Good afternoon.
Shown below are my selections for this weekend’s four class title games, along
with some comments.
Semi-State Prediction Results: Last week I picked 5 of the 8 semi-state games correctly. It was my worse performance at the semi-state level since 2011.
Have a great day and enjoy the games.
Dan
Class A: Indpls Tindley over Lafayette CC ............................. by 8 points
* This contest has a good chance of being the best match of the day. Overall, I feel Tindley
has too much offense and "star power."
* Tindley over LCC for the 1A title was my pre-tourney prediction.
* Tindley has a big edge in 3-point shooting (44% to 32%) as well as scoring (73 ppg to 60 ppg).
* Both teams have won 12 of their last 13 games.
* LCC's main players are mostly seniors while Tindley's are juniors.
* There is little difference between the two teams in height as well as strength of schedule. Their
schedules are the two toughest amongst all 1A schools.
* This is Tindley's first appearance in the finals. LCC has appeared in four previous finals--
winning three of them.
* Tindley's smallest margin of victory in this year's tourney has been 14 points. LCC beat Clinton
Prairie by only 6 in sectional play. Otherwise, their closest contest was 15 points.
Class 2A: Frankton over Crawford County............................... by 3 points
* This is perhaps the most difficult game to predict. CC is a big surprise to be here. Frankton not
so much, but perhaps viewed as a more likely finalist for next year. Frankton has a legitimate
star in Maurice Knight. CC has a balanced attack with five players averaging between 7 and
11 ppg.
* Frankton was my pre-tourney #3 choice to come out of the north semi-state.
I did not have Crawford County in my top 5 choices from the south.
* Frankton has won 18 of their last 19 games; CC 15 of their last 16.
* CC has avenged 4 of their 6 regular season setbacks,.
* This is CC's first state championship game. Frankton lost in the 2015 final.
* Both teams have won three tourney games by four points or less.
* Frankton averages 70 ppg, CC averages only 52 ppg.
* CC's schedule has been considerably tougher than Frankton's.
* Both teams have a nice mix of seniors and underclassmen among their top players. Also, not
much difference in height between the two.
Class 3A: Indpls.Attucks over Twin Lakes by ........................ by 10 points
* Both of these teams have been outstanding in tourney play. Tempo will be a key here , with
Attucks wanting to speed things up and Twin Lakes likely to be much more deliberate. I feel
Attucks' depth and quickness will eventually wear down the Indians.
* Atttucks was my pre-tourney #3 choice to come out of the south Semi- State. Twin Lakes was
not among my top five choices to represent the north.
* TL's entire starting lineup are seniors. Attucks' main scorers are also seniors but has a nice
blend of 4-5 additional underclassmen who provide a lot of support.
* Attucks has a bit more height than TL but probably not enough to be a factor.
* Strength of schedule for both teams is basically the same.
* Both teams have certainly earned their spot in the finals by upending outstanding teams along
the way. TL has dumped the likes of Andrean, Culver Academy, Griffith, and F.W.Luers.
Attucks has prevailed over Indy Manual, Tri-West, and Evansville Bosse among others.
* Attucks has won 17 of their last 18 games; TL 13 of their last 14.
* Attucks last appeared in a final in 1959. This is TL's first appearance.
* Attucks scores 79 ppg;; TL only 60.
Class 4A: Ft.Wayne North over Ben Davis............................. by 9 points
* I was much more impressed with BD's performance against Castle than I was
against North Central. BD is quick, shoots well, passes well, finds the open man, drives to the
hoop, etc. Still, they are definite underdogs in this title game. Their chances for an upset are
two-fold. One, get one of North's big men (Butz or Brooks) in foul trouble. Second, try to stay
close enough so that they can play the "foul game". North is very poor at the foul line, especially
at crunch time. Several close calls they've had this year have been due to their inability to
"close out' the game at the foul line. Despite these comments, realistically, I think this game will
be very similar to North's game with Merrillville. North will build a double-digit lead and then
fend off a series of mini-runs by their opponent.
* North was my pre-tourney choice to win the 4A title. I did not have BD ranked in the top five to
come out of the south Semi-State.
* North outshoots BD from the field by a large margin (61% to 52%). But free throws are a
different story. BD is outstanding (75%) while North is an abysmal 60%.
* The leading scorer on each team is an underclassman. Other than that, both teams are very
senior oriented.
* North already own four double-digit victories over Marion County teams.
* This is BD's first final since 1996; North's first since 1965.
* BD has won 13 games in a row; North 21 of their last 22.
* Both teams have played very strong schedules.
