Back to our normal format after the spree of tournaments over the holiday break, Indiana Basketball Source's Week In Preview segment looks at ten important games from around the state this week. All times listed are eastern.
Monday January 5
Lapel at Pendelton Heights 7:30pm
A first round game in the Madison County Tournament is a rematch of a December contest that saw Lapel victorious by a 48-40 score. Look for another low scoring contest this time around as well.
Butler signee Sean McDermott only scored five points against Lapel in the first match, but comes into the game averaging 17 points over his last three games. Both teams enter the week with just two losses.
Tuesday January 6
Lawrence North at Arsenal Tech 7:30pm
Both of these squads have performed better than expected so far this season. For Lawrence North, senior guard
Pat Bacon has taken over as the leader and has put up some impressive scoring numbers to boot. LN has youth as well, as freshmen
Antwaan Cushingberry and
Kevin Easley start for the Wildcats. Tech is led by junior point CJ Walker, who has committed to
Purdue. Walker averaged 29 points per game in leading Tech to a pair of wins last week over Anderson and
Evansville Harrison. Senior Donte Gladney pours in 14 a night for Tech.
Thursday January 8
Noblesville vs. Park Tudor 7:00pm Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Brian McCauley's Noblesville squad stands at 8-2 after winning their tournament this past week, featuring a trio of wins over quality teams Chesterton, Lawrence North, and Crown Point. Noblesville is led by junior forward John Kiser and senior marksman Jake Mills. Park Tudor comes in undefeated at 7-0 but could be rusty after a two plus week layoff. Western Michigan point guard commit Bryce Moore averages 21 a game, and 6'8 classmate Evan Frank averages a double double.
Northeastern at Hagerstown 7:45pm
The Wayne County Tournament has a dynamite first round matchup as Class 2A #2 Northeastern travels to 8-2 Hagerstown. Senior wing Thorin Stage gives Hagerstown a legit 20-10 threat every night, while sophomore guard Jared Andis heads up the backcourt. The undefeated Knights of Northeastern have three players averaging around 15 points per game with sophomore point guard
Tyler Smith, senior wing Grant Esposito, and senior forward Craig Dingwerth. Dating back to last season, the Knights have won 23 of their last 24 games.
Friday January 9
Bloomington North at Bloomington South 7:30pm
A classic southern
Indiana rivalry game. Bloomington North comes into the week at 9-2, riding a five game winning streak. Their only losses have been to undefeated
Evansville Reitz and Southport. The Cougars are led by Malik Laffoon, a junior guard, and freshman wing
Musa Jallow. They are looking to win their third straight against crosstown rival Bloomington South, who are currently 7-2. The Panthers have a phenomenal backcourt in senior point guard Johnny Jager and junior off guard Tucker Blackwell. The difference could come from the team that is able to win the battle in the paint.
Carmel at Center Grove 7:30pm
The Greyhounds travel south for a conference showdown with the Trojans of Center Grove and first year coach Zach Hahn. The threes could be flying in this matchup, as Carmel features arguably the best shooting duo in the state in
Purdue bound
Ryan Cline and Air Force commit
Keegan Culp. The Trojans don't lack in shooting, as they are led by 6'4 wing Michael Benkert, who is headed to Belmont next year. Each team has only one conference loss, so any hope of taking home the MIC crown could be gone with a loss
Friday.
Penn at South Bend St. Joseph 7:30pm
A battle of teams who lost in the regional championship game last season could go a long way in deciding the Northern
Indiana Conference title. Each team has yet to register a conference loss, and the winner will have put a quality opponent behind them. Both teams also have wins over common opponents, as they both defeated Concord and Elkhart Memorial in the NIC/NLC Shootout last week. Penn has a three headed senior backcourt in Nate Miller, Billy Doslak, and Ryan Lutz. SB St. Joseph has backcourt depth as well and is led by junior wing Francis Uzorh.
Saturday January 10
McCutcheon at Richmond 8:00pm
New conference foes face off when undefeated McCutcheon travels across the state to take on Richmond. Both squads have won major tournaments, with McCutcheon picking up the J&C Hoops Classic title in early December and Richmond winning the Bob Wettig Memorial Tournament this past weekend. Senior guard Tre'Shon Heard and junior forward Darnell
Butler average a combined 30 points a night for the Mavs, while Richmond has four seniors who average in double figures, led by Davious Webster and
Joel Okafor. The winner of this game will be the only undefeated left in North Central Conference play.
If Terre Haute South is to hand Reitz their first loss of the year, they'll have to find a way to slow down the state's best offense, as Reitz comes in averaging over 91 points per contest. South will turn to freshman Deavion Washington and Jaylen and Tre Minnett to control the game. Seniors Jaelan Sanford, Nate Hansen,
Alex Stein, and Jacob Norman are all double figure scorers for the Panthers, who also have junior
Dru Smith averaging north of 10 points a night. Reitz has hopes of being the first large
Evansville school to win state since
Evansville North in 1967.
Columbus North at Jennings County 7:30pm
Columbus North comes off a third place finish at the Bob Wettig Tournament, the first time in four years that they did not come away with the trophy. They head to nearby Jennings County to face a 6-2 Panther squad that will be facing their toughest test of the season. Jennings County has 6'6 inside-outside sophomore Tyler Vogel as well as seniors Chace Wilson and Dan Leach. Vogel and the 6'6 Wilson face off against 6'7 Vermont bound Josh Spiedel and his 23 points per game average. On the wing for Columbus North are a pair of seniors in Trent Larson and Kooper Glick, both of whom average 17 points a night.