Prep Hoops Indiana Sectional Preview – Class 4A North

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <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 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 now take a look at the eight Sectionals that make up the Class 4A North.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-1a-north-2/">Class 1A North</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-1a-south-2/">Class 1A South</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-2a-north-2/">Class 2A North</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-2a-south-2/">Class 2A South</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-3a-north-2/">Class 3A North</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-3a-south-2/">Class 3A South</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Brackets</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 1 @ Lake Central: Hammond Central vs. Munster, Crown Point vs. Hammond Morton, Lake Central vs. Winner Game 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 2 @ Valparaiso: Valparaiso vs. Merrillville, Portage vs. Chesterton, Hobart vs. Winner Game 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 3 @ Michigan City: LaPorte vs. Penn, Mishawaka vs. South Bend Riley, Michigan City vs. Winner Game 1, South Bend Adams vs. Winner Game 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 4 @ Elkhart: Concord vs. Warsaw, Northridge vs. Elkhart, Goshen vs. Winner Game 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 5 @ Carroll (Fort Wayne): Fort Wayne Snider vs. Carroll (Fort Wayne), Fort Wayne Northrop vs. Fort Wayne North Side</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 6 @ Fort Wayne Wayne: Huntington North vs. Homestead, Fort Wayne South vs. Fort Wayne Wayne</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 7 @ Kokomo: Lafayette Jeff vs. Harrison (West Lafayette), Kokomo vs. McCutcheon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 8 @ Carmel: Carmel vs. Noblesville, Westfield vs. Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern vs. Winner Game 1, Zionsville vs. Winner Game 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Toughest Sectional</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This honor has to go to Sectional 8 at Carmel. Not only does it feature a first round matchup between Prep Hoops Indiana Class 4A #1 Fishers and #5 Avon, but it also has #8 Noblesville along with Carmel, Hamilton Southeastern, and Zionsville. The defending Class 4A state champions, Fishers, are also the last remaining undefeated team this season, but they will have to earn the right to cut down the Sectional 8 nets. Westfield led they by double-figures in the second half back on February 6th, but couldn't hold on to the lead. Also, the bracket is set up for a rematch of last season's epic Sectional final between Fishers and Noblesville which ended in memorable, and somewhat controversial, fashion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Under-the-Radar Sectional</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With all four teams having a winning record and at least 13 wins Sectional 7 at Kokomo could go in any direction. On paper, the host Wildkats of Kokomo might have the most talent along with the obvious benefit of home court advantage. However, they lost to both Harrison (West Lafayette) and Lafayette Jeff during the regular season. It was 70-59 against the Raiders and then just 48-47 against the Bronchos. After winning three straight Sectional championships, Coach Peckinpaugh will have the Wildkats ready. Meanwhile, Harrison and Lafayette Jeff split their two regular season games. We will be treated to a rubber match right away as the two rivals battle it out on March 7th at 6:00 p.m. followed by Kokomo vs. McCutcheon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Players to Watch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2141040' first='Brody' last='Baker'] (McCutcheon H.S. 2027), [player_tooltip player_id='1297001' first='Chase' last='Barnes'] (Fort Wayne Wayne H.S. 2025 - UIndy), [player_tooltip player_id='1381461' first='Zion' last='Bellamy'] (Kokomo H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='2050029' first='Luke' last='Bricker'] (Warsaw H.S. 2025 - Grace), [player_tooltip player_id='1297027' first='Garrett' last='Clark'] (Portage H.S. 2025 - Air Force), Alonzo Clawson-Smith (Lafayette Jeff H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='2457404' first='Caleb' last='Coolman'] (Penn H.S. 2028), [player_tooltip player_id='1936084' first='Paxton' last='Crane'] (Fort Wayne Carroll H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1534261' first='Justin' last='Curry II'] (Noblesville H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1561445' first='Mason' last='Darrell'] (Crown Point H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1297032' first='Trey' last='Dillard'] (Fort Wayne Wayne H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='2194415' first='Jason' last='Gardner'] Jr (Fishers H.S. 2027), [player_tooltip player_id='1988138' first='Drew' last='Haffner'] (Westfield H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1561440' first='Korbyn' last='Hammel'] (Kokomo H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1560952' first='Evan' last='Harrell'] (Carmel H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2398991' first='Tyrese' last='Jones'] (South Bend Riley H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2053659' first='Malachi' last='King'] (Harrison H.S. 2025 - Saint Francis), [player_tooltip player_id='1297069' first='Justin' last='Kirby'] (Fishers H.S. 2025 - Miami OH)[player_tooltip player_id='1560996' first='Josh' last='Malloy'] (Munster H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2391213' first='Brandt' last='Martin'] (Warsaw H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1525678' first='Maguire' last='Mitchell'] (Zionsville H.S. 2025 - IU-Indianapolis), [player_tooltip player_id='2140368' first='Griffin' last='Ott-Large'] (LaPorte H.S. 2027), [player_tooltip player_id='1989437' first='Logan' last='Pokorney'] (Chesterton H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1297088' first='Marvin' last='Schindler'] (South Bend Riley H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='2398995' first='Brady' last='Scholl'] (Northridge H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1561617' first='Dikembe' last='Shaw'] (Crown Point H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively'] (Zionsville H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1561002' first='Jarvis' last='Tolbert Jr'] (South Bend Adams H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='1561054' first='Baron' last='Walker'] (Noblesville H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2140416' first='Mack' last='Welker'] (Homestead H.S. 2027), [player_tooltip player_id='1297094' first='Michael' last='Wellman'] (Portage H.S. 2025 - Grace), [player_tooltip player_id='2323675' first='Michael' last='Woods'] (Hammond Morton H.S. 2027), [player_tooltip player_id='2140345' first='Cooper' last='Zachary'] (Fishers H.S. 2027)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Predictions</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 1 - Crown Point</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 2 - Portage</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 3 - South Bend Riley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 4 - Northridge</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 5 - Fort Wayne Snider</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 6 - Fort Wayne Wayne</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 7 - Kokomo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 8 - Fishers</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->