They’re playing bas-ket-baaall.
We love that bas-ket-baaall.

Let’s get to it right away!

No rants. No bashing on country songs. No tributes. Nothing but picks this week because BASKETBALL.

It’s sectional time. We’re in Indiana. Let’s go enjoy it. This is the best time of the year for basketball fans, at least that’s how I feel. So get out and see some games this week because it’s going to be a great postseason for IHSAA teams in our area.

I did something a little different this year for my sectional picks, I’ve picked/predicted every game. Below I give a brief preview of the sectional field as a whole and then move on to pick what I think will happen game by game. I also provide a “sleeper pick” for fans to think about. My sleepers are teams that I think have been forgotten in the overall landscape of their respective brackets and so I’m just telling people to keep an eye on them.

Last Week (2/19): 2-3
Overall: 108-53

Boys High School Sectional Basketball 3/1-3/5

Triton Class 1-A Sectional 51
The Scoop: This should be an interesting field to watch as it’s wide open for nearly everyone to win. South Central (13-9) went 3-0 against teams in the sectional, the only team to go undefeated but the Satellites start their journey with a tough game against Argos (12-10). Those two teams played to a 58-49 final two weeks ago in favor of South Central. Culver (14-8) will also have its hat in the ring as will Triton (16-7). Culver picked up big wins over the Trojans and Argos on its way to a 4-2 record against sectional teams while Triton was just 1-2 against teams in the field. With all that being said, I like the Trojans to win this sectional.
Triton is not flashy, but more often than not this team gets the job done. This is a tough team to beat twice. I don’t see Argos and Culver getting by the Trojans like they did earlier this season. Triton also has the bye, playing the winner of  Argos-South Central, I think that’s a big boost. Oh, and the Trojans are playing at home. That’s never been a bad thing for any team.
Triton does not have an easy path, but the draw sets up fine for the Trojans to grab their 12th sectional title.
Nick’s Picks 3/1: Culver 52, North Miami 28. South Central 49, Argos 40.
3/4: Culver 50, Oregon-Davis 47. Triton 43, South Central 40.
3/5: Triton 51, Culver 39.
Sectional Champion: Triton. Sleeper: Argos.

Fort Wayne Blackhawk Class 1-A Sectional 52
The Scoop: It’s Blackhawk’s sectional to lose.
The Braves enter with the only winning record, 13-11, and have the most potent offense, averaging almost 66 points per game. Elkhart Christian (9-13) will certainly challenge for the title but the Eagles have struggled defensively at times this year, surrendering 59 PPG. ECA is the biggest threat to Blackhawk but it will take a very impressive game to knock off the Braves.
The local flavor here is Lakeland Christian (4-19). The Cougars grew leaps and bounds this season and have seen a consistent scorer develop in sophomore Josh McDaniel. This is a team that’s finally having fun on the court and could be a tough out on any given night. The Cougars grabbed the bye, which is always helpful, but the reward is most likely a matchup with Blackhawk in the semis. LCA has improved and will truly be a team to watch next season, but this looks to be too tall of an order for this team to fill this year.
Nick’s Picks 3/1: Hamilton 52, Bethany Christian 47. Blackhawk 60, Lakewood Park 37.
3/4: Elkhart Christian 44, Hamilton 30. Blackhawk 73, Lakeland Christian 52.
3/5: Blackhawk 58, Elkhart Christian 40.
Sectional Champion: Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian Sleeper: Lakewood Park.

