Mike Hutton’s basketball sectional predictions
Read it and weep if your team isn’t picked to win a boys basketball sectional
Some things, like my sectional predictions, never change. Read them and cry if your team is going to lose.
Sectional 49 at Morgan
Township, Class A: 21st Century has won this sectional three straight years. This is the best Cougar team I’ve seen. That includes the teams that won consecutive regionals in 20152016 and 2016-2017. Kouts also has its best team in recent memory. 21st Century beat Kouts by eight at home. Johnell Davis and the Cougars are just too much for a quality sectional that also includes Washington Township and Morgan Township. Predic
tion: 21st Century over Kouts for the title. Confidence level:
High.
Sectional 33 at Lake Station,
Class 2A: The feel-good story here is Lake Station hasn’t won a sectional title since 1941. The Eagles have one of their best teams in years, and who wouldn’t want them to win it except Andrean, Bishop Noll, Bowman, Roosevelt and River Forest? The 59ers are the deep- est team, but it’s close. Noll, Bowman and Lake Station are all players. Prediction: Andrean over Bowman for the title. Con
fidence level: Moderate.
Sectional 34 at Winamac,
Class 2A: Looks like the title game could be in the second round when Winamac plays Marquette. The Blazers have won six straight sectionals, but the Warriors are at home with a team that finished 17-4. Hard to pick against Marquette, which has played a tough schedule and features Colin Kenney, one of the best point guards in the area.
Prediction: Marquette over North Judson for the championship. Confidence level: Moderate.
Sectional 17 at the Civic Cen- ter (Gavit), Class 3A: This is unquestionably the most interesting and wide-open sectional in Northwest Indiana. Griffith is ranked No. 9 by the Associated Press and West Side is perhaps the best young team in the area. Lighthouse beat West Side and Hammond is always good. I give the Panthers the slight edge except for one factor: The Cougars got a huge break with the bye. Prediction: West Side over Griffith for the championship. Confidence level: Very low.
Sectional 18 at Calumet,
Class 3A: This one is trending toward a Hanover CentralCalumet title game. That game was played on the same floor in the regular season and the Warriors won 59-46. I don’t see much changing, though. Calumet won its first sectional since 2000 last season. Looks like it’s back-to-back for the Warriors.
Prediction: Calumet over Hanover Central for the championship. Confidence level: High.
Sectional 1 at Crown Point,
Class 4A: Munster is the best team by an inch or two here. Crown Point beat the Mustangs, but Munster is better than it was earlier in the season, mainly because Dorian Benford, their 6-foot-10 center, is a defensive presence now. One problem for the Mustangs — Crown Point is really hard to beat on its floor. Looks like the Bulldogs will play Munster in the second round. Teams will beg to move the sectional back to East Chicago Central after this year. Predic
tion: Crown Point over East Chicago Central for the championship. Confidence level:
Somewhat uneasy.
Sectional 2 at Portage, Class
4A: I’ll get this out of the way: The quality of this sectional is down. Aside from Valparaiso, which is the clear favorite, the field is subpar compared to previous years. Chesterton is the second-best team, but it lost to the Vikings by 28. In that game, the Trojans played without starting guard Tyler Nelson. He’ll return, and that makes a difference. Merrillville is always solid but the Pirates were 11-11 through Friday. Prediction:
Valparaiso over Chesterton for the championship. Confidence
level: High.