Looking ahead: Five takeaways on high school basketball regional matchups

The high school basketball regional matchups and sites are set. Still more to come on recapping sectional week, including a wild championship Saturday night, but wanted to get out some initial thoughts and takeaways on the upcoming regional round.

Showdown at Southport

Pike vs. Mt. Vernon.

Is Caitlin Clark going to show up again? She should.

This matchup, set for Saturday at 4 p.m. at Southport Fieldhouse, is probably the headliner of the 4A regional slate. The first game was insane, as the two teams combined for a state-record 30 3-pointers in Pike’s 84-81 overtime win.

What do we have for an encore? Third-ranked Pike got through the more difficult Sectional 11 at Plainfield, defeating the fifth-ranked Quakers 56-53 on Friday, rallying from a 15-point third-quarter deficit. The Red Devils (23-3) played confident in a 79-68 win over a pesky and physical Brownsburg in the championship game, led by 17 points and four assists from junior guard Jahari Miller and three others in double figures.

The x-factor is Luke Ertel. Pike coach Jeff Teague, after Saturday’s win, called the Mt. Vernon senior “the best player in the state.” He will not find many arguments there. The Purdue recruit led the fourth-ranked Marauders (24-3) to the Sectional 9 title at Greenfield-Central with 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in a 64-50 win over the host Cougars.

Not many better matchups (are there any?) around the state than this one.

The second game at Southport is interesting, too. Talented Lawrence Central (14-11) has won five in a row, including a 70-57 upset win over Lawrence North in Sectional 10 at Tech. Decatur Central (19-6) set a school record for wins and won its first sectional since 2005.

Class 4A north battle at Plymouth

You could make a case for Chesterton vs. No. 2 Crown Point at Michigan City, but to me the most interesting 4A north regional matchup is No. 6 Northridge (24-1) vs. No. 8 South Bend St. Joseph (21-4) at Plymouth.

Northridge and South Bend St. Joe are two dramatically different teams, which adds a little bit more intrigue to the game. Northridge won its first sectional championship in six years with a 48-37 win over Warsaw in the sectional at Elkhart.

The Raiders, led by senior and Indiana All-Star candidate Brady Scholl, leads the state in 4A in points allowed per game at 44.4. South Bend St. Joseph, last year’s 3A state champion, leads the state in scoring at 78.4 points per game.

That game is 7 p.m. at Plymouth, following the 4 p.m. Class 3A game between No. 6 Columbia City (22-4) and Hanover Central (12-14).

Intrigue at Greencastle

Fourth-ranked Northview is a really good 3A team. Anyone who watched the Hall of Fame Classic at New Castle can confirm. The Knights rolled to the Sectional 27 title at Speedway with a 64-43 win over Cascade behind an 18-point night from Trayven Buis and 17 from Quinn Lewis.

But I have my eye on Northview’s game against Roncalli (17-7) in the regional at Greencastle. The Royals came through a tough Sectional 26 at Greenwood, knocking off the host Woodmen 56-44 in the sectional championship. Roncalli is balanced and veteran and added a big piece to the puzzle with Joey Ortman returning from a back injury that cost him most of the season.

I think this has a chance to be one of the best games of the day anywhere in the state.

Doubleheader at Martinsville

Oh man. There are a couple of great matchups set for Martinsville.

The first, No. 4 Parke Heritage (23-4) vs. No. 5 Centerville (24-2) could potentially decide the Class 2A entry from the south in the state finals. It is a huge game, a rematch of Parke Heritage’s 47-41 win over Centerville in the same round last season.

We have written and talked quite a bit about Parke Heritage, which had its path stopped in the semistate the past three years. This could be the team to break through.

We have probably not written enough about Centerville, which steamrolled Hagerstown (85-57) and Shenandoah (66-36) to win the sectional. The Bulldogs have knocked off teams like Delta, Guerin Catholic, Liberty Christian and Pendleton Heights this season. Seniors Shea Hollendonner (19.7 ppg, 4.2 rebounds) and Landyn Keiser (11.1 ppg, 5.2 rebounds) are Centerville’s top players.

The second game also looks tantalizing. No. 3 Cathedral (21-5) defeated No. 10 Brebeuf Jesuit (18-6) on Dec. 5 by nine points, 71-62. It is a little surprising these programs have only met once previously in the tournament, a Brebeuf sectional win 25 years ago.

