Sectional Preview: North Judson Regional

The high school season is almost over and we are getting locked in for the State Playoffs. It is that time of year when we start looking ahead and previewing each and every Sectional. We will start with Michigan City Regional and have two previews per day until the start of the Sectional tournament on Tuesday, March 2. Today, let’s look at the North Judson Regional.   Sectional 33: Whiting The Teams: Andrean, Bowman Academy, Hammond Noll, Illiana Christian, Lake Station, Whiting Our Contenders: Illiana Christian, Lake Station Players To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1162708" first="Willie" last="Miller"] (2023) - Lake Station Prediction: Sectional 33 is one of the rare cases in which the lone ranked team, #11 Lake Station, does not come in as the favorite despite their 18-3 record. This is because Illiana Christian and [player_tooltip player_id="1173734" first="Luke" last="Van Essen"] come in at 20-2 on the year, riding a 19 game winning streak after two 4A losses at Crown Point and vs Munster at the beginning of December. These two teams also played last Friday night when Illiana Christian went to Lake Station and came away with the 3 point win. Lake Station should cruise past Bowman Academy and Whiting who have a combined 1 win on the year. On the top of the bracket, Illiana Christian has a tough opening-round game against the always competitive Andrean ball club. Then, they will take on Ahmad Artis and Hammond Noll who they beat by 12 earlier in the year. I am taking Lake Station to come back and avenge their three-point loss from last week to take home their first Sectional title since 1941. A Sectional title for Lake Station would also double their total number of wins in Sectional in the past 20 years as they are just 3-20 in this span.   Sectional 34: North Judson The Teams: Boone Grove, Hebron, LaVille, North Judson, South Bend Career Academy, South Central (Union Mills), Westville Our Contenders: Boone Grove, Hebron, North Judson, Westville Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1168151" first="Trey" last="Steinhilber"] (2022) - Boone Grove Prediction: Four teams come into this Sectional with winning records, and it could really be any of these schools taking home the title on Saturday night. Boone Grove and [player_tooltip player_id="1168151" first="Trey" last="Steinhilber"] come in with a 6-1 record against Sectional opponents, but they were beaten by Westville back in December. North Judson is the host and has the best record of any Sectional team, but they struggled against Sectional opponents losing to Boone Grove and Hebron. Westville comes in with a season split with Boone Grove and a win over Hebron, but they did suffer a loss to South Bend Career. The hosts, North Judson, definitely got the best of the draw, and they should cruise through the bottom of the bracket. However, on the top, Boone Grove and Westville will have their rubber match in the opener before a semifinal meeting with Hebron and [player_tooltip player_id="1063985" first="Reece" last="Marrs"]. I am taking Boone Grove to get through behind a big effort from [player_tooltip player_id="1168151" first="Trey" last="Steinhilber"], but it could really be any of these teams.   Sectional 35: Westview The Teams: Bremen, Central Noble, Churubusco, Eastside, Fairfield, Prairie Heights, Westview Our Contenders: Central Noble, Eastside, Fairfield Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="769682" first="Connor" last="Essegian"] (2022) - Central Noble Prediction: This Sectional is dominated by a pair of 20-win teams with #2 Central Noble and #3 Eastside leading the way. These two teams split during the season, and we should see a rubber match next week. However, we cannot count out Fairfield who played Eastside to just four points back in January. [player_tooltip player_id="769682" first="Connor" last="Essegian"] and Central Noble play a 3-18 Churubusco team before taking on Chase Bachelor and Prairie Heights in the semis. Central Noble won by 26 earlier, so they should make the Sectional finals. Fairfield faces a tough matchup with Carson Miller and Bremen in the opener while Eastside and [player_tooltip player_id="870276" first="Gabe" last="Trevino"] should get past an always scrappy Westview squad. This should set up a meeting between Eastside and Central Noble in the finals. I am going to take Central Noble thanks to the [player_tooltip player_id="769682" first="Connor" last="Essegian"] effect, but look forward to a thriller at Westview on Saturday night.   Sectional 36: Bluffton The Teams: Adams Central, Bluffton, Fort Wayne Blackhawk, Fort Wayne Canterbury, Manchester, South Adams, Wabash, Whitko Our Contenders: Fort Wayne Blackhawk Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1042496" first="Gage" last="Sefton"] (2023) - Fort Wayne Blackhawk Prediction: #5 Fort Wayne Blackhawk comes in as the clear frontrunner as they have won the Sectional in seven of their last eight years. Blackhawk only plays one Sectional opponent during the year, but this was a 38 point win over Fort Wayne Canterbury. Blackhawk is led by their duo of [player_tooltip player_id="1042499" first="Josh" last="Furst"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1042496" first="Gage" last="Sefton"], and they are 11-4 against 3A and 4A opponents this year. On the other side of the draw, Wabash and [player_tooltip player_id="1158208" first="Trevor" last="Daughtry"] take on Adams Central in a battle of the other two teams in the Sectional with winning records. Wabash beat Adams Central by 8 at home back at the beginning of the season. The winner of this game should play Fort Wayne Canterbury on Friday to make the Sectional finals and give themselves a chance on Saturday night. This is no doubt Blackhawk’s Sectional to lose though.