From 0 to 32: A quick look at all 32 programs playing in IHSAA basketball semistate
There are 32 teams still practicing this week in Indiana high school basketball, preparing to play semistate games at eight great regional sites — Michigan City, Elkhart, Logansport, Lafayette Jeff, New Castle, Seymour, Southport and Washington. A quick look from number 0 to 32 on the teams participating on Saturday:
0: Losses for the Giants of Ben Davis, the top-ranked team in Class 4A. The 32-0 Warren Central state championship team of 2018 was the most-recent team in the state’s boys basketball history to finish undefeated. Ben Davis (30-0) needs three more wins to join those ranks, starting with Bloomington North the New Castle semistate semifinal.
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1: Team remaining with a losing record. That is Rock Creek Academy (11-14) in Class A. The Lions were 3-12 in early February, but only two of those losses were to Class A opponents. Marial Diper, a 7-foot senior, had 29 points in Rock Creek’s 67-32 win over New Washington on Saturday at Loogootee for the program’s first regional championship.
2: National ranking for Kokomo 6-9 junior Flory Bidunga on the 247sports composite for the 2024 class. The five-star prospect, who has offers from all over, is averaging 19.7 points, 13.4 rebounds and 4.3 blocked shots per game while shooting a stunning 82% from the field. The Wildkats (22-4), led by 22 points from Zavion Bellamy in a 68-55 win over Fort Wayne North Side in the 4A regional Saturday at Logansport with Bidunga in foul trouble, won back-to-back regional championships for the first time since 1996 and ’97.
3: Jersey number of Ashton Williamson, the Gary 21st Century senior guard averaging a team-leading 16.4 points, 9.6 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Cougars (21-5), who are coming off a 67-58 win over Westview for their first regional championship in Class 2A after three in Class A. Seventh-ranked Gary 21st Century plays No. 3 Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian in the semistate at Logansport.
4: Wins last season and losses this season for Fort Wayne Wayne, which continued its turnaround story with a 62-60 win over Noblesville in the Class 4A regional at Logansport. The Generals (21-4), a 4-18 team last year, won their first sectional since 1994 and first regional since 1981. This team could be even better next year led by junior Jevon Lewis (17.0 ppg, 6.4 assists) and sophomore Chase Barnes (13.9 ppg, 3.3 rebounds).
5: Beech Grove seniors who played in last year’s 53-43 win over Mishawaka Marian in the Class 3A state championship. The Hornets (17-6) have a new coach in former assistant Joe Rihm and saw their leading scorer, Anthony Ball, transfer to Decatur Central. But a veteran team led by seniors Jeremiah Alexander, Jeremiah Tate, Jaleel Edwards, Cam Brown, Rylen Horen and Adrian Holland will take the court Saturday against Guerin Catholic in the 3A semistate at Seymour.
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6: Points Bloomington North trailed by with 1 minute, 16 seconds remaining in Saturday’s regional game against Columbus North. The Cougars rallied for a 45-43 win, getting the go-ahead three-point play from Vanderbilt recruit JQ Roberts with 3.7 seconds remaining on a putback of his own miss. Bloomington North also rallied to beat Center Grove 43-41 in the sectional championship on a 3-pointer with four-tenths of a second remaining by Gavin Reed. Up next? No. 1 Ben Davis in the Class 4A semistate at New Castle.
More:Ben Davis is Bloomington North's No. 1 priority at semistate
7: Losses for Lutheran, though five of those came to 3A and 4A programs. That strength of schedule paid off for the Saints (17-7), who knocked out top-ranked Bloomfield 43-40 in the regional at Martinsville on Kam Patterson’s old-fashioned three-point play with 3 seconds remaining. Lutheran is a regional champion for the first time in 15 years and plays Loogootee in the semistate at Washington.
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8: Regional championships in Brownsburg’s program history. The Bulldogs won their eighth overall and first in 15 years with a 66-39 win over New Palestine on Saturday at Southport. When Brownsburg won its first regional in 1981, Mark Atkinson scored 22 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 44-40 win over Western Boone at Frankfort. The 6-8 Atkinson went on to play a key role for Gene Keady’s Purdue Boilermakers in 1984 and ’85.
