Picks from the Pond for the Week of February 10

All boys this week in the picks for the second straight week, but don’t you worry, Bounce is still picking all relevant girls basketball Regional games too in a separate column.

But as for a big week for the boys teams, lets get into it.

LAST WEEK: 3-3

THIS SEASON: 133-63

BOYS GAMES

Blackhawk Christian at Snider, Tuesday

The Braves are rolling, but this is traditionally one of the better SAC matchups for them so it still has some interest. A lot of teams are finding they have no match for Kellen Pickett, but this Snider team does have the scoring and defensive depth to matchup well with the Braves. Can they extend the game out of Pickett’s hands enough? BOUNCE PICKS BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN

Norwell at Heritage, Tuesday

The Patriots are looking to bounce back from a tough ACAC loss over the weekend and Norwell has to do the same after a much needed win against Columbia City didn’t materialize. This could be a really underrated game. If Heritage can speed things up, it favors them alot and with the way Landon Lybarger has played lately, the chances of that seem decent. BOUNCE PICKS HERITAGE

Angola at Leo, Tuesday

Angola continues to stay away from NECC games, where they are in the thick of the title race. Leo has been a bit of a mystery throughout the season, but seem to have hit a better run with deeper scoring as of late. The deep scoring part could be a problem for Angola if the Lions are able to match the Hornets’ impressive physicality. BOUNCE PICKS LEO

Wayne at Homestead, Tuesday

This could be as close of a title clincher as they come. If Wayne wins, they improve to 7-0 in conference and hand Homestead a second conference loss. That would leave Luers as the only one loss team in the SAC and it came to Wayne, so the Generals would have full control. Should Homestead and their band of high effort guys win, then we have some SAC chaos. BOUNCE PICKS WAYNE

NorthWood at West Noble, Tuesday

This is one that you have to think the home Chargers have a chance of making a fun one. They can get out and run, they can rebound and they can knock down shots. That said, NorthWood’s depth is impressive and they haven’t had many hiccups on a big run. BOUNCE PICKS NORTHWOOD

New Haven at East Noble, Friday

New Haven has one NE8 loss and East Noble has two. It is easy math that the Knights need this win to stay in the conversation. East Noble has been impressive once they’ve gotten healthy and it has them in this position that we didn’t expect them to be in. The intrigue here is that the Knights may be a team who thrives in the half court, but has the athletes to get out and play a torrid pace like New Haven is able to do, so it won’t be as easy as bending East Noble to their will. This very easily could be the area’s game of the week and I am looking at you too when I say that girls regional title games. BOUNCE PICKS NEW HAVEN

Columbia City at Leo, Friday

Same math as the last one: Columbia City has one NE8 loss and Leo has two. Oddly enough, if Leo can win this and East Noble their game, we could leave Friday with a four way tie. A lot of things go into that, but it is possible. Columbia City has been a surprise in the NE8 on many levels and they’ve done great things without a star player. On the other side of the court, Leo has done kind of the same, but they still have multiple potential stars and who can stop a game Solomon Richard of Jaiyre Sampson? BOUNCE PICKS LEO

Lakeland at Central Noble, Friday

Westview, Angola and Lakeland all sit at one loss coming into the week. Forget about the other two for a minute here as Lakeland needs to avenge a conference tournament loss to the Cougars to stay in the conversation. Angola doesn’t play a NECC game this week and Westview gets Prairie Heights on Friday night, but this is the one that matter most. Both teams spread the ball and the floor well, so who can execute early? It was Central Noble’s early execution that helped them establish a lead in the first game between the two teams. BOUNCE PICKS LAKELAND

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