Welcome to a new week at an expanded Bounce’s picks. After some soul searching when compared to Blitz and how he picks every game, I’ve decided that I can pick a few more games each week than I have. So from here on out, I will be picking 20 games a week total. If you still want me to pick EVERY single game on the slate (60-80 weekly), you are bonkers.
But here are 20 for you now.
My completely imaginary traveling trophy has a new home on the girls side for the FIRST TIME EVER. Carroll’s win over Homestead was monumental in the fact that the Spartans were queens of the castle every week since Outside the Huddle began three years ago. Carroll will “defend” their new traveling trophy at Warsaw and at Concordia Lutheran this week.
On the boys side, a pair of blowouts kept my traveling trophy in the hands of Blackhawk Christian. There will be no in area games for Blackhawk Christian this week.
What you won’t see here is the Blackhawk Christian versus Silver Creek game in Southport that will be covered later this week in a full preview as our Game of the Weekend.
LAST WEEK: 6-4 (one postponement)
2020-21 RECORD: 29-12
2019-20 RECORD: 139-48 (.743)]
GIRLS
CENTRAL NOBLE AT LAKEWOOD PARK, TUESDAY
The Cougars need a big bounce back game after a tough loss to Angola last week and Lakewood Park is a team that could be a positive matchup. It will pressure the Central Noble defense against another primetime scorer in Chloe Jolloff, who is not so easy to stop. Bounce picks Central Noble
HERITAGE AT BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN, TUESDAY
The state’s leader in wins faces another upstart, young program on Tuesday but the Braves certainly have to to have the edge in this. Blackhawk Christian is the best upstart team in the area right now and rolling right along. Bounce picks Blackhawk Christian
CARROLL AT WARSAW, WEDNESDAY
Can the Chargers keep things rolling? The trip to Warsaw is always a hard one and the Tigers can do some of the same things with their depth so don’t expect them to roll over. But is depth as talented as Carroll’s? Bounce picks Carroll
EAST NOBLE AT NORTHROP, WEDNESDAY
Two teams that really want and/or need a quality win to get things back on a really positive track. This would be a nice victory for either. Northrop, at their best, is very strong. But can they be at their best? East Noble wants to get back into that early season groove and Carly Turner will be important here trying to exploit a potential matchup with Northrop’s TiAuna White. Bounce picks East Noble
ADAMS CENTRAL AT JAY COUNTY, FRIDAY
The first game in a series with top teams that should decide the ACAC. Adams Central is a t full strength and clicking on all cylinders in the process. They’ve gotten deeper and this is a game of who can dig deepest and show more grit. Arguable one of the best games of the week. Bounce picks Jay County
CARROLL AT CONCORDIA LUTHERAN, FRIDAY
If Carroll wants to control the SAC still a week after a major program win, they have to go into the cage and get physical. Concordia has played a bit of a gate keeper role this season, looking really good but just coming short against the very best in the area. Can they burst through that role on the first night of SAC girl/boy double headers? Bounce picks Carroll
EAST NOBLE AT BELLMONT, FRIDAY
The Squaws had not played since November 24 but have to get back to work with this and a Bishop Luers game this week, neither an easy challenge. I won’t lie, it is likely that East Noble’s game earlier this week plays a lot into momentum here. Either way, they are ready to get back to work in Decatur and this is a great top end NE8 game. Bounce picks Bellmont
HUNTINGTON NORTH AT NEW HAVEN, FRIDAY
New Haven keeps getting better every game. Is the consistency in their play going to help them against a team who returns this week after a two-week layoff? It has been years since the Bulldogs have had a win against a top end conference opponent. If there is a time to get one, this could be it. Huntington North however is no pushover, but could they be rusty? Expect this to be close. Bounce picks Huntington North
LAKELAND AT FAIRFIELD, FRIDAY
Not enough people are talking about Lakeland right now and that is a shame. Bailey and Peyton Hartsough are on fire and this is a deep team that is still a strong contender in the NECC. They will face off against another of the four teams unbeaten against conference foes and Fairfield is also right there. It is possible this season that one loss doesn’t eliminate you in the NECC title race but the winner here takes a big step forward in a possible title. Bounce picks Lakeland
GARRETT AT NORWELL, SATURDAY
If the Blackhawk Christian boys didn’t have such a substantial game this weekend, this would absolutely be the Game of the Weekend. The two teams open the week a combined 13-0 and could very well be 16-0 total by the time this game comes around. This is arguably the best clash of area teams you will see on the girls side all season and a possible Regional preview. Norwell needs to shore up their inside game, just like they did against Concordia because Garrett’s Morgan Ostrowski has been on a roll.
