Regional 1 Preview: Breakdown

Eric Gardner

February 22, 2021 @ 11:21 AM

The high school season is almost over and we are getting locked in for the State Playoffs. It is that time of year where we start looking ahead and previewing each and every Sectional. We begin today at the top. Sectional 1: Gary West The Teams: Gary West, Lake Central, Munster, Merrillville, Highland, East Chicago Central, Hammond Morton Our Contenders: Gary West, Lake Central, Munster Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="769653" first="Jalen" last="Washington"] (Gary West, 2022) Prediction: It looks like a 3-team race for this one with Gary West at the top. However, the draw for Munster is going to give them a chance to make a run here. If they can gear up and put together 1 game on Saturday night, they could spoil the show but Gary West is so deep that seems like a very difficult task. Lake Central got a nice draw avoiding Munster and getting East Chicago first but they didn’t fair too well against Gary West early in the season. They would need some luck, Gary West not playing sharp or Merrillville playing upset in round 1, for them to have a chance. Sectional 2: Chesterton The Teams: Crown Point, Chesterton, Hobart, Lowell, Portage, Valparaiso Our Contenders: Valparaiso, Chesterton, Lowell, Crown Point Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="783148" first="Chris" last="Mantis"] (Lowell, 2021) Prediction: The two best records here will matchup in the first round with Valpo and Chesterton going to battle. Crown Point has also been good but lacks games played this season so not sure how that will effect them. The sneaky team here is Lowell who in another version of this draw wouldn’t have been on our list but they got the draw of a lifetime and need [player_tooltip player_id="783148" first="Chris" last="Mantis"] to have one really good game to play upset over any of the other teams. The pick right now is Valparaiso as they just knocked off Chesterton and have beaten Crown Point already but confidence is not super high for any team in this wide open Sectional. Sectional 3: Plymouth The Teams: Culver Academies, LaPorte, Michigan City, Mishawaka, Plymouth, South Bend Adams, South Bend Riley Our Contenders: South Bend Riley, Michigan City, South Bend Adams Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="569313" first="Blake" last="Wesley"] (South Bend Riley, 2021) Prediction: On paper, this should be South Bend Adams Sectional to win. They have taken down all of their competitors already this year and have been one of the strongest teams in the state. However, Sectionals don’t always go chalk and this one has enough land mines to hit. South Bend Riley has been up and down but a bye game helps a ton. Michigan City has been less than stellar lately but still has the talent to pull it off, and Culver and Mishawaka are both talented enough to cause real problems for contenders. This pick is Adams but this Sectional is high on the watch list of an upset. Sectional 4: Elkhart The Teams: Concord, Elkhart, Goshen, Northridge, Penn, Warsaw Our Contenders: Northridge, Warsaw, Elkhart Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="874179" first="Sam" last="Smith"] (Northridge, 2021) Prediction: This was probably the most balanced draw in the state with the clear top two teams getting the byes and the other four about the same records. With Warsaw and Northridge at the top of the list here, it doesn’t look like there are any other real contenders besides Elkhart. Elkhart, however, has had an odd year. They have beaten Valparaiso and Northridge but have some tough losses in there. They are clearly better than their record but they already lost to Warsaw, who would be their second round matchup if they get past Concord. Warsaw seems like the smartest choice here but if [player_tooltip player_id="874179" first="Sam" last="Smith"] gets hot for Northridge, this could go there way too.