Class 3A State Championship Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've made it, folks. The 113th annual IHSAA State Finals are set to tip-off on Saturday morning with the Class 1A championship all the way through to the Class 4A title game in the evening. As always our staff at Prep Hoops Indiana will be bringing you wall-to-wall content leading up to the event as well as boots on the ground coverage from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. We continue our preview series with an in-depth look at the Class 3A state championship matchup between NorthWood and Guerin Catholic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>The Matchup: #1 NorthWood (27-2) vs. Guerin Catholic (20-8)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Players to Watch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NorthWood: [player_tooltip player_id='1226596' first='Cade' last='Brenner'] (Senior - Huntington), [player_tooltip player_id='1391324' first='Ian' last='Raasch'] (Senior - Grace), [player_tooltip player_id='1297122' first='Tyler' last='Raasch'] (Sophomore)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guerin Catholic: [player_tooltip player_id='1275817' first='Robert' last='Sorensen'] (Junior), [player_tooltip player_id='1162765' first='Kamea' last='Chandler'] (Senior)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game Notes</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>This will be NorthWood's first state finals appearance.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Each of Guerin Catholic's previous two trips to the state finals resulted in championships in 2012 and 2015.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>NorthWood leads the state in scoring defense allowing just 35.6 points per game.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>After going "just" 14-8 in the regular season, Guerin Catholic has won all six of their state tournament games by double-figures.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game Analysis</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers come in having rattled off 19 straight victories with their last loss coming to Ben Davis at the Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle. Their only other loss this season came at the Sneakers For Santa Shootout to defending Class 3A state champion Beech Grove. NorthWood is led by a pair of Crossroads League signees with [player_tooltip player_id='1226596' first='Cade' last='Brenner'] averaging 18 points per game and [player_tooltip player_id='1391324' first='Ian' last='Raasch'] adding 15.1 points per game. As for the Golden Eagles, junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1275817' first='Robert' last='Sorensen'] leads the way with 14.6 points per game. The size of [player_tooltip player_id='1547883' first='Dylan' last='Murans'] and Bryson Cardinal will be relied upon to matchup with the Raasch brothers around the basket, but the Raasch's will have the physicality and strength advantage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NorthWood has been the most impressive Class 3A team all season long. Their senior leadership and depth of talent makes them really hard to beat along with being one of the best defensive teams in the state of Indiana. However, this Guerin Catholic squad is getting hot at the right time and has mostly rolled through the state tournament to get to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. At the end of the day, the Panthers will likely have the two best players on the court and more size around the basket too. That will be a lot to overcome for the Golden Eagles. Look for senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1162765' first='Kamea' last='Chandler'] to be the X-Factor for Guerin if they are able to pull off an upset on Saturday evening. Sophomore Bryson Cardinal was excellent in both Semi-State games as well. Still, it is a lot to overcome the scoring ability of Brenner and Raasch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Prediction</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NorthWood 64 Guerin Catholic 50</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->