Semi-State Previews
Category: Latest
The 2014 IHSAA boys state tournament is nearing its end. Only 16 teams are still in the picture - four in each class. The state championship games will be decided on Saturday. Jeff Schoenle and I preview of each game...
Class 4A North at Lafayette Jeff High School
Lake Central vs. Homestead
Jeff Schoenle's Outlook: The featured matchup in this game will be on the block, with Butler signee Tyler Wideman going up against 2016 prospect Caleb Swanigan. Swanigan has put up some ridiculous numbers in the tournament so far, particularly in the rebounding department. It will be up to Wideman to keep Swanigan from dominating the offensive glass. Homestead has talented senior wing Joe Ault, but starts three sophomores. Lake Central's backcourt features veteran point guard Tye Wilburn. I'll take the experience of Lake Central over the youth of Homestead. Winner= Lake Central.
Trevor Andershock's Outlook: As Jeff says most people will be focusing on the match-up between Caleb Swanigan and Tyler Wideman. Swanigan has been putting up insane numbers on Homestead's run. My key to the game is the guard play. Homestead's guards were shaky at best against pressure in the Marion regional when they played Kokomo and Hamilton Southeastern. Lake Central has the guards in Tye Wilburn, Joe Bannister and Robert Ryan to really pressure the Homestead guards the entire length of the court. That is likely Lake Central's best way of keeping the ball out of Swanigan's hands. Joe Ault and another Homestead player - Dana Batt and Tahj Curry are the most likely candidates - will need to step up for Homestead to make the state championship game. Lake Central likely wins this game 6 of 10 tens, but I'm going with Homestead because of how well Caleb Swanigan has been playing lately. Winner= Homestead.
Class 4A South at Richmond High School
Indianapolis Arsenal Tech vs. Bloomington North
Jeff Schoenle's Outlook: By now you've read that Tech has two major offensive weapons in Kentucky signee Trey Lyles inside and Ball State signee Jeremie Tyler outside. Now we can add senior wing Mike Jones to the mix, as he hit four three pointers and scored 19 points in the regional championship against Pike. Bloomington North features UIC signee Grant Sims and Maryville signee Saikou Jallow. Tech seems to be a runaway train with the final stop being Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tech wins going away. Winner = Arsenal Tech.
Trevor Andershock's Outlook: Everyone knew that Arsenal Tech had the most talent in the state entering this season. It was just a matter of the team playing together and buying into the team approach. Each player has fully bought in throughout the season. As a complete high school player, there is no one in Indiana that matches what Trey Lyles does for his team. Lyles can dominate the game in every phase at the high school level. He is far from a one man team with Jeremie Tyler, CJ Walker, Justin Parker and Mike Jones. Justin Parker did miss the regional games, I'm not sure if he is expected back for Saturday. For Bloomington North to pull the upset, the guard trio of Grant Sims, Saikou Jallow and Tyler Truesdel will need to be hot from the outside. That is one way that Hamilton Southeastern was able to knock off the Tech Titans during the regular season. Many things will have to go wrong for Tech while many things will have to fall in place for North in order for the Cougars to make the championship game. Winner= Arsenal Tech.
Class 3A North at Huntington High School
Bowman Academy vs. Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger
Jeff Schoenle's Outlook: Marvin Rea and the Bowman Eagles are trying to become the only school to win state titles in three different classes. The Eagles bring their up tempo brand of basketball into the semistate for the fourth time in the last five years. Bishop Dwenger scored upsets against New Haven in the sectional title game and NorthWood in the regional semis. Junior guard Kyle Hartman runs the show, and senior wing Grady Eifert is the Saints' sharpshooter. Three of Dwenger's top seven played in the state football championship game in November, but Justin King, Davon Dillard, and Arthur Haggard along with the rest of the Eagles will turn up the pressure and advance to Indy. Winner= Bowman Academy.
Trevor Andershock's Outlook: Bowman is the favorite with the duo of King and Dillard leading the way. Dwenger is a team that could give Bowman some trouble though. If Dwenger packs the paint defensively and doesn't allow Bowman to score off of turnovers, Dwenger will have a good chance to win. I think the Dwenger run comes to an end Saturday in Huntington though. Winner= Bowman Academy.
