Prep Hoops Indiana Sectional Preview - Class 1A North

<p>We are just a week away from the beginning of the 115th Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament. On Sunday evening we received brackets for the Sectional round as 403 teams learned how their path to Gainbridge Fieldhouse would begin. We will spend the week here at Prep Hoops Indiana going in-depth across the state touching on all 64 Sectionals. Let's take a look at the eight Sectionals that make up the Class 1A North.<br></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Brackets</h2>   <p>Sectional 49 @ Kouts: Hammond Science & Tech vs. Morgan Township, Bowman Academy vs. Washington Township, Kouts vs. Marquette Catholic, Tri-Township vs. Westville</p>   <p>Sectional 50 @ Tri-County: South Newtown vs. West Central, DeMotte Christian vs. Caston, Tri-County vs. North White, Pioneer vs. North Newton</p>   <p>Sectional 51 @ North Judson: Elkhart Christian vs. Culver, Oregon-Davis vs. Triton, Argos vs. Trinity Greenlawn, South Central (Union Mills) vs. North Judson</p>   <p>Sectional 52 @ Fremont: Fremont vs. Bethany Christian, Lakeland Christian vs. Hamilton, Lakewood Park vs. Winner Game 1, Fort Wayne Canterbury vs. Winner Game 2</p>   <p>Sectional 53 @ North Vermillion: Covington vs. North Vermillion, Lafayette Central Catholic vs. Fountain Central, Riverton Parke vs. Attica, Faith Christian vs. Winner Game 1</p>   <p>Sectional 54 @ Clinton Central: Clinton Central vs. Frontier, Rossville vs. Bethesda Christian, Carroll (Flora) vs. Clinton Prairie, Traders Point Christian vs. Winner Game 1</p>   <p>Sectional 55 @ Southwood: Southwood vs. Northfield, Cowan vs. North Miami, Daleville vs. Tri-Central, Wes-Del vs. Southern Wells</p>   <p>Sectional 56 @ Blue River: Cambridge City Lincoln vs. Monroe Central, Randolph Southern vs. Union City, Blue River vs. Seton Catholic, Union (Modoc) vs. Winner Game 1 </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Toughest Sectional</h2>   <p>Sectional 54 at Clinton Central undoubtedly runs through Clinton Prairie. They are 5-0 against Sectional opponents, ranked #3 in the Prep Hoops Indiana Class 1A Top 10, and led by one of the top scorers at the 1A level in senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1297051' first='Jake' last='McGraw']. However, there are three other teams that have 14 or more wins on the season. Frontier is 14-7 and certainly got the most favorable draw with a pretty clear path to the championship game. Rossville is 15-7 and will take on a Bethesda Christian team that played for the 1A state championship last season. Then, there the heavyweights first round matchup between 19-2 Clinton Prairie and 16-4 Carroll (Flora). The Gophers won the regular season battle by 20 points, but Carroll has kept pace with them at the top of the Hoosier Heartland Conference standings. It'll be a fun rematch on March 5th.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Under-the-Radar Sectional</h2>   <p>Sectional 49 at Kouts could very well have been labeled as the toughest Sectional as well, but the overall records don't pop as well as those in Sectional 54. However, there are at least three different teams who have realistic goals of cutting down the nets. Starting with the host, Kouts, who is ranked #6 in the Prep Hoops Indiana Class 1A Top 10 and currently sits at 18-3, the Mustangs would love to cut down the nets at their own gym. Washington Township, who is 17-4 on the season, defeated Kouts 66-49 back on January 17th. Then, there is Marquette Catholic. The Blazers are just 10-11, bu thave won six straight and always enter the tournament battle tested. They have several of their key pieces back from a team that advanced to the Class 1A North Semi-State last season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Players to Watch</h2>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2272861' first='Tony' last='Bos'] (DeMotte Christian 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1561100' first='Colson' last='Dobre'] (Marquette Catholic 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1296973' first='Alex' last='Farley'] (Clinton Prairie H.S. 2025), Landon Garrett (Kouts H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1559321' first='Lucas' last='Kleckner'] (Kouts H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2538005' first='Teagan' last='Leonard'] (North Vermillion H.S. 2028), [player_tooltip player_id='1749329' first='Josiah' last='Love'] (Wes-Del H.S. 2025), Josiah Mays (Marquette Catholic 2026), Rob McGown (Washington Township H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1297051' first='Jake' last='McGraw'] (Clinton Prairie H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1297054' first='Jason' last='Moynihan'] (Seton Catholic 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1749328' first='Bryce' last='Nannenga'] (West Central H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='2399000' first='Gage' last='Riffle'] (Triton H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2414956' first='Brayden' last='Thiele-Hahn'] (Rossville H.S. 2027), [player_tooltip player_id='2245732' first='Steven' last='Tierney'] (Bethesda Christian 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='2136359' first='Bryce' last='Wilcox'] (Southwood H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2391223' first='Tanner' last='Witt-Hoyo'] (Triton H.S. 2025)</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Predictions</h2>   <p>Sectional 49 - Marquette Catholic</p>   <p>Sectional 50 - West Central</p>   <p>Sectional 51 - Triton</p>   <p>Sectional 52 - Fort Wayne Canterbury</p>   <p>Sectional 53 - Lafayette Central Catholic</p>   <p>Sectional 54 - Clinton Prairie</p>   <p>Sectional 55 - Southwood</p>   <p>Sectional 56 - Monroe Central</p>

We are just a week away from the beginning of the 115th Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament. On Sunday evening we received brackets for the Sectional round as 403 teams learned how their path to Gainbridge Fieldhouse would begin. We will spend the week here at Prep Hoops Indiana going in-depth across the state touching on all 64 Sectionals. Let's take a look at the eight Sectionals that make up the Class 1A North.