Prep Hoops Indiana Regional Preview – Class 4A South

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 114th Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament began on Tuesday, February 27th with 399 participating teams across four classes. Now, we are doing to 64 Sectional champions still remaining. Prep Hoops Indiana had boots on the ground coverage through Sectional week and will be in several gyms across the state on Regional Saturday. As we did prior Sectional week, we will spend this week previewing the 32 Regional games that will be played on Saturday, March 9th. Here is our preview of the four Regionals that make up the Class 4A South.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>***Remember that the Semi-State will get redrawn from the eight remaining teams as opposed to maintaining “north” and “south” designation. Still for preview purposes here in the Regional, we will continue to refer to the left side of the bracket as the north and the right side of the bracket as the south.***</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/03/prep-hoops-indiana-regional-preview-class-1a-north/">Class 1A North</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/03/prep-hoops-indiana-regional-preview-class-1a-south/">Class 1A South</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/03/prep-hoops-indiana-regional-preview-class-2a-north/">Class 2A North</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/03/prep-hoops-indiana-regional-preview-class-2a-south/">Class 2A South</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/03/prep-hoops-indiana-regional-preview-class-3a-north/">Class 3A North</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/03/prep-hoops-indiana-regional-preview-class-3a-south/">Class 3A South</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/03/prep-hoops-indiana-regional-preview-class-4a-north/">Class 4A North</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Avon vs. Lawrence North (Greenfield-Central Regional)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lawerence North spent the majority of the season ranked #1 in the Prep Hoops Indiana Class 4A Poll. However, they tripped up a few times in February to relinquish their hold on the top spot. They still turned it on though and ran through the always loaded Sectional 10 defeating North Central, Crispus Attucks, and Cathedral on their way to cutting down the nets. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1296979' first='Azavier' last='Robinson']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/azavier-robinson/"></a> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158213' first='Kobi' last='Bowles']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kobi-bowles/"></a> lead their dynamic backcourt while sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1729136' first='Brennan' last='Miller']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/brennan-miller/"></a> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1509229' first='Kai' last='McGrew']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kai-mcgrew/"></a> provide size up front. As for Avon, they pulled an upset snapping Terre Haute North's 18-game winning streak to win Sectional 12. Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1561685' first='Jedidiah' last='Minnett']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jedidiah-minnett/"></a> leads the Orioles in scoring at 13 points per game. Meanwhile, junior forwards Deandre Lott and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1539997' first='Kendrick' last='Dunmore']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kendrick-dunmore/"></a> provide size and athleticism that can matchup with what the Wildcats have up front. <strong>Prediction: Lawrence North</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">New Palestine vs. Ben Davis (Southport Regional)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Dragons of New Palestine already had to knock off the state's last remaining undefeated team in Greenfield-Central win the Sectional 9 championship. Now, they will be tasked with taking down the defending Class 4A state champions in the Regional round. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1297068' first='Julius' last='Gizzi'] continues to put up monster numbers as he averages 28.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for 22-5 New Palestine. As for the defending state champions, the Giants are 20-5 but have won 10 of their last 11 games. Northwestern signee [player_tooltip player_id='1158204' first='K.J.' last='Windham'] leads the way averaging 16.3 points per game while junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1373105' first='Mark' last='Zackery'] adds 10.3 points and 3.8 assists per game. Ben Davis will have the advantage in terms of experience, athleticism, and depth, but Gizzi is capable of changing a game with his ability to score the basketball. This should be a fun one at the historic Southport Fieldhouse. <strong>Prediction: Ben Davis</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jeffersonville vs. Evansville Harrison (Southridge Regional)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This will be a great battle between two of the best teams in southern Indiana. Jeffersonville, who is 18-7, avenged a loss to Seymour in the opening round of Sectional 15 and then dominated Floyd Central before beating rival New Albany in the championship game. The Red Devils feature a talented trio of juniors in [player_tooltip player_id='1297093' first='Michael' last='Cooper'], [player_tooltip player_id='1373104' first='P.J.' last='Douglas'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1388408' first='Tre' last='Singleton'] who average 16.3, 14.1, and 14.0 points per game respectively. Meanwhile, double-double machine [player_tooltip player_id='1761697' first='Malachi' last='McNair'] will provide Evansville Harrison with a good matchup for the 6'8" Singleton inside. He averages 18.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1297113' first='Shane' last='Sims'] added 15.3 points and 5.5 assists per game for the Warriors. <strong>Prediction: Evansville Harrison</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Franklin vs. Center Grove (Southport Regional)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two south side of Indianapolis rivals will go at it on Saturday as the 18-4 Grizzly Cubs of Franklin take on the 20-4 Trojans of Center Grove. Eastern Kentucky signee [player_tooltip player_id='1275780' first='Micah' last='Davis'] and company beat Center Grove 65-64 in overtime all the way back on November 28th, but the Trojans enter as the hot team. They have gone undefeated since the calendar turned to 2024 winning 14 straight games. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1158238' first='Joey' last='Schmitz'] and senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1547488' first='Will' last='Spellman'] lead a deep, balanced, and veteran roster. For Franklin, Davis is one of the top playmakers in the state of Indiana averaging 25.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1497617' first='Wyatt' last='Nickleson'] is averaging 10.8 points while shooting 40% from three-point range as well. In the end, the depth of Center Grove will likely be the difference in this one. <strong>Prediction: Center Grove</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->