By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
Uncle Mike has a special affection for Class 2A. It is the forgotten class of class basketball. The schools are too small to grab headlines, but too big to be romantic in a “Hoosiers” kind of way.
Nonetheless, over the years this class has produced some of the best basketball at the state finals. This time around should be no exception. Here is our resident grump’s predictions, plus Managing Editor E. Shawn Aylsworth’s offering up of his sacrificial picks as well. Remember, this is the man convinced that there was no way his fellow Americans would vote for Dubya. Twice.
Double yikes.
Uncle Mike’s picks appear below after Unkey Mike; Aylsworth’s appear after Ed Zeppelin, his catch-all team name for unsuccessful fantasy sports teams across the globe.
Sectional 33 @ Hammond Noll
Unkey Mike: No. 17 Wheeler is the favorite in the field, but the 18-3 Bearcats’ draw was anything but kind. They should face top challenger Hammond Noll (13-8) in the second round. Still, I am going to take the Bearcats. Wheeler downed Noll easily in the regular season at home, but fell to the Warriors in the Greater South Shore Tournament championship 18 days later. The other item of note here is that the competition in the final is likely to be Lake Station (9-11). Now, Wheeler should have no problem with the Fighting Eagles, but Lake Station has won nine games and, for a school that has been down for as long as this one, 10 total wins and a sectional final appearance is a HUGE step forward.
Ed Zeppelin: Wheeler.
Sectional 34 @ North Judson
Unkey Mike: The title should be decided in the very first game when 13-6 Boone Grove faces 15-5 North Judson. I am going to take the host. The Bluejays are a rare independent in that part of the state, and I think their strength of schedule is a little better. Plus, tradition says North Judson has the edge here.
Ed Zeppelin: Agreed on the two-team dominance, adding that North Judson won the regular-season meeting 57-51 at Home Feb. 7. Like the Beatles, I will go the Bluejay way.
Sectional 35 @ Jimtown
Unkey Mike: Wow, is this one a trap or what? The three contenders are Bremen (14-7), Fairfield (12-8), and Westview (14-7). Westview has beaten Fairfield twice by VERY narrow margins, and the two square off in the opening game. Bremen lost to Fairfield but has the bye. Here is the way I see it. It is very hard to beat a team three times. Therefore, I am going to take Fairfield in the opener. Then, based much on the same kind of thinking, I will take Bremen to avenge the regular-season loss and beat Fairfield in the second round. Bremen will then face a very dangerous Jimtown team because of the way the Jimmies play. Jimtown will slow the game down to the point that every shot is a huge deal. However, I think Bremen figures out a way to win a close one in the final.
Ed Zeppelin: Mike, if a train leaves Kansas City heading west at 35 miles an hour … you get the picture. The draw says that yes, those three teams will all run into each other. Westview made it through here easily a year ago before running into Luers in the semistate. I will go with the Warriors.
Sectional 36 @ Garrett
Unkey Mike: This is another toughie. Fremont at 13-7 has the best record in the field. The Eagles should face Garrett in the final. I will take Fremont because I think they are a little better right now than the overall record indicates.
Ed Zeppelin: Garrett beat Fremont in OT at home back on Dec. 9, and this final will be played on the same court. I’ll go with Garrett.
Sectional 37 @ Clinton Central
Unkey Mike: No. 16 Carroll (Flora) (16-4) is playing without two of its biggest weapons. It won’t matter against this field. I will take the Cougars.
Ed Zeppelin: Carroll.
Sectional 38 @ South Adams
Unkey Mike: This is the big one, and the explosion happens early as second-ranked defending state champion Fort Wayne Luers (17-4) faces No. 3 Bluffton (21-2) right off the bat. Frankly, after the heartbreak of last year, you have to kind of pull for Bluffton. In the end, wishing for poetic justice won’t be enough. I take Luers.
Ed Zeppelin: How messed-up is this? Despite Bluffton’s better record and being ranked just one slot behind Luers, Luers is the biggest favorite among the 16 2A sectionals according to the sectional picks based on Sagarin power ratings, the sectional draw, and sectional site that appear on John Harrell’s website. A year ago, this sectional final score was Luers 66, Bluffton 64 – hardly a blowout, and the Tigers’ only loss of the season. Granted, Luers plays a much tougher sked, but c’mon – this is “Hoosier Hysteria,” people! Go, small public school on improbable postseason run. Bluffton.
Sectional 39 @ Manchester
Unkey Mike: Go North – to Miami. It would take a major upset for 12th-ranked North Miami (15-5) not to win this one.
Ed Zeppelin: Southwood, the other team in the field with a winning record, fell 69-45 at home against North Miami on the last day of January. The boys from suburban Denver – that’s North Miami.
Sectional 40 @ Tipton
Unkey Mike: This field is loaded. Top-ranked Tipton (20-2) is the best team at this location. However, the Blue Devils have a tough opener against a No. 7 Oak Hill team with a talented senior class looking for glory one last time. Fortunately for the Blue Devils, they drew the Golden Eagles in the opener. That means they have plenty of time to prepare, and that also means that Oak Hill (17-3) is going home. Then, a dangerous No. 15 Guerin Catholic team could wait in the final. Still, I think Elston and the boys get through this one.
