A quick review of/preview of sectional championships

A roundup of thoughts before Saturday's sectional championships:

1. I wrote in this space earlier this week that Borden and Vincennes Rivet had solid chances to win their first sectional titles, while Indianapolis Lutheran was a virtual lock to win its first. While Rivet was eliminated by Barr-Reeve (who then turned around and defeated a 20-win North Daviess squad that entered the tournament as Class A #1), Borden and Lutheran are still alive.

Borden's Braves (17-5) face 9-14 South Central on Saturday night. Borden beat the Rebels by 12 in December.

Meanwhile, Indianapolis Lutheran improved to 18-4 with its semifinal win over Indianapolis Tindley. The only team standing between the Saints and their first sectional title is 8-14 University.

Borden and Lutheran aren't the only teams remaining with a chance to win their first sectional crowns on Saturday night, though:

* Carroll (Flora) is still alive (see below).

* So is Fort Wayne Canterbury, who faces Fort Wayne Blackhawk for that sectional's championship.

* Churubusco will play on Saturday, but only by virtue of their Friday night semifinal against Prairie Heights being postponed to Saturday due to a winter storm. The Eagles are 1-19 heading into semifinal play.

* New Harmony, who played a major role in determining this year's WW Boys Team of the Year (more to come in a later post), faces powerhouse Tecumseh for the Sectional 64 title.

* Lastly, Covenant Christian, one of the IHSAA's newer basketball playing schools, has a solid chance to grab its first sectional championship. The 15-6 Warriors, who'd only managed 6 wins in the previous two years, face 10-12 Tri-West for the Class 2A Sectional 46 title. Myself - I question the strength of their 15 wins, as many of them have come against schools in their class or smaller, while Tri-West didn't play a single Class A school all season.

2. I also wrote that Seeger's 30-year sectional championship drought would be the longest one broken this year. While the 18-3 Patriots are still alive and face 9-12 Carroll (Flora) - a school looking for its first sectional crown - for their sectional's championship, there are several other teams with longer droughts who could prove me wrong.

Perhaps the best story - and one I overlooked when examining the draw - is 10-11 Morton Memorial. The Tigers have the second-longest drought in the state at 55 years, but that's irrelevant in the bigger picture.

Morton Memorial is a high school on the grounds of the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Children's Home, established in the late 1800s by then-Governor Morton. Formerly an orphanage for the children of veterans' families, the ISSCH is essentially a boarding school environment that gives the at-risk youth of Indiana a chance to succeed where otherwise they might not have had the opportunity. Its mission is about so much more than basketball, but who knows what kind of athletic success can turn around a kid's life?

On the court, the Tigers had a pretty favorable sectional draw, opening with a big win against one of the state's weaker teams in Greenwood Christian before avenging a close loss to Southwestern (Shelbyville). Morton Memorial faces 13-8 Waldron for the sectional championship. (As a side note, Waldron is the only team in state history to go undefeated one season - in 2003-04 - and winless the next.)

Four other teams with designs on breaking their long sectional droughts on Saturday night are Wabash, Elwood, Union (Modoc) and Union County.

Wabash, as you may recall, was part of an answer to one of my earlier trivia questions, having won over 20 sectional championships in the pre-class era, but none since the move to class hoops, and none since 1967. The 6-16 Apaches face 13-8 Northfield for their sectional's title on Saturday; the Norsemen beat Wabash by 19 during the regular season. (Winless Watch would love to do the pre-game tease for this one: "Apaches! Norsemen! NEXT!")

11-10 Elwood also advanced to a sectional championship, but have a tough road ahead, facing perennial power Winchester, who sits at 19-3 heading into Saturday. Elwood hasn't won a sectional crown in 48 years.

Meanwhile, Union (Modoc) brought a 6-14 record into sectionals, but snagged two wins this week to set up a rematch against Monroe Central. Unfortunately for the Rockets, who last won a championship in 1970, Monroe Central has beaten them soundly on two occasions this season, including a 52-point walloping in January. Will the third time be the charm for Union? Winless Watch would like to think so, but ... we'll see.

The only other drought longer than 25 years that could come to an end on Saturday night is Union County's. The Patriots won three sectional crowns in a span of four seasons between 1976 and 1979, but none since. Union County takes a 12-10 record into Saturday night's title tilt against Eastern Hancock, who sports a 14-9 mark.

3. Apropos of nothing in particular, part 1:

Several teams who started the week with fewer than 5 wins on the season still have the chance to make their seasons successful: Elkhart Central (4-17 going into sectionals), Loogootee (3-17), Tri-Central (3-17), New Prairie (3-18), Fort Wayne Elmhurst (5-14), Vincennes Lincoln (5-14), Wabash (4-16), North White (3-17), Springs Valley (4-16) and New Harmony (3-18) all will play for sectional titles on Saturday night. Why do I like Loogootee's chances the best of all of them?

4. Apropos of nothing in particular, part 2:

While researching Crothersville's season and history this week, I noted that their coach, Jim Stewart, has a career mark of 257-546. 546 losses! I wonder if that's some kind of state record. I believe Stewart coached for a long while at Medora, which goes a long way toward explaining his 31% winning percentage.

Anyway, good luck to all of the teams still playing; 2/3 of the schools in the state have seen their seasons end, and would love to trade places with you.