Prep Hoops Indiana Semi-State Preview – Class 2A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 114th Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament is moving right along. This past weekend we went from 64 Sectional champions to 32 Regional champions. Now, the four teams remaining in the north and south brackets of each respective class will meet for a two-game Semi-State held on Saturday, March 16th. The winners at each site will then advance to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the 2024 IHSAA State Finals held on Saturday, March 30th. At the Class 1A level, Michigan City High School is the host of the northern bracket while Washington High Schools hosts the southern teams. Let's dive on in to our Prep Hoops Indiana Class 2A Semi-State preview.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/03/prep-hoops-indiana-semi-state-preview-class-1a/">Class 1A Preview</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Judson vs Wapahani (Lafayette Jeff)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While it is not really a 'surprise' that both of these teams are here in the semi-state portion of the Indiana state tournament, I don't think many would have thought that these two teams were going to be here based on who they played in the Regional round. Starting with North Judson, the Bluejays were about to squeak by Gary 21st 47-43 to get here. Wapahni stunned Tipton in what was the biggest game of the day in Class 2A on Saturday but the more shocking part of the win by the Raiders was that they beat Tipton 65-41. The best player in this game is without question [player_tooltip player_id='1158181' first='Isaac' last='Andrews'] who at this point is playing his way into a possible Indiana All-Star berth with his consistent big time performances. North Judson is one of the more balanced teams in the eight that remain, but I worry if they will have enough to slow down Andrews and teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1561131' first='Camden' last='Bell'], who is coming off 22 points vs Tipton. <strong>The Prediction: Wapahani </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Wabash vs Fort Wayne Blackhawk (Lafayette Jeff)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All-in-all, this was the matchup that we were always likely to see once the Regional matchups were set. Wabash won a close one over Westview 50-45 on Saturday while their semi-state opponent, Fort Wayne Blackhawk, handily defeated Lafayette Central Catholic 64-48. When examining these two teams, they both have their obvious strengths. For Wabash, it is the senior duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1158201' first='Izaak' last='Wright'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1158208' first='Trevor' last='Daughtry'] with Fort Wayne Blackhawk having one of the top 2025 prospects in the state, [player_tooltip player_id='1364589' first='Kellen' last='Pickett']. Both of these teams come into this game having each won 21 games on the year so each know what it takes to win. This game all comes down to if Blackhawk can have good enough guard play to take the pressure off Pickett. <strong>The Prediction: Fort Wayne Blackhawk</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Park Tudor vs Brownstown Central (Southport)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is the matchup that everyone that followed the 2A south wanted to have happened. If there was a team that was going to give Brownstown Central troubles before they got to state, it was going to be the Park Tudor Panthers. Park Tudor is coming off beating University 63-56 while Brownstown steamrolled Sullivan 67-41. Park Tudor brings in one of the best guar duos that Brownstown will see all season in junior guards [player_tooltip player_id='1297034' first='Hudson' last='Horvath'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1297074' first='Kelin' last='Mark'], but the Braves are still loaded and led by Purdue signee [player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter'], who is coming off a 25 point performance vs Sullivan which bumped him to 13th on the Indiana All-Time scoring list. Both of these teams have firepower here and the depth of Park Tudor will be nice for them to throw at Brownstown. If Park Tudor is going to want to get the biggest upset of the state tournament, they will have to play perfect. <strong>The Prediction: Brownstown Central</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Parke Heritage vs Forest Park (Southport)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both of these teams just still feel slightly under-the-radar but are still taking care of business. While Parke Heritage has beaten each team they have faced by at least 14 points, the Forest Park Rangers have had to really scrap and claw their way here with their wins over North Posey in Sectional and recently Switzerland County this past Saturday in Regionals. Best player in this game is Parke Heritage sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1560965' first='Treigh' last='Schelsky'] but Forest Park senior guard Reid Howard is coming off a 34 point game so he is one to look out for here. This should be a tough, physical game. <strong>The Prediction: Parke Heritage</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Finals Predictions</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Wayne Blackhawk over Wapahani</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brownstown Central over Parke Heritage</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->