Games of the Week: Week 8

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2022-23 high school basketball season continues after the new year from some great matchups. This week, our top 10 games feature several elite matchups, with a lot of talent being showcased. We will not be able any of the Marion County Tournament matchups besides for the first round in this list as those matchups are not set yet. Let's take a look at my top ten upcoming games across the state listed in order that they will be played.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>2A #1 Fort Wayne Blackhawk @ Homestead - Tuesday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The battle of two of the top teams in Fort Wayne takes place on Tuesday night with 12-1 Fort Wayne Blackhawk at 11-1 Homestead. Fort Wayne Blackhawk comes in at 4-0 against 4A teams this season as their lone loss came at 3A #3 North Daviess. The Braves are led by their senior duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042496' first='Gage' last='Sefton']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042499' first='Josh' last='Furst']</strong>. Sefton, a Grace commit, comes in averaging 17.0 points and 6.3 assists, and Furst has added a team-high 18.2 points and 8.5 rebounds. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1364589' first='Kellen' last='Pickett']</strong> has also chipped in 13.6 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 40% from three. Homestead's lone loss come to Munster in the Homestead Holiday Tournament. The Spartans are led by senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868270' first='Kyron' last='Kaopuiki']</strong> with 18.4 points per game. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1547390' first='Will' last='Jamison']</strong> and senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868246' first='Grant' last='Leeper']</strong> are also averaging double figures with 17.4 and 10.0 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>4A #2 Indianapolis Cathedral @ 4A #7 Carmel - Wednesday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This matchup features two of the top 4A teams in the state with Indianapolis Cathedral and Carmel. Cathedral sits at 8-2 and is coming off a loss to Chicago Simeon, one of the top teams in the nation. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868252' first='Jaron' last='Tibbs']</strong> leads the Fighting Irish with 19.6 points on 49% shooting from three. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868219' first='Xavier' last='Booker']</strong> has added 13.9 points and 9.7 rebounds this season, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868251' first='Jake' last='Davis']</strong> has done it all with 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. Carmel sits at 8-4 with three one-possession losses on the road to Noblesville, Kokomo, and Center Grove. The Greyhounds are led by Belmont commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042491' first='Sam' last='Orme']</strong>. They have also gotten good minutes from senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935725' first='Jared' last='Bonds']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868225' first='Spencer' last='White']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935732' first='Clay' last='Richards']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>1A #1 Bloomfield @ 2A #2 Linton-Stockton - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bloomfield comes in at 11-2 with losses to North Central (Indianapolis) and Linton-Stockton in the Wabash Valley Classic finals. The Cardinals picked up a big win over 1A #4 Evansville Christian last week, and they look to keep it this week. The Cardinals are led by senior post player <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1557223' first='Peter' last='Combs']</strong>. Linton-Stockton comes in at 12-1 with their one loss coming to Cooper in Kentucky. The Miners are led by UCF commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868240' first='Joey' last='Hart']</strong> as well as senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935736' first='Logan' last='Webb']</strong> and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158180' first='Braden' last='Walters']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>4A #10 Harrison (WL) @ Kokomo - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harrison (WL) has cracked the top-10 with an 11-0 start to the season including a Warsaw Holiday Tournament title. The Raiders are led by Marian commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1049173' first='Ben' last='Henderson']</strong> with 21.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1049196' first='Chris' last='Lucas']</strong> has also chipped in with 10.1 points and 4.3 assists. Kokomo sits at 9-4 on the season with their losses coming to some of the top teams in 4A including Zionsville, Ben Davis, Westfield, and Brownsburg. The Wildkats are led by one of the best players in the nation in the 2024 class with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga']</strong>. Bidunga is averaging 19.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 4.7 blocks while shooting 82% from the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>1A #5 Loogootee @ Barr-Reeve - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Sectional 63 matchup features two of the perennial favorites to take home the Sectional crown. Loogootee sits at 9-4 with all losses coming to some of the favorites to bring home state titles with North Daviess, Brownstown Central, and Evansville Christian twice. Loogootee is led by senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868254' first='Peyton' last='Bledsoe']</strong>. Barr-Reeve is 7-5 on the season in a down year. <strong>Braydon Knepp</strong> leads the Vikings with 12.7 points per game. