Prep Hoops Indiana Sectional Preview – Class 1A North

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Believe it or not, it is nearly tournament time in Indiana. Here at Prep Hoops Indiana we will use this final week of the regular season to preview all 64 Sectionals that will take place beginning next Tuesday. There are 410 teams across four classes that are ultimately vying for a trip to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. As always, we will be your one stop shop for coverage throughout the 116th annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament. Let's now dive into our previews which are broken up between the north and south for each class. We will include each Sectional bracket, dive deeper into the toughest Sectional in each area while also discussing an under-the-radar Sectional field, highlight the players to watch, give our expert predictions, and more. Here is our official Prep Hoops Indiana Sectional Preview for the Class 1A North.</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><strong>Sectional 49 @ Kouts High School</strong> - Kouts (21-0) vs. Bowman Academy (8-11), Westville (1-20) vs. Morgan Township (8-11), Washington Township (16-5) vs. Hammond Science &amp; Tech (3-18), Tri-Township (5-16) vs. Marquette Catholic (15-7)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 50 @ Caston High School</strong> - South Newton (9-13) vs. Tri-County (11-10), North Newton (6-16) vs. West Central (15-3), Caston (14-6) vs. North White (3-19), DeMotte Christian (17-4) vs. Pioneer (7-14)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 51 @ Culver High School</strong> - Trinity Academy (7-12) vs. Triton (17-3), Oregon-Davis (3-18) vs. Argos (3-18), South Central (Union Mills) (18-5) vs. Elkhart Christian (8-13), Culver (8-13) vs. North Judson (7-15)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 52 @ Bethany Christian</strong> - Fort Wayne Canterbury (10-11) vs. Hamilton (2-19), Lakewood Park (11-10) vs. Smith Academy (2-19), Bethany Christian (10-12) vs. Lakeland Christian (6-15), Fremont (4-15) vs. Winner Game 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 53 @ Fountain Central High School</strong> - Faith Christian (9-12) vs. Lafayette Central Catholic (8-14), North Vermillion (12-10) vs. Fountain Central (10-11), Riverton Parke (10-10) vs. Attica (3-18), Covington (5-17) vs. Winner Game 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 54 @ Clinton Central High School</strong> - Traders Point Christian (4-15) vs. Carroll (Flora) (9-12), Bethesda Christian (12-10) vs. Clinton Prairie (5-16), Frontier (15-6) vs. Clinton Central (2-18), Rossville (18-4) vs. Winner Game 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 55 @ Wes-Del High School</strong> - Southern Wells (4-15) vs. North Miami (12-8), Tri-Central (7-15) vs. Northfield (3-18), Daleville (3-16) vs. Wes-Del (5-15), Southwood (17-3) vs. Cowan (5-14)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 56 @ Lincoln High School</strong> - Seton Catholic (5-18) vs. Union City (9-12), Blue River Valley (6-13) vs. Monroe Central (15-4), Lincoln (4-17) vs. Randolph Southern (18-5), Union (Modoc) (6-13) vs. Winner Game 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Toughest Sectional - Sectional 49 @ Kouts High School</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It might seem counterintuitive to name Sectional 49 the toughest Sectional when there is a clear favorite, but there are multiple other teams in this field that could win over Class 1A Sectionals. Prep Hoops Indiana #1 Kouts will, most likely, enter Tuesday night's game with a 23-0 record. They recently beat Bowman Academy by 20 points, but the Eagles are never a tough out come tournament time. Then, there is Marquette Catholic and Washington Township. Both of those teams have spent time in the Top 10 this season could certainly cut down the nets if it weren't for undefeated Kouts. Look for the Mustangs to protect their home floor, but it won't necessarily be a cake walk to the Regional round.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Under-the-Radar Sectional - Sectional 50 @ Caston High School</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Five of the eight teams in this field have a record of .500 or above against the other teams. That certainly showcases the balance and depth of talent at Sectional 50. West Central, ranked #8 in the Prep Hoops Indiana Class 1A Top 10, is the favorite having gone 6-0 against the field. However, DeMotte Christian is 17-4 overall, host Caston only lost by one against West Central in mid-January, and Tri-County has proven to be a sneaky dangerous team at times this season. It is fair to say that West Central is the favorite but they will have to win a couple of tough games in order to cut down the nets on Saturday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Players to Watch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2791286' first='Brogan' last='Banker'] (Washington Township H.S. 2028), [player_tooltip player_id='2371868' first='Brady' last='Bishop'] (West Central H.S. 2028), [player_tooltip player_id='2272861' first='Tony' last='Bos'] (DeMotte Christian 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2561161' first='Quentavious' last='Fly'] (Bowman Academy 2028), Eli Harper (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='2812795' first='Avery' last='MacFarlane'] (Lakewood Christian 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2414957' first='Josiah' last='Mays'] (Marquette Catholic 2027), Billy Miller (Kouts H.S. 2028), [player_tooltip player_id='2553970' first='Luke' last='Morgan'] (Monroe Central H.S. 2028), Aleks Pecoski (Marquette Catholic 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2368903' first='Vaughn' last='Rael-Kludt'] (Marquette Catholic 2027), [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='2136359' first='Bryce' last='Wilcox'] (Southwood H.S. 2026), [player_tooltip player_id='2443367' first='Brady' last='Wood'] (Triton H.S. 2028)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Staff Predictions </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 49 - Kouts</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 50 - West Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 51 - Trtion</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 52 - Fort Wayne Canterbury</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 53 - Lafayette Central Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 54 - Rossville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 55 - Southwood</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 56 - Monroe Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->