and only lost to SB Riley by one point in December.
Sectional 4 – Elkhart Central
This sectional features one of the most heavily favored teams in the state with Warsaw. The Tigers gaudy 20-1 record didn’t come without challenges either in beating Snider, Columbia City and Hamilton Southeastern. Then add that the Tigers also got the bye, and it just adds to their likelihood of coming out on top. Warsaw could be pushed by Penn in the semifinals, as the Kingsmen went 4-0 against other sectional opponents. The other half features Elkhart Central as the most likely team to be in the finals.
Sectional 5 – DeKalb
Fort Wayne North Side had to like its draw. Carroll and Snider play each other in the first round and North Side is on the opposite half of them with a bye. The Carroll Chargers are the favorite, but these three teams are extremely close. Carroll has split with North Side, with both games having some late game free throw calls helping decide it, and beat Snider by five. The East Noble-Northrop winner could push North Side in the semifinals on the bottom half and DeKalb has some skill in top half bye, but it’ll likely be the Snider-Carroll winner against North Side in the finals.
Sectional 6 – Huntington North
Homestead and Muncie Central are the favorites in this one, but really, almost every team could come home the winner. Wayne appears to be the weakest in the field of six, as the only team with a losing record, but then the Generals beat Homestead just a few weeks ago. Look for a stellar first day of action as Jay County-South Side and Homestead-Huntington North play. Muncie Central drew a bye and gets the winner from Jay County-South Side. It’s a favorable draw as the only team in the sectional Muncie Central played this season was a win over Jay County. Don’t be surprised too surprised, though, if any of these six teams win it all.
Sectional 7 – Logansport
Plenty of teams with strong players and abilities at Logansport, but McCutcheon is the favorite. It went 6-1 against the rest of the sectional and its one loss to Lafayette Jeff it avenged later in the season. The Mavericks open with the host Berries, who have responded well after a middle of the season six-game losing streak. On the opposite side, Zionsville looks to be the strongest to make it to the finals, as Kokomo and Harrison (West Lafayette) but have struggled against sectional opponents. Look for the likely McCutcheon-Lafayette Jeff in the semifinals and then McCutcheon against Zionsville in the final.
Sectional 8 – Noblesville
Carmel may have beaten Hamilton Southeastern just more than a week ago, but HSE is likely the favorite. That game, the Greyhounds played HSE without two of its best players. Still, these are the two favorites in this one and they should meet in the semifinals. Carmel does have a tricky opening game against Noblesville, which as the host certainly could make the tough run through Carmel and HSE in back-to-back games. The other half of this bracket features three even teams in Fishers, Westfield and Guerin Catholic. All three teams are hovering one game below or above .500. Westfield and Fishers open against each other and played a one-point game in early February. Any of these three could make that final where whoever emerges from Carmel-Noblesville-HSE will be favored.