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2391242' first='Seth' last='Wagler']</strong> has also added 9.8 points and 7.2 rebounds. The last eight regular season meetings between these two teams have been decided by single digits with the Vikings winning six of those eight games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Zionsville @ Noblesville - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zionsville visits Noblesville in a competitive Sectional 8 battle. Zionsville comes in at 7-4, but they have won seven of nine after losing their first two games of the season. Penn State commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868255' first='Logan' last='Imes']</strong> is averaging 13.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Eagles this season. Charlotte commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='868244' first='Nick' last='Richart']</strong> has also been big in the paint with 11.6 points and 7.8 rebounds. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively']</strong> has provided good minutes averaging over 8 points per game. Noblesville comes in at 8-3 with their three losses coming by a total of nine points. The Millers fell to Lawrence Central and Pike in two of their last three games. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042494' first='Luke' last='Almodovar']</strong> leads the Millers with 17.2 points per game this season. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158209' first='Aaron' last='Fine']</strong> is also averaging double figures with 13.7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Wabash @ Manchester - Friday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This 2A North battle features a pair of nine-win teams. These two teams played to a 55-47 win for Wabash in the Wabash County Holiday Tournament after Christmas. Wabash sits at 9-3 with losses to Oak Hill, Marion, and Southwood by a total of 12 points. Wabash is led by a trio of juniors with <strong>Izaac Wright</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578477' first='Trevor' last='Daughtry']</strong>, and <strong>Grant Ford</strong>. Wright sits at 18.8 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting 48% from three this season. Daughtry is averaging 15.2 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.3 rebounds, and Ford adds 11.7 points per game on 38% from three. Manchester sits at 9-2 with losses to Oak Hill and Wabash. The Squires are led by sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578393' first='Gavin' last='Betten']</strong> who sits at 21.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Portage @ Lake Central - Friday at 8:00</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This 4A matchup from a pair of the top teams in The Region features 8-4 Portage and 9-2 Lake Central. Portage fell to Munster in the season opener and was swept in the Warsaw Holiday Tournament by Warsaw, South Bend Washington, and Harrison (WL). Portage is led by a pair of sophomores in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578442' first='Michael' last='Wellman']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297027' first='Garrett' last='Clark']</strong> at 13.6 and 12.3 points per game. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275800' first='Jaelyn' last='Johnson']</strong> is also averaging 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Lake Central is 9-2 on the season with losses to a pair of top 10 teams with South Bend Washington and Harrison (WL). Lake Central is led by senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042498' first='Brandon' last='Escobedo']</strong> with 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1547565' first='Jake' last='Smith']</strong> and <strong>Mitchell Milausnic</strong> are each averaging 10 points per game for the Indians.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>1A #1 Bloomfield @ South Knox - Saturday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bloomfield comes in at 11-2 with losses to North Central (Indianapolis) and Linton-Stockton in the Wabash Valley Classic finals. The Cardinals picked up a big win over 1A #4 Evansville Christian last week, and they look to keep it this week. The Cardinals are led by senior post player <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1557223' first='Peter' last='Combs']</strong>. South Knox sits at 7-4, and they have lost three of their last four to North Daviess, Brownstown Central, and Bedford North Lawrence. The Spartans are led by sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297111' first='Sam' last='Singleton']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Jeffersonville @ 2A #7 Providence - Saturday at 7:30</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jeffersonville sits at 6-4 on the season with all four losses coming to Indianapolis teams including Cathedral, Pike, Warren Central, and North Central. The Red Devils are led by a trio of sophomores including <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1388408' first='Tre' last='Singleton']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297093' first='Michael' last='Cooper']</strong>, and <strong>PJ Douglas</strong>. Singleton is averaging 14.3 points and 10.1 rebounds this season. Cooper and Douglas are sitting at 14.0 and 12.3 points per game. Senior <strong>Conner Lyons</strong> is also averaging doule figures with 11.1 points per game. Providence is 7-3 with their last two losses coming by three points to Scottsburg and Evansville Memorial. The Pioneers have yet to be healthy this season as they have been dealing with injuries throughout including senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273735' first='Casey' last='Kaelin']</strong>. Providence is also led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1557194' first='Jaden' last='Johnson']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1557195' first='Grant' last='Seebold']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578457' first='Quentin' last='Hesse']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->