Jack Benter Guard for the Brownstown Central Braves
Indiana high school basketball is in full swing this week, and many teams are getting in their first games. There are plenty of exciting matchups to watch, and we wanted to highlight several of our favorites this week. These basketball games take place from 11/29/2022 to 12/4/2022.
Brownstown Central (1-0) at Salem (0-1)
11/29/2022 at 7:30 pm
The Brownstown Central Braves begin the season in the 2A bracket, moving down from 3A. The Braves have one of the best players in Southern Indiana with Jack Benter, who recently signed with Purdue. The Braves also have 2 deep threat shooters to compliment Benter. Brownstown is my pick to represent Southern Indiana in the 2A IHSAA state finals.
Salem will have their hands full hosting the Braves. Salem may be the larger school, but Brownstown has dominated this series going 33 and 9 the last 35 years. Brownstown Central won last year 72-40.
The Braves win this game by a large margin. Brownstown will also face off with Seymour on Friday, and I believe the Braves will win that game as well.
Dugger Union (0-1) at White River Valley (1-0)
11/29/2022 at 7:30 pm
It has been a long time since WRV has had a winning season, ten years ago in fact, when they were coach by JB Neill in 2012. They won 12 games that season, lost 11. Word on the rumor mill is that White River Valley is trying to get back in the conversation this year, and they’ve already started those talk with a win over North Knox, 50-38, last Tuesday.
WRV is leading this historical contest with 33 wins and 7 losses over Dugger. The last time they met was in 2014. WRV won 75-26.
White River Valley wins this matchup.
Perry Central (1-0) at Heritage Hills (1-0)
11/29/2022 at 7:00 pm central time
These two teams finished middle of the pack in their classes and are both sitting with 1 win a piece. Heritage Hills controls the historical matchups with 28 wins to 2 losses. They played in February of 2022 with Heritage Hills getting the win at 50-34.
We’ve heard that Heritage Hills has a stellar athlete in Trent Sisley, who will be a key force in a win for Heritage Hills.
Silver Creek (1-0) at Charlestown (1-0)
11/29/2022 at 7:30 pm
We loved Charlestown in football, but we’re just getting to know their basketball team. Charlestown’s head coach Matt Lynch is heading into his second season with the Pirates with a 9-15 record. Charlestown finished last season ranked 82nd in 3A.
Silver Creek comes off as the better team historically. They are 48-22 over Charlestown over the last 35 years. The Dragons beat Charlestown in 2021 by a tally of 73-40. Silver Creek finished last year rated 29th in 3A and their coach, Brandon Hoffman has a 214-86 record in 13 years at Silver Creek.
We’re going to give the win to Silver Creek.
Austin (0-2) at Providence (0-1)
12/2/2022 at 7:30 pm
Providence is the reigning state champ for 2A after beating Central Noble 62-49. But the defending 2A champs have already suffered an early season defeat to Brownstown Central. A Braves team that could possibly be the next 2A champions.
Austin already has 2 losses on the new season and will most likely tack on a third loss after they face Providence on Friday. Providence will win this one soundly, with great defensive focus.
Bedford North Lawrence (0-1) at Bloomington South (1-1)
12/2/2022 at 7:30 pm
J.R. Holmes has been coaching at Bloomington South for 41 years and has an earned a record of 738 wins and 235 losses. Holmes is Indiana’s most winningest high school basketball coach and he’s still going strong. Obviously, the Panthers are a well-coached team, and will come out the better in Friday’s contest against BNL. BNL will put up a fight in what will potentially be a low scoring affair.
Clay City (1-1) at Linton-Stockton (1-0)
12/2/2022 at 7:30 pm
Linton started the season off strong with a win over Northview, 76-44. The Miners are led by UCF commit Joey Hart JR and a slew of other athletic players. Linton is a great team, but last year in the Regionals, they did not play to their perceived potential after losing to Providence. Things are still up in the air for this Miners team. They’re going to be one of the top teams again in 2A, but will they be strong enough to withstand Brownstown, or even Paoli in their sectional?
Regardless, Linton will win this one easily over Clay City.
Eastern (Pekin) (1-0) at West Washington (1-0)
12/2/2022 at 7:30 pm
Both teams are pretty good, but often not talked about. West Washington has been out of the picture for a few years now, but they have some real young talent on the rise. Eastern has been solid for years, but haven’t been able to punch that Sectional ticket, losing to Paoli a few years in a row now. Eastern finished rated at 27th in 2A, where as West Washington finished 44th in 1A.
I’m sure a lot of people are giving the edge Eastern Pekin, but I’m liking the team that’s on the come up in West Washington, and I think they’ll win this game Friday.
Henryville (0-1) at Paoli (0-0)
12/2/2022 at 7:30 pm
Look for Paoli to make a big splash this year in basketball. I may be biased, but they have the tools to be dangerous. Fletcher Cole and Trey Rominger are going to be a force to reckon with and they have a lot of support. Paoli has won their sectional 3 of the last 4 years, but have moved to play in Linton’s sectional this year. It should be an interesting contest come Spring.
I look for the Dusty Cole led Rams to win this matchup over Henryville, it could be close, but the Rams pull out their first win.
North Harrison (1-1) at Corydon Central (1-0)
12/2/2022 at 7:30 pm
North Harrison just suffered a close loss to Trent Sisley and the Heritage Hills Patriots, and look to rebound in their county rivalry matchup with Corydon Central. Corydon holds a close edge in this rivalry, winning 33 to the Cougars’ 28 wins.
North Harrison finished ranked 8th last year in 3A, and will continue to be a strong team this season.
North Harrison won this match up last year in the sectionals, and I see them winning again with Sawyer Wetzel and Kaleb Kellems leading the way for the Cougars.
North Knox (0-1) at South Knox (2-0)
12/2/2022 at 7:30 pm
This is the Knox County rivalry that could go either way. South Knox is a good team and finished ranked 20th in 2A. They all have the edge in the series, with a record of 24-20 over North Knox. South Knox was the victor last year, and I think they will win this one soundly as well.
Orleans (1-0) at Springs Valley (1-0)
This matchup between Orleans and Springs Valley is my favorite of the week. I’ll probably be in attendance covering this one. These two squads are exciting, and full of potential. 1A has opened, and I see one of these two teams going far. Its just a case of which one of them wins Sectional 63.
As for Friday night, there is going to be a lot of points. A lot of awesome plays. Both teams will have a player over the 25+ points mark.
For Springs Valley it’s going to be Deion Edwards and Conner Chase leading the way.
The Bulldogs will be led by Ian Hall, Carter Allen, and Xavier Alston.
I predict that the Orleans Bulldogs will bully their way to victory over the Blackhawks on Friday night.
There are a ton of other Indiana basketball games going on this week, many of them falling on Friday night. Check of John Harrel’s website for the best uptodate schedule information. Please share in the comments which games you are looking forward to, and what players to keep an eye on! Thanks for reading.
