1A Regional Preview

The high school season is almost over and we are down to the final 16 teams in each state. It is time to take a look at the Regional previews across the state and see who has the best shot to take home the Regional title and advance to the final 4 in each class. With that, let’s take a look at the four Regional tournaments in 1A.   Triton Regional The Teams: Fremont, Gary 21st Century, North White, Triton Favorite: Gary 21st Century Players To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="868220" first="Ashton" last="Williamson"] (2023) - Gary 21st Century Prediction: All four of these teams were the favorites in their respective Sectional tournaments, and now, each of these teams looks to bring home a Regional title. #2 Gary 21st Century comes in as one of the top State title contenders, and they are the clear favorite to take home this Regional title. [player_tooltip player_id="868220" first="Ashton" last="Williamson"] had an insane Sectional tournament, averaging 12 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists, and 6 steals in their three wins. The Cougars are also led by a pair of juniors with [player_tooltip player_id="1160677" first="Quintin" last="Floyd"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1042493" first="D.J." last="Moss"]. North White comes in at 21-3 with a 16 game winning streak under their belt. They are led by a trio of players, [player_tooltip player_id="1402514" first="Hunter" last="Pogue"], Bentley Buschman, and Nate Miller, who are all averaging over 15 points per game this season. Fremont has won 10 of their last 12, and they had two very good wins over Bethany Christian and Elkhart Christian in the Sectional tournament. Triton comes in winning 7 of their last 9 including a thriller against Argos in the Sectional finals. I am going to take Triton to get past Fremont in a tight one thanks to their home court, but I don’t think that anyone can compete with Gary 21st who should advance to the Semi-State.   Frankfort Regional The Teams: Blue River, Lafayette Central Catholic, Liberty Christian, Southwood Favorites: Lafayette Central Catholic, Liberty Christian Players To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1267644" first="Adonis" last="House"] (2022) - Liberty Christian Prediction: Each of these teams is led by top scorers who are averaging over 15 points per game. The two favorites are led by their senior leaders with [player_tooltip player_id="870267" first="Clark" last="Barrett"] for LCC and [player_tooltip player_id="1267644" first="Adonis" last="House"] and Zach Jeffers for Liberty Christian. The underdogs will have duos to watch with [player_tooltip player_id="870281" first="Brevin" last="Hallatt"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1295366" first="Wyatt" last="Thornburgh"] for Blue River and Cole Winer and Nathan Lehner for Southwood. I would expect Liberty Christian to fairly easily take care of business against Blue River. Liberty Christian had wins over Muncie Burris by 49 and Daleville by 35 while Blue River lost to these teams by 15 and 3. On the other side, Lafayette Central Catholic should take care of business against Southwood. Again when looking at common opponents, LCC has a 10 point win over Lewis Cass while Southwood was beaten by 41 by Lewis Cass earlier in the season. Then, we will have a matchup of two 18 win teams in the Regional finals. This championship would be an absolute barn burner, and really a coin toss, so I will take Liberty Christian on a whim.   Martinsville Regional The Teams: Bloomfield, Jac-Cen-Del, Indianapolis Lutheran, Indianapolis Metropolitan Favorite: Bloomfield Players To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1267650" first="Omari" last="Ferguson"] (2023) - Indianapolis Metropolitan Prediction: I will be here for the first two games of this Regional, and it should be a good one. Indianapolis Lutheran has beaten three teams that beat Metro during the season with wins over Indianapolis Attucks, Indianapolis Tindley, and Perry Meridian. Metro is led by a pair of juniors in [player_tooltip player_id="1272428" first="David" last="Meriweather"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1267650" first="Omari" last="Ferguson"], and Lutheran is led by junior Kam Patterson. I am going to take Lutheran to win it, but it will be closer than people think. In the other game, a pair of 20-win teams battle it out. Jac-Cen-Del has yet to lose to a team smaller than 3A, while Bloomfield has lost two games to 1A teams (Loogootee and Barr-Reeve). Jac-Cen-Del is led by a pair of juniors with [player_tooltip player_id="870287" first="Wyatt" last="Day"] and Caleb Simon, and Bloomfield is led by two senior guards with [player_tooltip player_id="870288" first="Christopher" last="Royal"] and [player_tooltip player_id="870307" first="Baylin" last="Graf"]. I am going to take Bloomfield to win it thanks to their better schedule during the season, but Jac-Cen-Del will give them a game. Again in the finals, I am going to take Bloomfield off of gut instinct, but Lutheran will be looking for their first Regional title since their run to State in 2008.   Loogootee Regional The Teams: Borden, Edinburgh, North Daviess, Springs Valley Favorite: North Daviess Players To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="935727" first="Jaylen" last="Mullen"] (2023) - North Daviess Prediction: This Regional has three teams with 22 or more wins and 3 or more losses. The opening will be a game between two top-level scorers with [player_tooltip player_id="935727" first="Jaylen" last="Mullen"] for North Daviess and [player_tooltip player_id="935747" first="Caleb" last="Dewey"] for Edinburgh. North Daviess won at Edinburgh earlier in the year, and I would expect them to do the same on Saturday. Springs Valley comes in having won 18 consecutive games to end the season, and they are led by two 16 point scorers in Kannon Chase and Carter Crews. Borden has a ranked sophomore with [player_tooltip player_id="1275907" first="Kasym" last="Nash"]. Springs Valley took care of business against Eastern-Peking early in the year, and Borden has two losses to them. I am taking Springs Valley in a close one. In the finals, I am again taking North Daviess to take the title for the first time since 2011.