Ed Zeppelin: Tipton beat Oak Hill 68-64 for the sectional crown a year ago, and the Devils will be favored by two touchdowns on their home court in the rematch. Tipton.
Sectional 41 @ Lapel
Unkey Mike: This is another talented field. Fifth-ranked Wapahani (16-3), No. 8 Lapel (16-4), and fourth-ranked defending state runner-up Winchester (17-3) are all loaded. I will take Jimmie Howell and the host Bulldogs in a minor upset. Winchester is probably the better team, but the Golden Falcons will have to beat a tough Wapahani team on Friday and then come back against the Bulldogs on Saturday. I think that is too much. Lapel will survive.
Ed Zeppelin: Yes Wapahani won 61-57 at Winchester back in the second week of the season. But the defending 2A state runner-up Golden Falcons have been on an absolute ROLL lately, winning their last five games by scores of 80-48, 101-70, 97-56, 90-34, and 71-41. That’s some serious firepower at the right time to bring it to the party. Winchester.
Sectional 42 @ Hagerstown
Unkey Mike: The bottom half of this eight-team bracket is full of decent teams. Whoever survives that half should see Eastern Hancock (11-9) in the final. I am going with Centerville (13-7) to beat the Royals in the title game. My reason is simple: I have to pick somebody.
Ed Zeppelin: The scenario Mike describes would be a rematch of last year’s 57-55 loss by Centerville in its opening sectional game. I am guessing the Bulldogs have been waiting a year for such an opportunity. Centerville.
Sectional 43 @ Indian Creek
Unkey Mike: No. 11 Heritage Christian will win this one, and brother will they have earned it. The Eagles have to get past Triton Central (13-7) or Indianapolis Ritter (14-5) in the second round and Indianapolis Washington (8-12 overall but 2-0 against this field) in the final. They will do just exactly that.
Ed Zeppelin: Heritage Christian just won 52-49 last week at Ritter and was felled 79-75 the week before at sectional host Indian Creek. This thang has toss-up written all over it, but for some reason I have been leaning toward Ritter for awhile. The RAI-duhhhhhhs!
Sectional 44 @ North Decatur
Unkey Mike: I think this is the sleeper sectional in the class. Sixth-ranked Lawrenceburg (17-3), No. 14 Switzerland County (16-5), and South Ripley (8-12) are all good teams. Lawrenceburg has lost to South Ripley and had a war against Switzerland County. Still, I am going with Lawrenceburg. These guys went 9-1 in the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference, and that is something you just don’t do unless you are really good. You are hearing it here first: The sectional round is not the last you will hear of Lawrenceburg.
Ed Zeppelin: Lawrenceburg.
Sectional 45 @ Eastern Greene
Unkey Mike: No. 13 South Knox will survive an opening-night date with Bloomfield (11-10) and go on to win this one easily.
Ed Zeppelin: Yes, McLovin. Were the Spartans to win that opener, they will have avoided getting ”Greene Countied,” I believe you called it in one of your notebooks. It’s Knox gonna happen as Sparty owns this field.
Sectional 46 @ South Putnam
Unkey Mike: Five years ago, this was the toughest 2A sectional in the state. Now, the best record in the field is 11-8. Covenant Christian (Indianapolis), the 11-8 team, is the favorite here. Tri-West Hendricks (11-10) and Monrovia (8-13) are both capable of playing well enough on a given night to beat the Warriors. Unfortunately for those teams, they face each other in the opening round. Neither is capable, in my opinion, of playing at the necessary level twice in one week. I will take Covenant Christian.
Ed Zeppelin: The opposite end of the spectrum from South Adams here as Speedway (32.9 percent) and Covenant Christian (29.5) represent who-the-heck-knows odds as the two “favorites.” Thus, to the draw. Mike is leaving Speedway out of the equation, but the Sparkplugs also are in the bottom half of the bracket with Tri-West and Monrovia. Advantage, small private school (CC).
Sectional 47 @ Providence
Unkey Mike: This is another loaded field. My heart says I want to see a Brownstown (15-6) versus Providence (16-4) final – I just want to see the unbridled hatred. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is going to happen. I will take 10th-ranked Austin (18-4) to get through the mine field.
Ed Zeppelin: Yes, that’s for sure a three-way buzzsaw. But there’s a small private school playing on its home floor, the 800-pound gorilla so to speak. Providence.
Sectional 48 @ Evansville Mater Dei (well, Boonville, actually)
Unkey Mike: Gee, I am going to go out on a limb here. I will pick some obscure place called Forest Park (the ninth-ranked Rangers are 15-5 and won back-to-back state titles in 2005 and ’06). Face it: I am just a really courageous guy.
Ed Zeppelin: Yes, Mike. When I think of that warrior mentality, it is usually the NBA logo-esque outline of you and your walker that comes to mind. It should be noted that the Rangers, after winning those two state titles, lost in their second sectional game each of the last two seasons. That would be South Spencer (8-13) this year. I repeat, it’s Knox gonna happen. Forest Gump – er, Park.
FINAL THOUGHT: Anybody who can get 11 out of 16 in this class should move to Vegas because this whole field is loaded with really good teams.
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