Prep Hoops Indiana Daily – 5 Things to Watch For This Weekend
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It is time for our first weekend of 2024 and it is a jam-packed one on the Indiana High School Basketball scene. As always, we will have boots on the ground at a couple of games on Friday and Saturday…
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Continue ReadingIt is time for our first weekend of 2024 and it is a jam-packed one on the Indiana High School Basketball scene. As always, we will have boots on the ground at a couple of games on Friday and Saturday night, but we will also be keeping a close eye on the action from every corner of the state. Here are five of the biggest storylines we will be following as we head into the weekend.
Who Remains Undefeated?
Back on New Year’s Day we ran an article highlight the 10 remaining unbeaten teams in the state of Indiana. Everyone has either won or not played as we enter the weekend with all 10 still intact. Cathedral will take their 9-0 record on the road to Class 2A #3 Providence on Saturday evening. Danville, now 10-0 on the season, plays Friday night in the Hendricks County Tournament Semifinals against Tri-West. If they win, they would take on the winner of Avon and Plainfield. 11-0 Fishers hosts Pike on Friday night. 10-0 Greenfield-Central has a tough one against Mount Vernon (Fortville) on Friday evening. Lake Central puts their 9-0 record to the test with a double weekend traveling to LaPorte on Friday night before hosting Harrison (West Lafayette) on Saturday. Class 4A #1 Lawerence North will be at Warren Central on Friday night in a sneaky tough matchup for the 9-0 Wildcats. Richmond will host New Castle on Friday night as they look to become the first team in the state to 13 wins and then go to McCutcheon on Saturday. I’ll be at 10-0 Tipton on Friday night for their matchup with Maconaquah. The Blue Devils then host Bethesda Christian on Saturday night. Class 2A #4 Wapahani remains undefeated at 10-0 and will go to Eastern Hancock on Friday night. Finally, 7-0 Westfield is at Yorktown on Friday before hosting Carmel on Saturday. I’ll predict that Danville and Greenfield-Central go down this weekend leaving us with 8 remaining unbeaten teams to start next week.
Big Weekend For Brownstown Central
There are rumors in the air that Purdue signee Jack Benter Jack Benter 6'4" | SG Brownstown Central | 2024 State #121 Nation IN will make his return to the hardwood on Friday evening as Brownstown Central travels to Jennings County. The Braves will then turn around and host Jeffersonville on Saturday night. Those are two big opportunities for the Class 2A #1 ranked team to prove themselves against solid 4A competition. However, they’ve been playing without their star for a couple of weeks now. In fact, all three of their losses this season have come without Benter in the lineup. Brownstown has proven they can beat teams even without the 2,000 point scorer with their win over Brownsburg at the Hall of Fame Classic being the most recent example. Prep Hoops Indiana will have the official news this evening on whether or not Benter is back in the Braves lineup.
Battle For Fort Wayne Supremacy
Arguably the two best teams in the city this season will battle it out on Friday night as North Side heads to Wayne. This will be a fun matchup featuring the likes of Jevon Lewis Jevon Lewis 5'9" | PG Fort Wayne Wayne | 2024 State IN , Chase Barnes Chase Barnes 6'1" | PG Fort Wayne Wayne | 2025 State #355 Nation IN , and Trey Dillard Trey Dillard 6'6" | PF Fort Wayne Wayne | 2025 State IN for Wayne along with Eugene Young Jr. and Jaxson Fugate Jaxson Fugate 6'5" | SF Fort Wayne North Side | 2024 State IN for North Side. The Legends have faltered some of late sign three of their last five after starting 7-0, but they were one of just five teams to defeat Wayne last season. Meanwhile, the General have won four straight with their only losses this season coming to Ben Davis and Lawrence North on neutral floors. We will take Wayne to protect their home floor in this one tonight.
Matchup Featuring Class of 2025 Stars
Dominique Murphy Jr Dominique Murphy Jr 6'5" | SG East Chicago Central | 2025 State #242 Nation IN . is one of the top pure scorers in Indiana’s very talented Class of 2025. Meanwhile, fellow junior Michael Wellman is having a monster season for a very good Portage team. These two will go head-to-head on Saturday night as 10-4 East Chicago Central travels to take on the 6-3 Indians. Garrett Clark Garrett Clark 6'4" | SG Portage | 2025 State IN and Sam Wellman are two other good juniors to watch for Portage in this matchup as is Yamauree Wallace Yamauree Wallace 6'4" | SG East Chicago Central | 2025 IN for the Cardinals. Speaking of some of the best 2025 prospects, especially up in the Region, Portage will also host Jack Smiley Jack Smiley 6'2" | PG Valparaiso | 2025 State IN and the Valparaiso Vikings on Friday night before their contest with East Chicago Central on Saturday. Smiley has been putting up some ridiculous numbers this season. Portage High School will be the place to be this weekend to watch some of the top juniors in the state of Indiana.
County Tournament Finals
There are only so many opportunities in your athletic career to play for a championship. On Saturday night, eight of Indiana’s 92 counties will crown a champion. Hendricks, Henry, Randolph, Ripley, Rivertown (Dearborn County), Shelby, Sugar Creek (Montgomery County), and Wayne. Half of those will be playing semifinal rounds on Friday night, but we know we get Knightstown vs. Tri (Henry County), Winchester vs. Monroe Central (Randolph County), Batesville vs. South Ripley (Ripley County), and Lawrenceburg vs. Switzerland County (Dearborn County).