Breaking Down The Regional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Last week, a new tradition was started here at the Times-Union. We predicted the results of the Warsaw and Columbia City sectionals.
This week, in the first edition of Court Side Seat, I will take it one step further. After last week's results, maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but, for some reason, I feel the need to predict the Huntington North Regional. This regional pits two of our area teams, Tippecanoe Valley and Warsaw. The Times-Union sports writers went 4-for-6 in the sectionals. All three of us correctly predicted the Tigers seventh sectional title in eight years with the 48-45 victory over Culver Military Academy.
The Columbia City Sectional was a bit different, however. I somehow picked all five games wrong, and Jeff Holsinger picked Columbia City to win the sectional. Greg Jones saved us by picking Tippecanoe Valley, but that was still only 1-for-3 in that sectional. Tippecanoe Valley won its first sectional title since 1988 with a 33-32 overtime victory against host Columbia City.
Warsaw will meet No. 15 Plymouth in the opening game at 10:35 a.m., and Valley will face off with Northfield in the second game at 12:30 p.m. The finals will be held at 8:15 p.m.
This format poses some interesting scenarios in that the winners of the opening games must play again in the evening. That makes depth a high priority and could play a factor in deciding the champion.
So, here are this week's picks for the Huntington North Regional.
Warsaw (19-4) vs. No. 15 Plymouth (21-2)
Regular Season: 87-66 Plymouth
Warsaw looked strong against Triton, opening up a 22-0 lead in the second round of the sectional, then struggled against upstart Culver Military. Plymouth won its sectional by an average of 38 points per game, has 11 straight wins, and may be underrated at No. 15 in the state. Warsaw is probably the second-best team in the regional; too bad they have to face Plymouth in the opening round.
My pick: Plymouth over Warsaw
Valley (12-10) vs. Northfield (16-6)
Regular Season: 60-58 Northfield
Valley allowed just 33.5 points per game in its sectional and defeated Columbia City in the championship on the Golden Eagles home floor. Northfield won the Huntington North Sectional by two points over the host school. In the regular season loss to the Norsemen, Valley gave the game away. Coach Sciarra has his team playing well. It won't happen this time.
My pick: Valley over Northfield
Championship
Valley (12-10) vs. No. 15 Plymouth (21-2)
Regular Season: 81-60 Plymouth; 61-55 Plymouth
These two teams know each other well. Valley wants to slow down the tempo, which means it could hang around for awhile. Valley may have the fresher team despite playing the late game, as Plymouth could struggle against Warsaw. But Nick Wise, Brian Wray, and the rest of the Pilgrim starters are just too strong for the Viking top five. Valley played with a lot of intensity in the sectional, but it will take more than that to defeat Plymouth.
My pick: Plymouth over Valley [[In-content Ad]]
Last week, a new tradition was started here at the Times-Union. We predicted the results of the Warsaw and Columbia City sectionals.
This week, in the first edition of Court Side Seat, I will take it one step further. After last week's results, maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but, for some reason, I feel the need to predict the Huntington North Regional. This regional pits two of our area teams, Tippecanoe Valley and Warsaw. The Times-Union sports writers went 4-for-6 in the sectionals. All three of us correctly predicted the Tigers seventh sectional title in eight years with the 48-45 victory over Culver Military Academy.
The Columbia City Sectional was a bit different, however. I somehow picked all five games wrong, and Jeff Holsinger picked Columbia City to win the sectional. Greg Jones saved us by picking Tippecanoe Valley, but that was still only 1-for-3 in that sectional. Tippecanoe Valley won its first sectional title since 1988 with a 33-32 overtime victory against host Columbia City.
Warsaw will meet No. 15 Plymouth in the opening game at 10:35 a.m., and Valley will face off with Northfield in the second game at 12:30 p.m. The finals will be held at 8:15 p.m.
This format poses some interesting scenarios in that the winners of the opening games must play again in the evening. That makes depth a high priority and could play a factor in deciding the champion.
So, here are this week's picks for the Huntington North Regional.
Warsaw (19-4) vs. No. 15 Plymouth (21-2)
Regular Season: 87-66 Plymouth
Warsaw looked strong against Triton, opening up a 22-0 lead in the second round of the sectional, then struggled against upstart Culver Military. Plymouth won its sectional by an average of 38 points per game, has 11 straight wins, and may be underrated at No. 15 in the state. Warsaw is probably the second-best team in the regional; too bad they have to face Plymouth in the opening round.
My pick: Plymouth over Warsaw
Valley (12-10) vs. Northfield (16-6)
Regular Season: 60-58 Northfield
Valley allowed just 33.5 points per game in its sectional and defeated Columbia City in the championship on the Golden Eagles home floor. Northfield won the Huntington North Sectional by two points over the host school. In the regular season loss to the Norsemen, Valley gave the game away. Coach Sciarra has his team playing well. It won't happen this time.
My pick: Valley over Northfield
Championship
Valley (12-10) vs. No. 15 Plymouth (21-2)
Regular Season: 81-60 Plymouth; 61-55 Plymouth
These two teams know each other well. Valley wants to slow down the tempo, which means it could hang around for awhile. Valley may have the fresher team despite playing the late game, as Plymouth could struggle against Warsaw. But Nick Wise, Brian Wray, and the rest of the Pilgrim starters are just too strong for the Viking top five. Valley played with a lot of intensity in the sectional, but it will take more than that to defeat Plymouth.
My pick: Plymouth over Valley [[In-content Ad]]