9: Average number of 3-pointers made per game for Jennings County (actually 9.46 if you want to get technical). Point is, the Panthers can shoot it and rely on the 3 heavily, shooting more than half of their field-goal attempts from the arc. Seniors Keegan Manowitz and Owen Law and sophomore Carter Kent are the primary shooters. Jennings County (24-2) is coming off a 64-40 win over Evansville Reitz in the regional and takes on Brownsburg next in the Class 4A semistate at New Castle.
10: Wins for Southwood entering sectional play. The Knights (13-12) started the season with an 0-5 record and were 7-12 before their current six-game winning streak. Southwood drilled Blue River 57-38 in the regional championship and will take on Fountain Central in the semistate at Lafayette Jeff. Seniors Nathan Lehner and Jason Oprisek each had 15 points in the regional win.
11: Regional championships for Loogootee, which nailed down No. 11 Saturday at home with a 57-33 win over Northeast Dubois in a Class A regional. The fourth-ranked Lions, who also hosted the sectional, are led by the program’s all-time leading scorer, senior Peyton Bledsoe. Brian Canada, the previous record-holder, played on Loogootee’s first two regional championship teams in 1970 and ’71 for coach Jack Butcher. The 1970 team reached the state finals, losing the afternoon game to Dave Shepherd and Carmel.
12: Jersey number of Marquette Catholic senior Lukas Balling, who is averaging 18.0 points and 10.5 rebounds this season for the Blazers (20-7), who nailed down their first regional championship in six years with a 60-48 Class A regional win over Tri-County. Senior Jason Kobe is Marquette Catholic’s leading scorer at 19.5 points per game. Balling shoots 36% from the 3-point line for Marquette Catholic, which plays in the semistate against Kouts at Lafayette Jeff.
13: Years since Guerin Catholic won its first sectional championship in 2010. Since then, Guerin has won five regional championships — the most recent coming Saturday with a 66-52 victory over Danville in the regional at Lebanon. Kamea Chandler had 21 points and three assists in that win and Rob Sorensen added 20 points and six rebounds. Guerin (18-8), which won 3A state titles in 2012 and ’15, faces defending state champion Beech Grove in the 3A semistate at Seymour.
More:Led by 'best backcourt in Hamilton County,' Guerin Catholic advances to semistate.
14: Times per game I change the channel watching college basketball. Here’s hoping high school basketball never has a replay element. Come on, guys. Not every tipped pass needs a three-minute review (sorry, I had an extra number to mess with and this one was it).
15: Average points per game (actually 14.5) for 6-7 Jac-Cen-Del senior Devin Grieshop, who leads the team in scoring. Matt Dickman, a 6-5 senior, averages 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Eagles, who are 18-9 after a 61-59 win over Bethesda Christian in the regional at Martinsville. Jac-Cen-Del, the 2009 state champions, will play Rock Creek Academy in the semistate at Washington.
16: Years Aaron Wolfe has coached the NorthWood program, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A and takes a 17-game winning streak and 25-2 record into Saturday’s semistate game against Fort Wayne Dwenger at Elkhart. NorthWood is veteran and battle-tested and might be the favorite in 3A led by seniors Cade Brenner and Ian Raasch, junior Ethan Wolfe and sophomore Tyler Raasch. This is NorthWood’s second regional championship and first under Wolfe.
17: Wins over in-state IHSAA teams for Hammond Central, which has not lost to any of those in the same category. The Wolves (26-1), in their second season as a program after consolidating Hammond High, Clark and Gavit, are ranked No. 3 in Class 4A with only a 61-56 loss to Chicago’s Whitney Young in December keeping them from a spotless record. Coach Larry Moore Jr. is no newcomer, though, having success with Hammond before the schools consolidated. Hammond Central vs. Penn in Michigan City will be one of the games of semistate day.
