One more time…one more time..one more time….
I get it. I hear the chants. You want Bounce to picks some more games this season. So why, on this wonderful Saturday, should I not oblige. At the risk of making teams hate me on championship Saturday, Bounce is here to pick all of the area Sectional finals and tell you just who is going to be playing next Saturday on the most sacred of prep hoops days: Regional Saturday.
Last week: 8-3
Season total: 134-46
CLASS 4A AT CARROLL
Snider vs. Northrop
The final we were expecting? Nope. Fun in a different way? Certainly. Northrop has kind of been the dark horse all season, kind of waiting in the wings with us expecting them to pull an upset somewhere and Friday was that day in a win over Carroll. The two teams ran in their first meeting with Snider winning by seven. There are a few tricks to this game. First, are we seeing the Northrop that just edged North Side or the one that kind of handled Carroll? Those are two different teams. Second, did Northrop learn enough to slow Snider? Third, how do you slow Snider. When they are in their rhythm, Snider can get up and down and roll. Are the Panthers willing to let a third championship opportunity slip through their fingers? Bounce picks Snider
CLASS 4A AT HUNTINGTON NORTH
Homestead vs. New Haven
Talk about asking which team shows up. Homestead has been inconsistent because of their injury hit roster, but things have smoothed out. Remember, this team has four wins against the Blackhawk Christian, the SAC and NE8 champs. This is still a very good Homestead team that can turn up their work rate quickly. Personally, I absolutely love how tough New Haven is inside. Around the basket, they are physical and intelligent and JaKar Williams and Thomas Latham probably don’t get enough credit for that. Last time a strong interior met Homestead, I picked the strong interior and Homestead’s length made that game different than what I expected. Bounce picks Homestead
CLASS 3A AT GARRETT
Leo vs. Concordia Lutheran
Here is another fun rematch from a game that Brayden Pearson made his. The Concordia senior upset the Lions at the buzzer what seems like ages ago. Since then, especially this week, Leo has really found a way to put their foot down and attack teams inside that don’t have the size to run with them. DJ Allen has been fantastic this week and who Concordia matches up with them is key. The Cadets are solid in the backcourt and if they shoot the ball well, they are in this game but their defense has to be next level to deal with what Leo has been able to do lately. Bounce picks Leo
CLASS 3A AT NORWELL
Norwell vs. Mississinewa
Norwell won the first meeting between these two teams, but again that was ages ago so what does it really matter tonight? What I can tell you is that Norwell is a much better team right now than they were on December 3 in that three point win. In Friday’s win, Connor Torson had a phenomenal outing and was able to facilitate his team’s success. The Knights’ ability to succeed tonight depends on if they can have another balanced offensive evening because Mississinewa is going to. Bounce picks Norwell
CLASS 2A AT WESTVIEW
Central Noble vs. Churubusco
Churubusco can easily claim their are the NECC’s best and it would be hard to argue that. They ahem now beat their co-conference champions twice and have a win over Saturday’s opponent, the NECC Tournament champion Cougars. We knew at full strength that Churubusco was going to be a handful but there has to be a questions in how chippy this could get tonight. The first game was emotional. The second game wasn’t. But with a title on the line – both looking for their first since 2017 – can we expect the same tonight? I think we will see some physical perimeter defense. While we all know that Central Noble has big time scorers, it would be wrong to ignore this: how does Logan Gard defend Landen Jordan? Is it a game maker? Maybe not. But it does matter. Just for the record, this is by far the most difficult Sectional final to make a pick on this area. Bounce picks Churubusco
CLASS 2A AT MANCHESTER
Canterbury vs. Blackhawk Christian
As Canterbury’s Holidey Stephenson will remind me: the Cavs upended my top contender pick in Friday’s semi final. And it was a massive win and effort against a very good Wabash team. The Cavaliers have found success by being really balanced this season, even when you have guys that can score big, like Will Shank’s 32 points on Friday. It is a blueprint that Blackhawk Christian knows all too well. These former Class 1A rivals have met once this season and it was all BC. No disrespect to Canterbury but Blackhawk Christian is on a whole different level than most teams they face and their three headed scoring monster has been strong all week. Bounce picks Blackhawk Christian
CLASS 1A AT FREMONT
Lakewood Park vs. Elkhart Christian
We knew when Blackhawk Christian moved up to Class 2A, the door was open for Lakewood Park to be a championship level team again. Would they take advantage? The Panthers played a tough schedule this season and despite some tough losses, they have really built themselves up a lot by having to defend against tougher players that they will see in Class 1A. The Panthers move up the court so well and it is hard for smaller schools to be able to run with them. Don’t expect that to change tonight. Bounce picks Lakewood Park
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
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