Regional 11 Preview: Breakdown

Landon Bundy

February 27, 2021 @ 08:51 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 41: Shenandoah The Teams: Cambridge City Lincoln, Centerville, Eastern Hancock, Hagerstown, Knightstown, Northeastern, Shenandoah, Union County Our Contenders: Northeastern, Shenandoah Player To Watch: Kolden Vanlandingham (2021) - Northeastern Prediction: It is a two-horse race in Sectional 41 with #2 Shenandoah and #8 Northeastern. Both teams are coming in with just three losses, and Shenandoah was able to knock off the Knights 67-64 at home in December. Both teams are also coming in with 14 and 13 game win streaks respectively. This is a complete pick-em between these two, but I am going to go with Shenandoah with the home court. Eastern Hancock has an open road on the top half of the bracket, but I don't think that they will have a shot to knock off the winner of Shenandoah and Northeastern.   Sectional 42: Heritage Christian The Teams: Covenant Christian, Heritage Christian, Indianapolis Scecina, Irvington Prep, Park Tudor, University Our Contenders: Covenant Christian, Heritage Christian, Park Tudor, University Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="874168" first="Trey" last="Flatt"] (2021) - Covenant Christian Prediction: Covenant Christian and Park Tudor are the obvious favorites here with both in the top 7 of the state. They will meet in the Sectional semis. On the other side of the bracket, Heritage Christian takes on University in the opening round, and the winner should make it to the finals. Despite all four of these teams having legitimate shots of winning the Sectional, Covenant Christian has to be the favorite to win their second consecutive Sectional championship. This Sectional is going to be full of many good games throughout the tournament, and many teams have a shot to take home the title.   Sectional 43: Cloverdale The Teams: Cascade, Cloverdale, North Putnam, Parke Heritage, Riverton Parke, South Putnam, Southmont Our Contenders: North Putnam, Parke Heritage Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="874196" first="Mason" last="Brooks"] (2021) - North Putnam Prediction: This is a two-horse race at the top with North Putnam and Parke Heritage. Parke Heritage beat the Cougars by 13 in their second game of the season, and I would expect the Wolves to have the advantage again in Sectional 43. Parke Heritage has 3 losses this year to Linton-Stockton, Greencastle, and Lafayette Jeff who are three of the better teams on the West side of the state, so I don't see Parke Heritage's historic season coming to an end in the Sectional.   Sectional 44: Milan The Teams: Milan, North Decatur, South Decatur, South Ripley, Triton Central Our Contenders: South Decatur, South Ripley Player To Watch: Cody Samples (2021) - South Ripley Prediction: South Ripley comes in at 19-1 and #4 in 2A, and they had a seven-point victory over South Decatur back in December which makes them the favorites here. However, their semifinal matchup with South Decatur will be tough. Triton Central and Milan face off at the top of the bracket with Milan looking for their first Sectional win since 2003, and Triton Central looking for their first Sectional finals appearance since 2015. Friday night should be some pretty interesting matchups, but I really don't think that Milan or Triton Central will be able to upset the winner of South Ripley and South Decatur.