A Look Ahead: 3 Teams, 3 Games, 3 Players
Each week this year we are going to preview the upcoming games by listing our 3 teams, 3 games, and 3 players to keep an eye on. This will be a post that happens every Monday this season to tune…
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Continue ReadingEach week this year we are going to preview the upcoming games by listing our 3 teams, 3 games, and 3 players to keep an eye on. This will be a post that happens every Monday this season to tune you into the things you need to keep an eye out for. These are the things you should keep an eye on for the week of December 10th – December 15th.
3 Teams
Center Grove
Last Friday, Center Grove lost in a game to Pike that will probably end up as the most head scratching defeat of the year by any team. It wasn’t even that they lost – they got run out of the gym, losing the game 88-44. Center Grove then lost on Saturday to La Lumiere, and played much, much better falling by 14 points. Center Grove plays Whiteland on Friday and Avon on Saturday. How they respond in these two games while favored pretty heavily, will really tell us about them this year.
Jeffersonville
Like Center Grove, Jeffersonville got blitzed this past week albeit against a much stronger opponent than Pike. A day after beating Seymour by 41 points, they suffered a beatdown against Carmel in the Forum Tipoff Classic at Southport by 20 points. This was a chance for Jeffersonville to come up to Indianapolis and prove that they could hang with one of the best teams in the state. Jeffersonville will now meet one of the top 3A teams in the state on Friday as they play Silver Creek and then the next night travel to Southwestern (Hanover) to take on a top ten 2A team. Two big wins here will really put some faith back into Jeffersonville.
Indianapolis Howe
Howe plays one of the toughest 2A schedules in the state and this week presents them with another tough challenge. Howe is 2-2 but their two losses have been to Cathedral and Lawrence Central by a combined 18 points. This week Howe has two games against 3A opponents and would really need a good showing to move to 4-2. On Friday they travel north to take on Culver, the defending 3A state champion who might actually be a stronger team this year. On Saturday, they travel south to take on Evansville Memorial, a team that is 2-1 and is playing very well. We will learn a lot about Howe this week.
3 Games
Lafayette Jeff vs. Logansport
This game is on the list of ones to watch out for because Logansport, while they are 4-0, haven’t really played anyone yet, Their closest game of the season came against Muncie Central who is 1-4, although they are probably the best team that Logansport has played this year. Lafayette Jeff really lives and dies by the 3-pointer and Logansport is really going to allow them to shoot it. I think we kind of understand that Jeff is solid and this is going to be a game where we look more closely at the Logansport result on Friday night.
Warren Central vs. Ben Davis
These two teams come into this Friday night matchup a combined 9-0. Both teams also have had exactly one game that has really tested them as Warren Central defeated Cathedral and Ben Davis took down Pike. This is going to be the toughest game to date for both of these teams. The thing you have to keep an eye on is Ben Davis center Dawand Jones. Will he be able to stay on the court and run with Warren Central will be a key for how Ben Davis plays with one of their most potent and dominating players.
Westfield vs. Tipton
Tipton is a inexperienced bunch, but has been played some solid basketball so far this season. They have been hot and cold on the offensive end and haven’t really played anyone of note. We are seeing a trend of 2A programs (Howe, Covington, Southwestern (Hanover)) schedule and upend 4A programs and with the emergence of Westfield into a team that can play good basketball, this will be a keep win for Tipton and would allow me to trust them a little bit more against stiff competition.
3 Players
Paxon Bartley
Bartley has played very well to this point in the season and last week he had a 45 and a 26 point performance. This week he faces off with the best team that they have played all year, North Daviess, and a solid team in Evansville Day. This is going to be a week where people will be paying to attention how he scores against a good defensive team and one with a 7’1 kid in the middle.
Brandon Newman
With three games next week over a span of four days, Brandon Newman is really going to have to step up and perform. They play a good 1A team in Washington Catholic, and bad 4A team East Chicago Central, and then they play a pretty solid 5-0 Elkhart Memorial squad. Newman is going to have to show us the ability to perform each night in this packed week as played will inevitably be tired.
Alex Hemenway
We still don’t really know what we have with Castle and this week will tell us a lot as they welcome Evansville Reitz to play and then play a Kentucky school at Bosse. Hemenway will have to step up if they want to secure two wins this week. Castle’s Isaiah Swope stepped up last week when Hemenway was out with injury but it has yet to be seen if their other pieces can do that consistently. Hemenway will need to have a solid week for two wins.