18: Years since Scottsburg last won a sectional championship. The Warriors (21-5) are now a regional champion for the first time since 2000 after knocking off Greensburg 48-46 on Kody Clancy’s drive and three-point play with 23.3 seconds remaining in the 3A regional at Washington. Clancy went for 27 points. Scottsburg takes on North Daviess, last year’s Class A state champion, at Seymour.
19: One more win for Scecina (18-6) would give the Crusaders their highest total since the 2018 team went 19-10 and also reached the semistate. Kaleb Milan scored 18 points with six rebounds and three blocked shots in Scecina’s 45-42 win over Park Tudor in Saturday’s Class 2A regional at Greenfield-Central. First-year coach Jim Stanbrough has leaned on Milan senior Keaton Thibo and a defense that allows just 45.6 points per game for a six-win improvement from a year ago.
20: Seasons it took for Kouts to win another regional after winning in 2001. The 2020-21 Kouts team, ranked at the top of the Class A poll much of the season, ripped through sectional, won its first regional in 20 years and advanced to the state finals for the first time before running into an excellent Barr-Reeve team in the state finals and losing, 64-48. This is a much different Kouts team under coach Kevin Duzan, improving to 17-9 with a 44-40 win over Bethany Christian for the regional championship. The Mustangs take on Marquette Catholic in the semistate at Lafayette Jeff.
21: Average points per game in the postseason for Preston Ross of Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-13), which knocked off Twin Lakes 65-43 to win the Class 3A regional. Ross had 23 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots in that one. Dwenger, a regional champion for the first time since 2015, plays 3A top-ranked NorthWood on Saturday at Elkhart.
22: Points for John Glenn senior Brycen Hannah in a 58-54 win over South Bend Washington in a Class 3A regional victory. Hannah, the son of Glenn coach Travis Hannah, led the Falcons to their first regional championship since the 2005 season. Glenn plays Delta in the semistate at Elkhart.
23: Jersey number of Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian senior Jimmy Davidson. Davidson’s father, former Blackhawk Christian coach Marc Davidson, died in May of 2022 at age 49 after battling cancer and coaching through the season despite his fatigue. Jimmy, the fifth of Marc and Lisa’s seven children, averages 7.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for Blackhawk Christian (24-3), coached by former Indiana guard Matt Roth. Davidson lead the program to state titles in Class A in 2019 and 2A in 2021.
24: Jersey number of Fountain Central 6-5 junior Isaac Gayler, who led the Mustangs with 16 points in a thrilling 54-52 comeback win over Liberty Christian in a Class A regional. Will Harmon was fouled on a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left and made all three free throws to tie the score, then made two more free throws after a Liberty Christian turnover for the win. Mason Larkin, a 6-8 Fountain Central senior, is a tough matchup. The Mustangs play Southwood in the semistate at Lafayette Jeff.
25: Consecutive wins for Wapahani, a regional champion for the first time after a 73-50 win over Carroll (Flora) in the Class 2A regional. The Raiders, led by 16th-year coach Matt Luce, lost their season-opener to Muncie Central and have won every game since. Wapahani is led by junior Isaac Andrews (18.1 ppg, 6.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists), senior Aidan Franks (17.2 ppg, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists) and senior Nathan Nelson (12.0 ppg, 6.5 rebounds).
26: Years since Delta made a Cinderella run to the state championship in the final year of the single-class tournament led by Petie Jackson. Has it really been 26 years since the single-class tournament ended? Delta (18-9), a consistently strong program under coach Mark Detwiler, won the Class 3A state title in 2002. The Eagles play John Glenn in the 3A semistate at Elkhart.
27: Number of wins for Linton-Stockton, tied with Penn for second-most of the teams remaining behind Ben Davis. The Class 2A top-ranked Miners (27-1) cruised in the second half to a 62-33 win over North Decatur in the regional behind 29 points from Central Florida commit Joey Hart. Linton-Stockton, a regional champion for the first time in four years, reached the 2A state finals in 2013 and 2019, finishing as runner-up to Bowman Academy and Andrean, respectively.
