Class 4A Regional Preview: Breakdown

Kyler Staley March 10, 2022 @ 05:29 AM

Sectional play is over but we are still locked in for the State Playoffs. It is that time of year where we start looking ahead and previewing each and every Regional. Time to take a look at the pairings that make up the Class 4A Regionals.   Regional 1: Michigan City The Teams: South Bend Adams, Chesterton, Penn, Munster Our Contenders: Chesterton, Penn, Munster Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1049169" first="Markus" last="Burton"] (2023) - Penn Prediction: The Michigan City Regional is an interesting one cause you realistically could see three possible winners here. Out of the four teams here, only two of them have actually played each other that being South Bend Adams and Penn, who beat Adams 78-65 in the regular season. Breaking down the bracket, I am expecting [player_tooltip player_id="870243" first="Travis" last="Grayson"] and Chesterton to get through South Bend Adams and face Penn in the finals. With the Penn and Munster game, that one will be a hard fought contest but I give the edge to Penn simply because they will have the best player on the floor with Burton. In the Regional final, Chesterton is the pick here. They are unbeaten still and they are the all-out favorite until proven otherwise.   Regional 2: Logansport The Teams: Kokomo, Fort Wayne Snider, Homestead, Westfield Our Contenders: Homestead, Westfield Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="1158186" first="Braden" last="Smith"] (2022) - Westfield Prediction: Although all four teams here are real solid in their own right, the winner of this one will likely be decided in the morning game of Homestead and Westfield. Sticking with that game, you’ve got two possible Mr. Basketball winners with [player_tooltip player_id="1158186" first="Braden" last="Smith"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1063961" first="Fletcher" last="Loyer"], who both are 2022 Purdue signees as well. And in all honesty, don’t think anyone thought Westfield was going to be here as they had to go through both Fishers and Carmel in Sectional 8. These two teams met in the regular season where Homestead won 58-55. This time around, I believe Westfield gets it done because there is no way I am betting against Smith the way he has been playing. Now onto the other side of the bracket, this game between Kokomo and Snider should be a fun one. Kokomo has the best prospect in the 2024 class in [player_tooltip player_id="1363488" first="Flory" last="Bidunga"] and this [player_tooltip player_id="870249" first="Karson" last="Jenkins"] led Snider team can put up some points. I do expect Snider to beat Kokomo and meet up with Westfield the finals here. Until anybody can slow Smith down, Westfield is the team to beat here.   Regional 3: Southport The Teams: Ben Davis, Mount Vernon (Fortville), Indianapolis Cathedral, Terre Haute North Our Contenders: Ben Davis, Indianapolis Cathedral Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="870212" first="Tayshawn" last="Comer"] (2022) - Cathedral Prediction: The Southport Regional is going to be nothing but a flat out grind. First game we will take a look at, you have [player_tooltip player_id="1042497" first="Zane" last="Doughty"] and Ben Davis vs [player_tooltip player_id="870220" first="Amhad" last="Jarrard"] and Mount Vernon (Fortville). For the most part, both of these teams had a fairly easy road that led them to this game. Both of these team match up pretty evenly but I can’t help but just think Ben Davis is the tougher one of the group so I like them to advance. With the other game, you have the talented Cathedral squad going up against a very good Terre Haute North team. The Patriots of Terre Haute North are going to punch Cathedral in the mouth here but in the end of the day, there is nobody that can stop guys like [player_tooltip player_id="868219" first="Xavier" last="Booker"], [player_tooltip player_id="1063971" first="Jaxon" last="Edwards"], [player_tooltip player_id="868251" first="Jake" last="Davis"], or [player_tooltip player_id="868252" first="Jaron" last="Tibbs"] all at once. In the final game, we should get the highly anticipated rematch of Ben Davis and Cathedral that saw the Giants go on the road to beat the Irish 67-64 just a few weeks ago. Cathedral seems to be on a mission here so I like them to come out on this one.   Regional 4: Seymour The Teams: Evansville North, Bloomington North, Floyd Central, Franklin Our Contenders: Bloomington North, Floyd Central Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="868224" first="JaQualon" last="Roberts"] (2023) - Bloomington North Prediction: Looking at the Seymour Regional, I strongly feel this a two team race. [player_tooltip player_id="1168249" first="Ryan" last="Caddell"] and Evansville North was the team that got out of the balance Sectional 16 and [player_tooltip player_id="870215" first="Nick" last="Klaiber"] and Bloomington North toughed it and got past both Columbus North and Bloomington South to get here. Throw in [player_tooltip player_id="1152148" first="Marco" last="Fitch"] alongside Roberts and Klaiber, not really seeing how Evansville North will be able to get past them. With the other morning game, there is just no chance Franklin can get past Floyd Central’s loaded squad. The final matchup of Bloomington North and Floyd Central should be awesome because both teams are filled with so much talent. As far as a winner, I like Floyd Central to get the job and get out of this Regional. Very curious to see how Roberts handles either [player_tooltip player_id="868231" first="Caleb" last="Washington"] or [player_tooltip player_id="1269864" first="Wesley" last="Celichowski"].