Brebeuf knocked off No. 5 Guerin Catholic 48-47 for the Sectional 25 championship at Frankfort and Cathedral took out Crispus Attucks 81-63 in the Sectional 26 championship at Broad Ripple.

Neither of these teams will be the favorite to come out of the 3A south – that is top-ranked Silver Creek (27-1) – but the winner at Martinsville might be the Dragons’ toughest challenger.

The Class 2A north

Loaded.

The Class 2A north bracket looks awesome. There are a couple heavyweight matchups in the regional – No. 3 Westview (24-1) vs. No. 7 Gary 21^st Century (17-6) at North Judson and Blackford (20-6) vs. No. 9 Lapel (20-5) at Lapel (cue the complaints that Lapel gets to host a regional game).

Gary 21^st Century, which beat Westview three years ago in the regional, is led by senior point guard Terrence Hayes Jr. (17.6 ppg, 6.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists), one of four players averaging in double figures. Kaden Grau (19.1 ppg, 5.1 rebounds) and Austin Schlabach (18.4 ppg, 5.5 assists) are standouts for Westview. Neither team was threatened in the sectional.

Blackford was challenged in the sectional, getting through Alexandria (62-54), Eastbrook (42-35) and Wapahani (49-39) in Sectional 40 at Eastbrook. Amarian Leggett (26.7 ppg, 4.3 assists) is one of the top sophomores in the state. Lapel has taken off since a 19-point loss to Oak Hill, winning 10 consecutive games. Owen Garber put up a cool 30 points in Lapel’s 77-54 sectional championship win over Sheridan in Sectional 39 at Elwood.

Here are the full regional matchups

Class 4A

• Chesterton vs. Crown Point at Michigan City, 8 p.m.
• Northridge vs. South Bend Saint Joseph at Plymouth, 7 p.m.
• Fort Wayne Snider vs. Carmel at New Castle, 4 p.m.
• Harrison (West Lafayette) vs. Homestead at Logansport, 4 p.m.
• Mt. Vernon vs. Pike at Southport, 4 p.m.
• Lawrence Central vs. Decatur Central at Southport, 7 p.m.
• New Albany vs. Castle at Southridge, 4 p.m.
• Columbus North vs. Terre Haute North at Greencastle, 7 p.m.

CLASS 3A

• Columbia City vs. Hanover Central at Plymouth, 4 p.m.
• East Chicago Central vs. Mishawaka Marian at Michigan City, 5 p.m.
• West Lafayette vs. New Haven at Logansport, 1 p.m.
• Delta vs. Blackhawk Christian at New Castle, 1 p.m.
• Brebeuf Jesuit vs. Cathedral at Martinsville, 7 p.m.
• Northview vs. Roncalli at Greencastle, 4 p.m.
• Evansville Bosse vs. Princeton at Southridge, 1 p.m.
• Silver Creek vs. Batesville at Charlestown, 4 p.m.

CLASS 2A

• Westview vs. 21st Century Academy at North Judson, 7 p.m.
• Bishop Luers vs. Bremen at Huntington North, 7 p.m.
• Blackford at Lapel, 4 p.m.
• Benton Central vs. Oak Hill at Frankfort, 4 p.m.
• Parke Heritage vs. Centerville at Martinsville, 4 p.m.
• Cardinal Ritter vs. Triton Central at Greenfield-Central, 7 p.m.
• Paoli vs. Linton-Stockton at Seymour, 4 p.m.
• Austin vs. Forest Park at Charlestown, 1 p.m.

CLASS A

• Fort Wayne Canterbury vs. Tri-County at Huntington North, 4 p.m.
• Triton vs. Marquette Catholic at North Judson, 4 p.m.
• Monroe Central vs. Southwood at Lapel, 1 p.m.
• Rossville vs. North Vermillion at Frankfort, 1 p.m.
• South Decatur vs. Hauser at Seymour, 1 p.m.
• Liberty Christian vs. Greenwood Christian at Greenfield-Central, 4 p.m.
• Barr-Reeve vs. West Washington at Washington, 1 p.m.
• Northeast Dubois vs. Bloomfield at Washington, 4 p.m.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.