28: Average number of combined points (17.8), assists (5.2) and rebounds (4.7) per game for North Daviess senior guard Jaylen Mullen (actually 27.7, but we’re rounding up here). Mullen has only committed 36 turnovers all season, an amazingly-low number as the team’s primary ballhandler. North Daviess (24-5), the Class A champion a year ago, chose to play up a class after getting bumped to 2A. It has worked out so far going into a 3A semistate game against Scottsburg at Seymour.
29: The combined points per game (actually 29.4) for Parke Heritage underclassmen Treigh Schelsky and sophomore Renn Harper. Schelsky averages 18.4 points and 4.7 rebounds and Harper 11.0 points and 4.1 rebounds. The Wolves (19-9), coming off a 58-48 win over Northeastern in a Class 2A regional, have a bright future. In the present, they have a matchup against No. 1 Linton-Stockton — a team that beat them 72-30 in December — in the semistate at Southport.
30: Average points per game for Penn senior and Notre Dame commit Markus Burton. He is actually a shade above 30 after a 34-point game in a 73-60 comeback win over Chesterton in the Class 4A regional at Michigan City. Burton has been exceptional all season for second-ranked Penn, which is 27-1 going into Saturday’s semistate game against Hammond Central. Burton is stacking some impressive credentials for a Mr. Basketball portfolio.
31: Combined points per game for the Lewis Cass senior combination of Luke Chambers (16.0 ppg, 9.8 rebounds) and Tyson Good (14.8 ppg, 3.4 assists). Good went for 22 points on 3-for-4 shooting from the 3-point line (the team shot 8-for-14) in a 62-51 win over North Judson in the Class 2A regional. The Kings are regional champions for the second time since the 2A state championship 20 years ago.
32: Points for Brownstown Central junior standout Jack Benter in his team’s 64-49 win over Forest Park in the Class 2A regional at Huntingburg. Benter, averaging 28.8 points per game going into the regional, led the Braves to their first regional championship since 2009 and third overall. The 2004 and 2009 teams both reached the Class 2A state finals, losing to Jimtown and Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, respectively.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
Saturday’s semistate pairings
Admission: $12 sessions; $20 both sessions
North
Class 4A at Michigan City
Fort Wayne Wayne (21-4) vs. Kokomo (22-4), 11 a.m.
Penn (27-1) vs. Hammond Central (26-1), 1 p.m.
Championship, 9 p.m.
Class 3A at Elkhart
Delta (18-9) vs. John Glenn (17-10), 10 a.m.
NorthWood (25-2) vs. Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-13), noon
Championship, 8 p.m.
Class 2A Logansport
Gary 21st Century (21-5) vs. Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (24-3), 10 a.m.
Wapahani (25-1) vs. Lewis Cass (19-7), noon
Championship, 8 p.m.
Class A at Lafayette Jeff
Southwood (13-12) vs. Fountain Central (23-4), 10 a.m.
Marquette Catholic (20-7) vs. Kouts (17-9), noon
Championship, 8 p.m.
South
Class 4A at New Castle
Brownsburg (21-4) vs. Jennings County (24-2), 10 a.m.
Ben Davis (30-0) vs. Bloomington North (19-5), noon
Championship, 8 p.m.
Class 3A at Seymour
Scottsburg (21-5) vs. North Daviess (24-5), 10 a.m.
Guerin Catholic (18-8) vs. Beech Grove (17-6), noon
Championship, 8 p.m.
Class 2A at Southport
Brownstown Central (23-4) vs. Scecina (18-6), 10 a.m.
Parke Heritage (19-9) vs. Linton-Stockton (27-1), noon
Championship, 8 p.m.
Class A at Washington
Lutheran (17-7) vs. Loogootee (20-7), 10 a.m.
Jac-Cen-Del (18-9) vs. Rock Creek Academy (11-14), noon
Championship, 8 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school basketball tournament: Semistate preview 2023
