Nick’s Picks: The Conference Championship Edition
Disclaimer: I’m only writing this so I won’t get fined.
Just when you thought it was safe to walk the streets, somebody goes and steals cold cuts. What is this world coming to, Kosciusko?
Alright, enough of police blotter. There is a big weekend of sports ahead of us. Conference titles are on the line, conference wins are on the line and Pete Carroll gets to play for a Super Bowl title. Yes, again.
Good luck to all of the wrestlers competing at sectionals this weekend and congratulations to all of the individual conference champions that our local schools crowned last Saturday. Also, good luck to the swimmers competing at conference meets this weekend.
I will not be picking a Super Bowl champion in this article, but I will have a Super Bowl preview up before the weekend.
Let’s get to picking!
Last Week: 6-2
Overall: 99-42
High School Boys Basketball 1/30
No. 13 NorthWood (13-1, 4-0) at Warsaw (12-3, 3-0), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: Outright control of the Northern Lakes Conference is on the line for these two teams in the Tiger Den Friday night. Apparently playing at home didn’t help the Tigers much last Saturday as Fort Wayne Northrop beat them. That was just one night after a disappointing performance against Concord, though the Tigers won that game. I do have an explanation for last weekend’s hiccups, boredom.
Yes, it’s simple, the Tigers were bored. They have been rolling through teams and wanted to make things interesting with Concord and just forgot to finish off Northrop. No big deal, that was last weekend.
This weekend there is no reason to be bored.
The Panthers are good, very good, but Friday night is the Tigers time to shine. NorthWood has a very potent offensive attack, nothing Warsaw can’t handle, but the Tigers will need production on the offensive side of the court.
Look for a lot of the norms from the Tigers, steady scoring from the Mangas brothers, control at the point from Paul Marandet, momentum changing plays from Rashaan Jackson and some big threes from Tim Swanson. It will be a dog fight, but I have the Tigers winning this one.
The Pick: Warsaw 58, NorthWood 53.
Whitko (4-11, 0-4) at Wabash (3-11, 2-2), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: Whitko has won three of its last four games while Wabash has lost seven of its last eight. Nate Walpole and River West are becoming very reliable scorers and could help Whitko make a little noise in the sectional if they continue to progress. Wabash has scorers, Taylor Vigar averages nearly 14 points per game, he also leads the team in assists. Keeping him quiet will be a big part of Whitko’s game plan.
I like the way Whitko has been playing so I’m going with the ‘Cats in this game.
The Pick: Whitko 50, Wabash 40.
Tippecanoe Valley (8-6, 3-0) at No. 17 Manchester (10-5, 3-1), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: Manchester Academy hosts the mighty Vikings tonight. Why Manchester Academy? If you have to ask, you don’t get to know.
Valley is the last undefeated team in Three Rivers Conference play but the Squires provide a huge challenge. Manchester has several reliable scorers and the team averages around 55 points per game. Chainey Zolman (that name seems familiar, hmm) has had some big games for the Squires so far this year. Keeping him in check will be key for Valley in this one. I underestimated the Vikings last week. It might be going out on a ledge, but I’m going to put my faith in them this week.
The Pick: Valley 61, Manchester 57.
Wawasee (5-7, 0-4) at Concord (2-12, 0-4), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: Wawasee missed a big chance at getting a conference win last weekend. Plymouth was in town and was able to take advantage of Wawasee’s lack of defense inside en route to a victory. Concord is better than its record suggests, but still a team without an identity. Concord looked decent against Warsaw last week, but that’s not enough to get me on board with this team.
Wawasee still has issues, but the Warriors are starting to get production out of bench players. If Wawasee can get consistent scoring out of Alex Clark and Gage Reinhard, then this team will be able to string together a couple of wins. Either way, I do expect the Warriors to pick up their first win at Concord since January 2007.
The Pick: Wawasee 56, Concord 45.
Triton (8-6, 3-0) at Jimtown (9-3, 2-0), 7:30 p.m.
The Scoop: Control of the Northern States Conference is up for grabs between these two teams. Triton has the experience in this spot, but Jimtown has a whole new level of confidence this season. The home court advantage will also play a big part in this as I am sure Jimtown will have a huge crowd. The Jimmies have a pretty good offensive attack, averaging 58 points per game. I think the ability to score will be the difference in this game.
The Pick: Jimtown 56, Triton 49.
High School Girls Basketball 1/31
Jimtown (5-14, 1-4) at No. 7 Triton (13-7, 3-2), 1:30 p.m.
The Scoop: The Lady Jimmies (Jimmettes? Jannies?) have not fared as well as the Jimmies have this season. That will be obvious in the outcomes of the two games. I don’t expect this game to be very close at all. Triton needs to get rid of the taste in its mouth from last week’s loss in the Bi-County, the win over Manchester on Tuesday was not enough.
Triton gets a nice win before rolling into the season finale against LaVille.
The Pick: Triton 44, Jimtown 28.
Concord (7-11, 0-4) at Wawasee (4-15, 0-5), 2:30 p.m.
The Scoop: It’s a battle for seventh place and it’s a total toss up.
Concord has beaten anybody of note, nor has Wawasee. Both teams have played eerily similar games against common opponents, so I am prepared to get a quarter out to decide this one. Wawasee will need to have a better than average offensive day to win this game. The Lady Warriors defense has been steady most of this season, that will need to continue.
I’ll put my faith in Kylee Rosotchak and the Lady Warriors here.
The Pick: Wawasee 46, Concord 42.
Warsaw (12-8, 5-1) at No. 12 NorthWood (16-5, 5-0), 7:30 p.m.
The Scoop: Another game that will have huge implications on conference standings!? Can this weekend get any better!?
The Lady Tigers continue to be inconsistent, playing up to good opponents and down to bad opponents. Expect the same this weekend in the Panther Pit. NorthWood averages 55 points per game on offense while Warsaw scores just 43. I think that will play a part in this game.
It should be a close contest and NorthWood has survived plenty of those already this season.
The Pick: NorthWood 61, Warsaw 56.
No. 6 Wabash (15-3, 4-2) at Whitko (12-7, 4-2), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: Whitko has secured itself a winning season, now it’s time to grab a big win. The Wildcats have played tight with TRC powers Tippecanoe Valley and Rochester already this season, this time they need to finish the job. It might be a bit of a stretch to expect this team to win this game, but I picked the ‘Cats to win the rest of their games two weeks ago, knowing that this game was still on the schedule. So, if you can be in South Whitley Saturday night you’ll get to see a great performance by this team, led by sophomore Aly Reiff and Brianna Cumberland.
The Pick: Whitko 42, Wabash 38.
Manchester (7-12, 1-5) at No. 10 Tippecanoe Valley (17-2, 6-0), 7:45 p.m.
The Scoop: No analysis needed here. None at all. Valley is one game away from winning the TRC. This team is too talented to let this game get away. This is just a formality. All Vikings, all night.
The Pick: Valley 57, Manchester 34.