Westview Class 2-A Sectional 35
The Scoop: I won’t call this sectional “wide open” but it certainly has a lot of good teams in it. This might be the best Friday night ticket to have this week.
The host team Westview is my favorite team in this field. They’re young and energized. This team’s starting five can push just about any team, the issue is that there is no depth for the Warriors. This is a team loaded with sophomores and freshmen and will probably be back in the state championship as early as next season. But right now, this team doesn’t have the bench to make a deep run.
Fremont is probably the favorite in this field. The Eagles were 3-0 against sectional team’s this year, including a two-point win over Westview and have 16 wins, the most in the sectional. But being the favorite in this field doesn’t mean much.
Whitko (13-9) brings a very dangerous group to the table. The Wildcats have made an incredible jump in efficiency since last season. Coach Roger Fleetwood has this team primed to make a run and you don’t want to play them right now. But, again, this is a sectional that has a host of team that you don’t want to be playing right now, with the exception of Bremen (4-18), a program clearly going through a rough patch. LaVille (15-8), Central Noble (12-11) and Prairie Heights (11-12) have all won their fair share of games this season and all have a legitimate shot at cutting down the nets.
This is far from an easy bracket to pick….but I’ll do it anyway!
Nick’s Picks 3/1: Whitko 68, Bremen 39.
3/2: LaVille 49, Prairie Heights 45. Fremont 56, Central Noble 48.
3/4: Whitko 51, Westview 50. LaVille 55, Fremont 52.
3/5: LaVille 60, Whitko 52.
Sectional Champion: LaVille. Sleeper: Central Noble.

NorthWood Class 3-A Sectional 21
The Scoop: NorthWood (20-2) enters the field as the best team, without question, and has home court advantage. It almost seems too easy to pick the Panthers in this sectional, but it’s never good to be that foolish.
This is a sectional that is very familiar with itself. Many of the teams play each other in the regular season and most are close in proximity which gives a good rivalry feel to many of these contests.
The Panthers are the favorite, it will be an upset if they lose regardless even of unforeseen circumstances. After that it’s a rather open field. Tippecanoe Valley (10-12) and Fairfield (13-9) are the only other teams with 10 or more wins. West Noble (4-18) has made big improvements since December while Wawasee (2-20) has found a reliable scorer, giving the Warriors more confidence overall and Lakeland is far better than its 7-15 record would suggest.
It’s this time of year where the saying “Never say never” is truly important because anything can happen on any given night. But this is NorthWood’s tournament to lose, plain and simple. The Panthers will be pushed at times this week but, in the end, there is no reason for them to not hoist the trophy Saturday night.
Nick’s Picks 3/1: NorthWood 69, West Noble 39. Tippecanoe Valley 57, Wawasee 48.
3/4: NorthWood 67, Lakeland 49. Tippecanoe Valley 46, Fairfield 43.
3/5: NorthWood 62, Tippecanoe Valley 50.
Sectional Champion: NorthWood. Sleeper: Lakeland.

Elkhart Central Class 4-A Sectional 4
The Scoop: Speaking of how anything can happen, this is a sectional that anything will happen. I don’t know what it is, I really don’t, but something completely ridiculous will happen in this sectional and we’ll all be left scratching our heads because of it. Maybe it’s just part of the experience of being at North Side Gymnasium, I have no clue, but something weird always takes place at this sectional.
Warsaw is the clear-cut favorite, make no mistake. The Tigers are 20-1 and only Central (14-7) has a winning record among the rest of the field. See, this is already shaping up to be dumb because I guarantee these two teams will not meet in the title game despite having the only winning records.
Warsaw is an odd team to pin down. It’s a good team but they squeak out too many close victories. Granted those games usually come against very good opponents but the Orange and Black have also been too closely contested by inferior teams this season. It’s like Warsaw lacks either the ability or drive to just crush a team that it is far superior to.(Goshen, Elkhart Memorial are examples of this.) That leaves the window open and you can’t do that this time of year…because it’s cold outside…but also because team’s will take any small opportunity and turn it into Dean Huppert’s Highlight of the Night on their way to an upset.
Warsaw can’t overlook any team in this sectional because too many good teams have done it up at North Side before.
That potential Penn-Warsaw contest for Friday night scares the heck out of me. I’m very wary of this whole field for the Tigers but I have faith that this year’s Warsaw team is more mentally sound than some of the other big dogs that have entered North Side in years past.
Nick’s Picks 3/1: Penn 62, Northridge 45.
3/2: Elkhart Memorial 46, Goshen 40. Elkhart Central 63, Concord 51.
3/4 Warsaw 48, Penn 42. Memorial 56, Central 51.
3/5: Warsaw 61, Memorial 48.
Sectional Champion: Warsaw. Sleeper: Elkhart Memorial.

Just to get you in the mood….