Last Saturday, Crown Point defeated Brownsburg 44-34 in the IHSAA 4A girls basketball state championship. This week, it is the boys turn to tip off in their state tournament. Sectionals begin Tuesday evening in the 2020-21 boys basketball tournament. Ben Davis wrapped up their regular season at Arsenal Tech last Friday with an 82-69 victory. The Giants finished the regular season with a 12-11 record.

The Giants drew a bye in their sectional, so they will meet the winner of Roncalli (8-13) vs. Southport (4-16) at 6:00 on Friday. This year’s Sectional 11 will take place at Decatur Central. Ben Davis went 4-0 against their sectional counterparts this year, with wins over Pike, Southport (twice), and Decatur Central. The Giants did not play Perry Meridian or Roncalli.

Many believe that Sectional 11 has no favorite, as Ben Davis, Perry Meridian, and Pike are seen as mere equals atop the sectional. Pike and Perry Meridian will play in the first round, as the victor of that matchup will play the Decatur Central Hawks in Friday’s second game.

Similarly, there is no set favorite to win the entirety of Class 4A. Homestead comes in at 22-0, and while they did beat some very solid teams (Cathedral, Lawrence North, Warren Central) their overall schedule is not as daunting as some of the teams behind them in the polls.

Carmel managed to finish 7-0 against the MIC, as the Greyhounds had a 20-2 record. Due to the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, Carmel is technically still the defending champions after beating Ben Davis in the 2019 state championship.

Lawrence North and Cathedral are ranked third and fourth respectively in the polls, yet the two teams will play in Round 1 of the Sectional 10 bracket. Lawrence North was the champion of this sectional a season ago, as the state tournament was paused (and eventually canceled) less than a week later. South Bend Adams rounds out the top five in the 4A AP poll.

As always, it should be a thrilling state tournament in the state of Indiana. Several teams feel like they could have made deep tournament runs had last year’s tournament continued. Now it is time to see who shows up when it matters most in March. Expect another month full of upsets, game winners, and unstable emotions.