Every year we have our complaints and we have our praises.
It is always a mixed bag and will probably continue to be until the day the IHSAA decides to find a way to seed the postseason in high school basketball. So since we all know that day may never actually come, of course we have to chime in on the good and bad of the draw.
Yes, for headlines sake we call this winners and losers, but we all know what we mean, right?
LOSERS: SNIDER/NORTHROP
Having the two best teams in a four team Sectional matchup first is criminal. But, without a seeding, it can’t be avoided. The Panthers and Bruins are long natural rivals and right at the top of the SAC this season. This could be a game with heavy offense but on the flip of that, where each team’s defensive prowess matters most.
On January 9, Snider picked up a one point win over the Bruins. So knowing how very tight this game is going to be played in a Friday semi final, you’d really want this to be a title game. Instead, 10 win Carroll whom Northrop recently blew out, and zero win North Side will also get to play in a semi final with a trip to a Sectional final on the line.
WINNER: NORWELL
Welcome to Class 4A, here is a Sectional featuring Homestead. That same Spartan team that lost to Norwell by 13 early in the season, is on an 11-game win streak and is averaging over 71 points per game on the season. But on the flip side of that, in a five-team Sectional, the Knights don’t draw Homestead.
Instead, Norwell will play their first 4A sectional with a bye to Friday’s semi finals where they will face off with Wayne. And while Homestead’s ride through South Side and Huntington North wouldn’t be that taxing, it is nice for Norwell to avoid the side of the bracket Homestead is on AND play one less game that week heading into a possible Saturday rematch with the Knights and Spartans.
LOSER: EAST NOBLE
The Knights defend their Sectional title on their own home court and get blessed with a first round matchup against the other toughest team in their Sectional. That isn’t exactly the kind of homecoming celebration you want.
Not only will the Knights be one of the teams that has to get three wins to take a title again, the four teams with the best records in this Sectional will have to play on the same side of the bracket at East Noble faces Angola and then Leo battles Garrett.
WINNER: LAKELAND
Lakeland has had a really good season and one that should get more credit than it does in a top heavy NECC. The Lakers have the luxury in this all-NECC Sectional bracket to avoid Eastside until a potential final, which is what every one of these teams would want; they have all lost to the Blazers.
Lakeland also earned a bye so they will head to Friday’s Sectional semi final with a Central Noble/Churubusco winner awaiting them. It is almost an ideal draw for a Lakers team that could be playing with house money and getting quick momentum to try and be one to dethrone Eastside.
LOSER: WOODLAN
It always makes things more difficult when you are the home team and have a bad draw. That is what Woodlan gets, fresh off winning an outright ACAC title, as they draw TRC champion Whitko in the opening round of Sectional play. They will be the only area conference champions to face off against each other in the opening round of the postseason.
Woodlan has had a really good season and double double threat Alyssa Anderson is a difficult match up for every team everywhere. But to pick up 1-loss Whitko on opening night is the last thing Woodlan would want.
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