How tired will Norwell be? This will be game three of the week after taking a two week hiatus. Garrett meanwhile is staying fresh and is one of just two teams in the state that comes into the week undefeated with nine wins. Keep in mind, Norwell’s last regular season loss in The Castle was December 19, 2017. There is a lot going on heading into this one, but that is a loud statement. Bounce picks Norwell
BOYS
ANGOLA AT WOODLAN, TUESDAY
Being the person to try and stop Joe Reidy is not an enviable situation. After the best game of his career last week, Reidy tries to follow it up against a really stingy defense that gave Central Noble some issues last week themselves. We know here what we’ve known for a while now, that Woodlan will need other guys to step up. This can be a tight game if they get that from the likes of Simon Handerson. Let’s go with the upset here. Bounce picks Woodlan
BISHOP LUERS AT LEO, TUESDAY
A rematch of a very interesting Sectional game a year ago but one team looks quite different. Bishop Luers will need to work hard and fast to have their basketball legs under them in their first game of the season. Meanwhile Leo has already turned away three other SAC teams. Will the Knights be #4? It starts with finding a way to stop DJ Allen and Zack Troyer, which Luers couldn’t do last season and Snider couldn’t do last Friday. Bounce picks Leo
NORWELL AT BISHOP DWENGER, TUESDAY
The Saints will also be making their season debut against a competitive, but winless Norwell. This is another case of whether or not a team has their legs under them, although the Saints have had plenty of time to practice even without games. They will need to have an answer for Luke McBride, which few teams have but few teams also have the gritty play that Dwenger will. Bounce picks Bishop Dwenger
CONCORD AT WEST NOBLE, WEDNESDAY
It doesn’t really matter what we do or do not know about Concord. What we do know is that the Chargers play with a lot of heart and are at their best a little loose. It has led to a close loss and closer win. There are areas where coach Ethan Marsh’s team needs to tighten up, especially in second halves. Bounce picks West Noble
NEW HAVEN AT WOODLAN, WEDNESDAY
One can only imagine practice wasn’t fun for the Bulldogs on Saturday. Or Monday. Or any day before this game. They just didn’t have the aggression that we’ve come to known from New Haven teams when they took a blowout loss in their season opener. Forget about the opponent, can the Bulldogs find their fight? They had little flashes of it last week from Darrion Brooks and Dre Wright specially. They need to string those little flashes together. Bounce picks New Haven
CHURUBUSCO AT SOUTH ADAMS, FRIDAY
The Starfires are yet another boys team finally making a season debut this week and they go right into the frying pan against Churubusco. The Eagles have learned that they need to stay in control and composed because they can’t afford to lose Jackson Paul and Landen Jordan to foul trouble. Unfortunately South Adams is the kind of team that can get physical and drag you into deep waters and they are very talented to boot. How will Busco respond? Bounce picks Churubusco
SOUTH SIDE AT NORTH SIDE, FRIDAY
Gary Andrews has not beaten rival South Side in his tenure but this could be the year to do so. The Legends are coming off two straight tough games and are wanting to get back in the win column badly. South Side marks a tough test; the Archers are 1-1 but are a formidable team with a lot of experience. Austin Jordan looked like he was starting to settle in more in their win over Fremont, how will he look against Brauntae Johnson? The Reichert-Hey Memorial Trophy is on the line in this one, the 2nd annual game for that honor. Bounce picks North Side
WAYNE AT SNIDER, FRIDAY
Both of these teams really showed their strength in games at Leo last week, even in losses. Wayne can defend the three point line extremely well and Snider can shoot from there just as good. Call that a wash. Can the Panthers compete at the rim? Wayne does a tremendous job cutting off angles and Christian Flannigan doesn’t let much get by. Aidan Lambert and Elijah Brown are both going to need to attack the basket frequently. These are two teams that want to play spoiler in the SAC so seeing them against each other is a treat. Bounce picks Snider
CENTRAL NOBLE AT WESTVIEW, SATURDAY
Major early NECC implications here after Westview knocked off Churubusco last week. Traditional wisdom has been that this is a Cougar game to win, but bear in mind that Central Noble has yet to look like they are fully clicking and Westview has been able to just suffocate a lot of opposing teams. This is the day where Central Noble needs tighten up and deliver because walking into Westview, even without capacity crowds isn’t easy. Razor close possibilities. Bounce picks Central Noble
HOMESTEAD AT NEW HAVEN, SATURDAY
Another Sectional rematch from a year ago and one that has to haunt Homestead. The question is how much space in the minds of multiple Spartan returners do the Bulldogs occupy? There is nobody who is more confident going into this than New Haven’s Dre Wright, who played some of the best defense of his career in the Sectional win. But there is one thing that Homestead has that they didn’t last season: Fletcher Loyer. That is a big card in their hand this time. Bounce picks Homestead
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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