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?
WINNER: HUNTINGTON NORTH
What you don’t want to see is Homestead or SAC champion South Side on night one. So in that realm, Huntington North wins, not that Wayne is a gimme by any means. This is one of the area’s toughest Sectionals, so for it to be four teams means something about each of these programs.
But the Vikings do get the team with the worst record on Friday night and they get to play them at home. It is a matchup that can favor Huntington North even more significantly if they can shoot the ball well. Titus Schultz could be a real problem for the Wayne defense the way he moves on and off ball and gets into his shots.
LOSERS: BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN AND ANGOLA
Absolutely the top two teams this regular season among the 8 that reside in this DeKalb hosted Sectional. And they will not only play eachother first, they will go at it in game one on Tuesday, which absolutely should set a really fun tone for the week at DeKalb, but also seems unnecessary.
When anyone talks about seeding in the postseason and why it is something that should happen, this game is example A this season. The Braves are legit, coming off a win over the SAC champions and Angola has been able to showcase such a wide array of talent that has made them successful and one of the top teams in the NECC yet again, while doing so again with a lot of guys who will be back next season.
It makes no sense for them to meet in the first round and this year, no example is better of a random draw not making much sense to the teams involved.
WINNER: NEW HAVEN
The Bulldogs fought hard for their NE8 title but they look like they may get a little bit of a reprieve in the postseason. Only two teams other than New Haven in this bracket have winning records and not only do those two teams, Heritage and Norwell, have to face each other first, they are also on the opposite side of title favorite New Haven.
With others we talk about as “winnners” here in this column, that doesn’t mean it is all sunshine for the Bulldogs. They would have to get by a pair of tremendously talented sophomore scorers in Mississinewa’s Rayveon Fetz (round one) and Bellmont’s Daniel Selking (round 2), but it keeps you from having to play around with two teams in Norwell and Heritage that present the more dangerous lineups.
LOSERS: SECTIONAL 35
There are never winners in a Sectional that features six teams from the same conference. They’ve all played eachother and some of them have played eachother twice due to the NECC Tournament.
It has not made sense to Bounce ever to have a Sectional made up ONLY of teams from one conference. The IHSAA really should look at a recalibration next season when teams move up or down as classifications are altered. Sure, geographically it makes sense. Why would you mix up the Fort Waynea and South of Fort Wayne sectional 36 with all of these teams north of Fort Wayne? But sometimes common sense should carry higher than making teams play for a third time in a high school season.
WINNER: CANTERBURY
The Cavaliers have been an interesting case lately. Going into the final week of the season, they have won two of their last three with wins over Prairie Heights and Northrop that have certainly raised attention. This team lost to Northrop by nearly 40 last season and have not beaten a SAC school – outside of the 23-24 season – since November 27, 2018. Led by Ben Hardin, the Cavs win over Northrop was a showcase one.
So of course with that and with the fact that the Sagarin Ratings have them the top team in this Sectional, getting the lowest rated team in this Sectional makes an abundance of sense. With Lakewood Park and Bethany Christian as the other top teams in his Sectional, Canterbury has to be happy to see them on the other side.
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