Neither Columbus East nor Columbus North scored a first-round bye for the Bloomington North girls' basketball section next week, but for the Olympians, that might not be a bad thing.
Class 4A No. 10 East, who drew hosts Bloomington North in the sectional opener at 6 pm. February 1, the regular season against Silver Creek is scheduled to close on Tuesday. The Olympians are looking to add a potential opponent for Thursday.
"We are excited to move forward," said Eastern coach Danny Brown. "I'm glad we didn't get a bye. Tuesday could be the last game of our regular season, so if we got a bye, we might have 10 days to play again.
The Olympian (16–3) defeated Bloomington North (9–11) 59–42 on November 30. Both the teams have had the best season in over a decade.
"They're improving," Brown said. "Jeff (Turmell) did a good job there. Playing at his home turf, we have to be ready when the first game is out. When it comes to sectional play in Indiana, you can't ignore anyone.
Columbus North (12-8) will take on two-time defending sectional champion East Central (18-4) at around 7:45 p.m. in a second first-round matchup. February 1. On December 9, the Trojans defeated the Bull Dogs 47–31.
"The sectional is essentially a new season, so that's the way we're going to treat it," said Columbus North coach Brett White. "To win a sectional, you have to beat some good teams, and that allows us to prepare for one of those good teams. I think we're a different team than we were at the time. We had our There are some players who were sick or injured at that time, so we are close to full strength.”
If East beat Bloomington South, they will play Martinsville (6-12) in the semi-finals at 6 pm. February 4. If the Bull Dogs win, they will face Bloomington South (5-17) at 7:45 pm. that night. The final is at 7 pm. February 5.
Meanwhile, in Class A, Hauser got a tough draw. The Jets (10-10) will play No. 5 Jack-Sean-Dale (16-5) in the opening round of the Waldron Sectional at 6 p.m. February 2.
On December 1, Jacques-Sean-Dale defeated Hauser 65–40. The Jets are looking for their first sectional title since 1982.
"First of all, we have a (mid-hoosier) conference game with North Decatur on Tuesday, and we focus on Jacques-Sen-Dale after playing North Decatur and Shelbyville this week (to kick off the regular season). do." Hauser coach Chad Evans said. "We played them really well for about 2 minutes in the fourth quarter. I think we'll be ready for them."
If the Jets win, they will face the winner between Southwestern (Shelby) (9-10) and Morristown (10-9) in the semi-finals at 7:45 p.m. February 4. 1-ranked Waldron (19-1) received a bye and will face either Rising Sun (8-12) or Oldenburg Academy (7-12) at 6 pm. February 4.
"It would be nice to say goodbye and play someone else's winner, but you control the controls," Evans said. "I hope we get everyone back healthy for the sectional."
Also in Class A, Edinburgh (8–7) will play West Washington (12–7) in the opening round of the West Washington Sectional at 7 pm. February 1. The Lancers lost to the Senators 44-40 on January 8 in the most recent game in Edinburgh before going into quarantine. 8 Trinity Lutheran (13-7) will face Crowthersville (3-11) in a rematch of a 55-25 Cougar victory, and the Shaw Memorial (8-9) will meet the Edinburgh-West Washington champ in February. Semifinals.
Jennings County (16-4) drew a bye in the first round and will play in the semifinals of the Jeffersonville Sectional at 6 p.m. February 4 against the winner between New Albany (5-17) and Seymour (9-9). The Panthers defeated Seymour 70–42 on December 7 and New Albany 53–43 on December 11. The winner may face the co-number. 4 Bedford North Lawrence (18-2) in the final on February 5.
In Class 3A, Brown County (3-18) will play Northview (18-4) in the opening round of the Northview sectional at 6 p.m. February 2. The Knights defeated the Eagles 57–25 on November 19. The winner will face either Edwood (16-4) or South Vermillion (5-15) in the semi-finals at 7:45 p.m. February 4.
South Decatur (3-15) will play Switzerland County (15-5) in the first round of the Class 2A Southwestern (Hanover) section at 6 pm. February 1 The Pacers beat the Cougar 44-34 on Thursday. The winner will play Southwestern (5-16) in the semi-finals at 6 p.m. February 4.
All sectional final games will take place at 7 or 7:30 pm. February 5.
Columbus North will host a 4A regional on February 12. The winner of Bloomington North Regional will play the winner of Franklin Central Regional at 10 a.m., followed by the winners of Jeffersonville and Evansville Harrison. That night is the regional final.
The semistate round is February 19. The State Finals are on February 26 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.