Class 3A South at Richmond High School
Guerin Catholic vs. Greensburg
Jeff Schoenle's Outlook- In the most anticipated of the eight semistate games, this contest pits the last two 3A state champs against each other. Each is led by a trio of talented players. Greensburg features D1 signees Bryant McIntosh (Northwestern), Sean Sellers (Ball State), and junior forward Ryan Welage. Guerin counters with Emory signee Whit Rapp, IUPUI signee Aaron Brennan, and junior forward Matt Holba. It will be a great point guard battle between McIntosh and Rapp, but the edge goes to McIntosh, and that means the edge goes to Greensburg as they will move on to try and repeat as state champs. Winner = Greensburg.
Trevor Andershock's Outlook: A developing storyline for this game is the health of Whit Rapp. He hasn't practiced all week - so even if he does play - he might be limited. That would swing the advantage to Greensburg in a large way. They are very similar teams. I'm going with Greensburg especially with the health of Rapp in question leading up to game time. Winner = Greensburg.
Class 2A North at Huntington High School
Lewis Cass vs. Westview
Jeff Schoenle's Outlook: Westview won 2A state titles in 1999 and 2000, while Cass cut down the nets in 2A in 2003. Neither team features sure fire D1 prospects, but each has an experienced lineup with quality guards and a tradition of winning. Each squad is an unexpected participant in the semistate, as Westview upset Bishop Noll in the regional semis, while Cass pulled off a mild shocker over Wapahani in the same round. This could come down to the final minute, and look for senior guard Jordyn Bontrager (17 ppg) and junior forward Chandler Aspy (16 ppg) to will Westview to victory. Winner = Westview.
Trevor Andershock's Outlook: Cass has scoring balance with Austin Keisling averaging 18 points per game then Blake Hadley putting up 15 and sophomore Ryan Bixler 13 points per game. They will be tested by Bontrager and Aspy like Jeff said. This is close to a toss-up for me. It should be a very competitive game. Winner = Cass.
Class 2A South at Seymour High School
Park Tudor vs. Clarksville
Jeff Schoenle's Outlook: Another highly anticipated matchup puts the high scoring Xavier signee Trevon Bluiett of Park Tudor against Clarksville's 1-2 punch of Andrew Jones and Calvin McEwen, who are both set to play at Holy Cross College next year. Park Tudor has a great supporting cast, and it's hard to see Clarksville keeping pace with the state's team leaders in points per game. If Clarksville slows the pace and gets great efforts from Jones and McEwen, they might have a chance, but in the end it's just too much Park Tudor. Winner = Park Tudor.
Trevor Andershock's Outlook: Park Tudor lost three of four to start Feburary, and it looked like things might be going off course for the Panthers. Park Tudor has responded with nine straight victories. Trevon Bluiett will carry his team to the win, if needed, in this one. Winner = Park Tudor.
Class 1A North at Lafayette Jeff High School
Michigan City Marquette vs. Liberty Christian
Jeff Schoenle's Outlook: Two juniors are the headliners in this matchup, as Marquette brings 6'7 Providence commit Ryan Fazekas up against 5'10 point guard Chris Nunn of Liberty Christian. Liberty Christian has won their five tournament games by an average of 29 points. This, however, should be a tight game all throughout. Give the slight, and we mean SLIGHT edge to Liberty Christian, who also has Chris's younger brother, 6'2 sophomore forward Franklin Nunn. Winner = Liberty Christian.
Trevor Andershock's Outlook: My key to this one is how the Marquette guards - Richie Mitchell, Braxton Miller, Nate Flores - play against Chris Nunn on both ends of the floor. Nunn gets nearly 4 steals per game so Marquette will have to take of the ball around Nunn. The overall talent level is in favor of Marquette, so I'm going with them. Winner = Marquette Catholic.
Class 1A South at Seymour High School
Barr-Reeve vs. Clay City
Jeff Schoenle's Outlook: This is the only semistate game that is a rematch from the regular season, and Clay City definitely wants to forget that first meeting. The Vikings of Barr-Reeve jumped all over the Eels of Clay City on their way to a 63-33 win just before Christmas. Clay City has won 13 of their last 14, with the only loss coming at 2A ranked Cloverdale. Barr-Reeve comes in as the best defensive team in the state, allowing just 39.3 points per game. That plus Addison Wagler and Micah Bullock, who scored 23 in the prior game between the two schools, will be enough to move the Vikings onto the state title game. Winner = Barr-Reeve.
Trevor Andershock's Outlook: Clay City pulled a minor upset over Greenwood Christian in the regional. I do not see another upset coming for Clay City. Barr-Reeve is looking for its fourth trip to the state finals since 2002. Winner = Barr-Reeve.
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