Evan Schmidt is one of three Warsaw seniors set to play in their final sectional. The No. 4 Tigers will face either Penn or Northridge in the Elkhart Sectional semifinals on March 4.

Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle could not hide his happiness Sunday evening.

Ogle, after seeing his team lose for the first time Saturday night, received some very good news in his eyes when the sectional draw was conducted.

The Tigers received a bye in the Class 4-A Elkhart Sectional field, which means only the possibility of two long bus rides that week.

Warsaw, 20-1 and ranked No. 4 in Class 4-A, will meet either Penn (10-10) or defending sectional champion Northridge (7-12) in the first semifinal game at North Side Gym on March 4. The Tigers are the heavy favorites in the seven-team field, which added Penn to the mix this season. Warsaw and Elkhart Central are the only two teams in the Elkhart field with winning records.

“This is as happy as I’ve been for a while,” said Ogle. “I’m really happy with the bye. I admit that I’m happy that we only have to win two games instead of three and that we would only have to travel to Elkhart twice. I like that a lot more than if we would have had to play three times, especially Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.”

The Tigers, who were the last unbeaten team in the state until losing 36-33 at home on a 3-pointer at the final buzzer to Carmel Saturday night, are 5-0 versus the field. Warsaw did not play Penn during the regular season, but did beat everyone else in the field. Penn beat Northridge 60-49 back on Jan. 19.

“The recent history of sectionals at Elkhart have not had the favorites winning there,” noted Ogle, whose team was the favorite last year but was upset in the first round by Concord. “We know that to win it that we will have to play well twice. I think that it will be a competitive sectional. Memorial played us tougher than anyone else in the field during the season.”

“We got what we deserved Saturday night. Now, we have to take that loss and move forward and make a positive from it. And I think that’s what our team will do.”

The 106th annual state tournament series will include a field of 398 teams statewide.  Sectional title games are March 5 with regionals March 12, semi states March 19 and the State Finals set for March 26 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

A Warsaw-Penn matchup in the semifinals would be an interesting one. The Kingsmen are coached by former Warsaw coach Al Rhodes. Ogle, who is 213-100 in his 14th season, was the Tiger JV coach for 15 seasons under Rhodes.

“I don’t relish the thought of playing Penn because coach Rhodes and I were together for so long at Warsaw,” remarked Ogle, who succeeded Rhodes in 2002. “I don’t think any coach likes playing a high-stakes game against another coach who he worked with for that long. I don’t really enjoy playing NorthWood for the same reason.”

NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe was an assistant coach on Ogle’s staff at WCHS before taking over the Panthers.

Speaking of NorthWood.

The Class 3-A No. 2 Panthers are slated to face West Noble in the opening game of their own sectional on March 1. The Panthers, who are shooting for their third straight sectional title and fourth in the last five years, are 19-2 and 5-0 versus the sectional field.

Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley will meet in the other first-round game at NorthWood on March 1. The Warriors (2-18) are slated to host the Vikings (9-12) on Friday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Whitko will face Bremen in the opening game of the Class 2-A Westview Sectional on March 1. The much-improved Wildcats, who are led by high-scoring junior Nate Walpole, are 13-8 thanks to a six-game winning streak. Whitko finished 6-17 last year and were 1-20 two seasons ago.  The Wildcats, under second-year coach Roger Fleetwood, are 0-1 versus the sectional field (a 70-60 loss to Central Noble). Whitko hosts NorthWood Friday night in a huge contest to end the regular season.

Triton received a bye in their own Class 1-A sectional. The Trojans, who are 14-7, will face either South Central or Argos in a semifinal game on March 4. Triton lost a 41-29 final to Argos, but did not play South Central during the regular season.

Lakeland Christian Academy also received a bye. The Cougars, who are 3-19, will face either Fort Wayne Blackhawk or Lakewood Park on March 4 in the semifinals of the Class 1-A Blackhawk Sectional. LCA lost 68-39 to Lakewood Park and has not played Blackhawk.

Area sectional champions will feed into regionals at Michigan City (4-A), Marion (3-A), North Judson (2-A) and Triton (1-A).

The Elkhart Sectional winner will face the Plymouth Sectional champion in a regional semifinal game. The NorthWood Sectional winner will take on the New Haven Sectional champion in the regional. The Westview Sectional champion draw the winner from the Bluffton Sectional in a regional semifinal. The Triton Regional will have the Triton Sectional winner versus the Morgan Township Sectional winner and the Blackhawk Sectional champion versus the Tri-County Sectional champion.

The hosts for the North Semistates will be Huntington North and Lafayette Jefferson. The semistate assignments will be announced by the IHSAA on March 13.

Class 4-A
At Elkhart (At North Side Gym)
March 1: 7 p.m.: Northridge (7-12) vs. Penn (10-10)
March 2: 6 p.m.: Elkhart Memorial (4-17) vs. Goshen (7-13)
March 2: 7:45 p.m.: Elkhart Central (13-6) vs. Concord (5-15)
March 4: 6 p.m.: Warsaw (20-1) vs. Northridge-Penn winner
March 4: 7:45 p.m.: Memorial-Goshen winner vs. Central-Concord winner
March 5: 7:30 p.m.: Championship Game

Class 3-A
At NorthWood
March 1: 6 p.m.: West Noble (4-16) vs. NorthWood (19-2)
March 1: 7:30 p.m.: Tippecanoe Valley (9-12) vs. Wawasee (2-18)
March 4: 6 p.m.: Lakeland (7-14) vs. W. Noble-NorthWood winner
March 4: 7:30 p.m.: Fairfield (12-8) vs. T. Valley-Wawasee winner
March 5: 7 p.m.: Championship Game

Class 2-A
At Westview
March 1: 7 p.m.: Whitko (13-8) vs. Bremen (4-16)
March 2: 6 p.m.: LaVille (14-8) vs. Prairie Heights (9-12)
March 2: 7:30 p.m.: Central Noble (10-11) vs. Fremont (14-6)
March 4: 6 p.m.: Westview (11-9) vs. Whitko-Bremen winner
March 4: 7:30 p.m.: LaVille-P. Heights winner vs. C. Noble-Fremont winner
March 5: 7 p.m.: Championship Game

Class 1-A
At Triton
March 1: 6:30 p.m.: North Miami (1-20) vs. Culver (13-8)
March 1: 8 p.m.: South Central (13-8) vs. Argos (11-10)
March 4: 6:30 p.m.: Oregon Davis (9-12) vs. North Miami-Culver winner
March 4: 8 p.m. Triton (14-7) vs. South Central-Argos winner
March 5: 7 p.m.: Championship Game

Class 1-A
At Fort Wayne Blackhawk
March 1: 6 p.m.: Bethany Christian (3-17) vs. Hamilton (4-16)
March 1: 7:30 p.m.: Fort Wayne Blackhawk (11-11) vs. Lakewood Park (5-15)
March 4: 6 p.m.: Elkhart Christian Academy (8-12) vs. Bethany Christian-Hamilton winner
March 4: 7:30 p.m.: Lakeland Christian Academy (3-19) vs. Blackhawk-Lakewood Park winner
March 5: 7 p.m.: Championship Game