Sectional Preview – Michigan City Regional

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is officially almost time for Indiana High School Basketball to enter into the most exciting time of year. We have made it through over three months of regular season action and now culminate with a win-or-go-home state tournament. Here at Prep Hoops Indiana our staff will be previewing all 64 sectionals around the state over the next several days. Let's dive on in beginning with Sectionals 1-4 which feed into the Michigan City Regional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 1: Munster</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> East Chicago Central, Gary West, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton Lake Central, Merrillville, Munster</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Hammond Central (20-1), Lake Central (14-8), Munster (20-2)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='814532' first='Brandon' last='Trilli'] (Munster H.S. - Northern Michigan), [player_tooltip player_id='1049160' first='Jordan' last='Woods'] (Hammond Central H.S. - Eastern Illinois, Football)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>Hammond Central comes in ranked #3 in Class 4A with a 20-1 record. They also received the best draw getting opposite of Lake Central and Munster. The Wolves defeated Lake Central by five points recently, but have not played Munster yet this season. Eastern Illinois football commit [player_tooltip player_id='1049160' first='Jordan' last='Woods'] leads the way averaging 14.9 points and 6.4 assists per game while junior wing [player_tooltip player_id='1384393' first='Matthew' last='King'] and junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1158224' first='Daniel' last='Garza'] are two other top players to watch for Hammond. It is certainly their sectional to lose, but it won't be easy cutting down the nets on Munster's home floor if they make it out of the bottom half of the bracket. <strong>Hammond Central</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 2: Crown Point</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Chesterton, Crown Point, Hobart, Kankakee Valley, Lowell, Portage, Valparaiso</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Chesterton (17-5), Crown Point (12-8), Valparaiso (11-12)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='935722' first='Mason' last='Jones'] (Valparaiso H.S. - Ball State), [player_tooltip player_id='868237' first='A.J.' last='Lux'] (Crown Point H.S. - Bellarmine)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Defending Class 4A state runner-up Chesterton is back once again featuring a talented junior duo of guard [player_tooltip player_id='1275807' first='Tyler' last='Parrish'] and forward [player_tooltip player_id='1158231' first='Justin' last='Sims']. They've already defeated both Crown Point and Valparaiso this season and get the benefit of the first round bye. However, they will likely have to defeat both a second time to cut down the nets. Valpo has the benefit of the better draw on the bottom half of the bracket while Crown Point has the home court advantage. The experience the Trojans have with winning in the post season should be enough to advance them to the regional round. <strong>Chesterton</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 3: LaPorte</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> LaPorte, Michigan City, Mishawaka, Plymouth, South Bend Adams, South Bend Riley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> LaPorte (16-6), Michigan City (16-6), Mishawaka (16-5)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player to Watch:</strong> Jaime Hodges Jr. (Michigan City H.S. 2023)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Michigan City is led by dynamic point guard Jaime Hodges Jr. and his 21.7 points per game. However, they fell to South Bend Adams this season proving they are vulnerable in a one-and-done type of atmosphere. They open up sectional play with one another with host LaPorte awaiting the winner. The Lancers have not lost to a sectional opponent this season. LaPorte has four upperclassmen scoring in double-figures led by senior Kyle Kirkham at 14 points per game, but the overall talent and athleticism of the Wolves is hard to pick against this time of year. Look for them to avenge their early season losses and cut down the nets Sectional 3. <strong>Michigan City</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 4: Elkhart</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Concord, Elkhart, Goshen, Northridge, Penn, Warsaw</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Penn, Warsaw</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1049169' first='Markus' last='Burton'] (Penn H.S. - Notre Dame), [player_tooltip player_id='868247' first='Jaxson' last='Gould'] (Warsaw H.S. - Indiana Wesleyan)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> With all due respect to Warsaw and the rest of the sectional field at Elkhart, there isn't much reason to spend too much time breaking this one down. It will be pretty darn surprising if anyone besides the Penn Kingsmen cut down the nets. They are led by Mr. Basketball front-runner [player_tooltip player_id='1049169' first='Markus' last='Burton'] who is averaging 30.4 points per game. Senior guards [player_tooltip player_id='1391326' first='Joey' last='Garwood'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1272962' first='Joe' last='Smith'] add some additional scoring punch in their backcourt to make up one of the best offensive teams in the northern part of Indiana. Warsaw slowed the game down when they face off earlier in the year, but still lost by 10 points. Anything can happen come tournament time, but don't expect an upset here. <strong>Penn</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->