Each week, Bounce will pick the results of a handful of the best girls games and handful of the best boys games in the area.
It was a tough week last week with some close upsets, starting on Monday with Eastside girls throwing me off track with their NECC title win.
This is the final week of the girls basketball season, so who takes the edge heading into the postseason? On the boys side, the end of the week brings about substantial conference implications.
LAST WEEK: 7-6
OVERALL THIS SEASON: 58-41
GIRLS
WHITKO AT BISHOP LUERS, MONDAY
Like most of the area this week for girls, this game is more of a fun matchup than anything. Whitko is enjoying a really successful season while Bishop Luers has had some incredible ups and some deflating downs along the way. Whitko is peaking at the right time headed toward the postseason and they are going to make this game more exciting than many would expect. In the end though, the Knights may just have too much high end depth. BOUNCE PICKS BISHOP LUERS
NORTHROP AT COLUMBIA CITY, TUESDAY
The Bruins have had to deal with lack of full health all season but they haven’t let that bother then as terribly much as many would think. Khala Williams-Thomas matching up with Addison Baxter here as two of the area’s best defensive players is a lot of fun, but playing in Columbia City probably won’t be for the Bruins. BOUNCE PICKS COLUMBIA CITY
GARRETT AT FREMONT, TUESDAY
Two younger teams in the NECC who aren’t where they want to be this year, but given a year or two, this battle could honestly be a conference decider. Let’s go with a bit of an upset here, but not too big of one. BOUNCE PICKS GARRETT
EAST NOBLE AT NORWELL, FRIDAY
The Knights of Norwell just need a win to lock up an outright NE8 title and they will have to come up against a young, hungry and balanced East Noble team. Honestly, East Noble’s season is one of the area’s best stories as they have seen some major breakout individual and team moments. But beating Norwell, at The Castle, with NE8 title importance…that may still be beyond EN. BOUNCE PICKS NORWELL
SNIDER AT CARROLL, FRIDAY
Snider’s last step in clinching an outright SAC title comes Friday in a game that isn’t expected to be as good as recent years. But Carroll has been better in the second half of the season than the first, so this is far from a game to look over. Lily George has been strong, but Snider’s options seem limitless offensively, so that is a major hurdle. BOUNCE PICKS SNIDER
BOYS
NORTH SIDE AT LEO, MONDAY
North Side has lost 4 of their last 6; Leo has lost 4 of their last 5. Something has to give here for one of these teams. Tempo, aggression and effort could matter the most here. BOUNCE PICKS NORTH SIDE
BISHOP LUERS AT NORWELL, TUESDAY
Both teams have major conference games over the weekend. Does that mean that the pair of Knights will give anything less than their best here? In this game, Ashton Federspiel is going to be a hard matchup but he’s like that for a lot of teams. Norwell’s guards and tough but the length of Luers on the perimeter is concerning for anyone. BOUNCE PICKS BISHOP LUERS
WAYNE AT BISHOP LUERS, FRIDAY
Nobody is leaving with the SAC trophy here, but we will be closer than we’ve been with these being by far the two best teams in the conference and probably the entire area. Neither team has lost against a Northeast Indiana area opponent and both flex incredible depth and athleticism. Bounce has thought about this one for a long time and took more time composing thoughts for this paragraph than he should take. It has all the fixings for game of the year at the Lu, but betting against Jevon Lewis is big games just seems a little wild at this point, doesn’t it? BOUNCE PICKS WAYNE
WAYNE AT BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN, SATURDAY
The Generals turn around quickly with a tough one. Watching Trey Dillard and Kellen Pickett inside will be fun. Watching the Braves guards try to slow Wayne will be eye opening one way or another. BOUNCE PICKS WAYNE
NORWELL AT EAST NOBLE, SATURDAY
East Noble’s win last weekend was a real eye opener. After so much time off, the Knights shocked Leo mostly because people may have forgotten how good their guards are and how everybody on the court can knock down threes. Norwell can do the same though and their greatest equalizer is Ashton Federspiel. If Kobe Ritchie isn’t back for East Noble for this game, Federspiel is much more than an equalizer. BOUNCE PICKS NORWELL
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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