Shown below are my selections for this weekend’s four class title games, along
with some comments.
Semi-State Prediction Results: Last week I picked 5 of the 8 semi-state games correctly. It was my worse performance at the semi-state level since 2011.
Have a great day and enjoy the games.
Dan
Class A: Indpls Tindley over Lafayette CC ............................. by 8 points
* This contest has a good chance of being the best match of the day. Overall, I feel Tindley
has too much offense and "star power."
* Tindley over LCC for the 1A title was my pre-tourney prediction.
* Tindley has a big edge in 3-point shooting (44% to 32%) as well as scoring (73 ppg to 60 ppg).
* Both teams have won 12 of their last 13 games.
* LCC's main players are mostly seniors while Tindley's are juniors.
* There is little difference between the two teams in height as well as strength of schedule. Their
schedules are the two toughest amongst all 1A schools.
* This is Tindley's first appearance in the finals. LCC has appeared in four previous finals--
winning three of them.
* Tindley's smallest margin of victory in this year's tourney has been 14 points. LCC beat Clinton
Prairie by only 6 in sectional play. Otherwise, their closest contest was 15 points.
Class 2A: Frankton over Crawford County............................... by 3 points
* This is perhaps the most difficult game to predict. CC is a big surprise to be here. Frankton not
so much, but perhaps viewed as a more likely finalist for next year. Frankton has a legitimate
star in Maurice Knight. CC has a balanced attack with five players averaging between 7 and
11 ppg.
* Frankton was my pre-tourney #3 choice to come out of the north semi-state.
I did not have Crawford County in my top 5 choices from the south.
* Frankton has won 18 of their last 19 games; CC 15 of their last 16.
* CC has avenged 4 of their 6 regular season setbacks,.
* This is CC's first state championship game. Frankton lost in the 2015 final.
* Both teams have won three tourney games by four points or less.
* Frankton averages 70 ppg, CC averages only 52 ppg.
* CC's schedule has been considerably tougher than Frankton's.
* Both teams have a nice mix of seniors and underclassmen among their top players. Also, not
much difference in height between the two.
Class 3A: Indpls.Attucks over Twin Lakes by ........................ by 10 points
* Both of these teams have been outstanding in tourney play. Tempo will be a key here , with
Attucks wanting to speed things up and Twin Lakes likely to be much more deliberate. I feel
Attucks' depth and quickness will eventually wear down the Indians.
* Atttucks was my pre-tourney #3 choice to come out of the south Semi- State. Twin Lakes was
not among my top five choices to represent the north.
* TL's entire starting lineup are seniors. Attucks' main scorers are also seniors but has a nice
blend of 4-5 additional underclassmen who provide a lot of support.
* Attucks has a bit more height than TL but probably not enough to be a factor.
* Strength of schedule for both teams is basically the same.
* Both teams have certainly earned their spot in the finals by upending outstanding teams along
the way. TL has dumped the likes of Andrean, Culver Academy, Griffith, and F.W.Luers.
Attucks has prevailed over Indy Manual, Tri-West, and Evansville Bosse among others.
* Attucks has won 17 of their last 18 games; TL 13 of their last 14.
* Attucks last appeared in a final in 1959. This is TL's first appearance.
* Attucks scores 79 ppg;; TL only 60.
Class 4A: Ft.Wayne North over Ben Davis............................. by 9 points
* I was much more impressed with BD's performance against Castle than I was
against North Central. BD is quick, shoots well, passes well, finds the open man, drives to the
hoop, etc. Still, they are definite underdogs in this title game. Their chances for an upset are
two-fold. One, get one of North's big men (Butz or Brooks) in foul trouble. Second, try to stay
close enough so that they can play the "foul game". North is very poor at the foul line, especially
at crunch time. Several close calls they've had this year have been due to their inability to
"close out' the game at the foul line. Despite these comments, realistically, I think this game will
be very similar to North's game with Merrillville. North will build a double-digit lead and then
fend off a series of mini-runs by their opponent.
* North was my pre-tourney choice to win the 4A title. I did not have BD ranked in the top five to
come out of the south Semi-State.
* North outshoots BD from the field by a large margin (61% to 52%). But free throws are a
different story. BD is outstanding (75%) while North is an abysmal 60%.
* The leading scorer on each team is an underclassman. Other than that, both teams are very
senior oriented.
* North already own four double-digit victories over Marion County teams.
* This is BD's first final since 1996; North's first since 1965.
* BD has won 13 games in a row; North 21 of their last 22.
* Both teams have played very strong schedules.
