Re-Ranking the Regional Champions – Class 1A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two weeks ago there were 404 teams across four classes battling for a chance to reach Gainbridge Fieldhouse. There are now just 32 teams remaining, eight per class, and only two wins separate teams from the ultimate goal of playing for a State Championship. As always, Prep Hoops Indiana will spend the week previewing the upcoming games. In additional to class-by-class previews that are rolling out all week long we will re-rank the teams remaining in the field just as we did prior to the Regional round. Here is how we would rank the remaining teams in Class 1A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 1A</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>Team</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>Record</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>Semi-State Opponent</strong></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">#1 Barr-Reeve</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">25-1</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Liberty Christian</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">#2 Liberty Christian</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">19-7</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Barr-Reeve</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">#3 Hauser</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">25-2</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Bloomfield</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">#4 Bloomfield</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">19-8</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Hauser</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">#5 Triton</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">23-3</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Tri-County</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">#6 Monroe Central</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">21-4</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">North Vermillion</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">#7 North Vermillion</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">16-11</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Monroe Central</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">#8 Tri-County</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">16-10</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Triton</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is admittedly a bit unfortunate that the south is pretty clearly so much deeper than the north this year. In our opinion, the four best teams remaining in Class 1A are to the South and obviously only one of them will be able to advance to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It also is set up where the #1 and #2 will face-off and then #3 and #4 will battle it out. We gave Barr-Reeve a slight advantage over Liberty Christian for the top spot simply due to their 25-1 record. However, the Lions play an incredibly tough schedule and haven't lost a game to a 1A opponent outside of the state tournament in three seasons. Hauser is back in the Semi-State for a second straight season. They lost to eventual state champion Orleans by two points in the first round of Semi-State last year. The Jets will take on Bloomfield who features one of the top individual talents in Class 1A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the north, Triton is the pretty clear favorite on paper. They have the winning pedigree that often helps this time of year. In the first game on Saturday they will face a Tri-County team that avenged three losses in order to cut down the nets in Sectional 50. We put Monroe Central at #6 due to the inside-outside duo that they feature. North Vermillion has one of the top sophomore scorers in the state, as does Monroe Central, so that matchup should be interesting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will see how these re-rankings hold up on Saturday with the North Semi-State being held at Lafayette Jefferson and the South Semi-State being held at Washington. Two teams will ultimately emerge for a chance to win the state title at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->