Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.

     9150 North Meridian Street, Box 40650, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240-0650

Phone: 317-846-6601    Fax: 317-575-4244    Website: www.ihsaa.org

Blake Ress, Commissioner

____________________________________________________________________

MEDIA INFORMATION

February 18, 2007

Contact: Jason Wille, Sports Information Director

E-mail: jwille@ihsaa.org

 

THE ROAD TO CONSECO FIELDHOUSE REVEALED

A field of 396 teams are entered as the 97th Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament Series tips off next week at 64 sectional sites. One site, Class A, Sectional 56 with nine teams at Lapel, will get action underway on Monday, Feb. 26 with the majority of sites scheduled to begin the following night. Sectional play continues through the week with championship games set for Saturday, March 3. The two-round regionals are slated for March 10, followed by one-game semi-states on March 17 with the winners earning a spot in the state finals at Conseco Fieldhouse on March 24. In all, 392 games will be played over the four-week tournament.

 

At the state finals, there will be a championship game in each of the four classes, beginning with Class A at 10:30 am ET and followed immediately by the Class 2A game. After a mid-afternoon break, the second session will begin with the Class 3A championship game at 6 pm ET, followed by the Class 4A championship game.

 

Among the defending state champions, Hauser will meet Southwestern (Shelbyville) in the first round of Class A, Sectional 57; In 2A, two-time defending champ Forest Park will open play against South Spencer in Sectional 48; In Class 3A, New Castle will face Yorktown in Sectional 27 and; in 4A, Lawrence North begins its quest for an unprecedented fourth consecutive state title when it opens Sectional 10 play against rival Lawrence Central.

 

Three member schools will be making their first appearance in the boys’ basketball state tournament including Guerin Catholic (Class 2A, Sectional 43 at Triton Central), Greenwood Christian (Class A, Sectional 57 at Edinburgh) and Seton Catholic (Sectional 55 at Blue River Valley).

 

Fishers, which opened a new school this year, will enter a team in the state tournament for the first time since the school closed its doors in 1966. The Tigers, which will play in Class 4A, Sectional 9 at Noblesville, have one sectional championship to their credit – 1922.

 

In sectional play, Evansville Mater Dei and Tecumseh currently lead the state with eight consecutive championships each. Mater Dei has won five of those in Class 3A (their current class) while the other three came as a 2A team. Tecumseh’s have each come in Class A. Also, Lafayette Central Catholic (A) has won five straight while Forest Park (2A), Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (A), Lawrence North (4A), Muncie Central (4A), Orleans (A) and Tri-Central (A) have each won four in a row.

 

As for all-time leaders in sectional championships, Kokomo’s 69 titles tops the state. The Wildkats are followed by Vincennes Lincoln with 68, Marion with 63, Lafayette Jefferson with 60 and Richmond with 58.

 

Sectionals (AP style)

Sectional Brackets: 4A | 3A | 2A | A

Regional Brackets: 4A | 3A | 2A | A

 

 

TOURNAMENT NOTES

 

No. of Schools Entered: 396.

 

Total No. of Games to be Played: 392.

 

Schools Entered for First Time (3)

4A – None.

3A – None.

2A – Guerin Catholic (Sectional 43 at Triton Central).

A – Greenwood Christian (Sectional 57 at Edinburgh), Seton Catholic (Sectional 55 at Blue River Valley).

 

Defending State Champions

4A – Lawrence North (Sectional 10 at Lawrence North).

3A – New Castle (Sectional 27 at New Castle).

2A – Forest Park (Sectional 48 at Southridge).

A – Hauser (Sectional 57 at Edinburgh).

 

Defending Sectional Champions

4A – Bloomington South, Carmel, East Chicago Central, Evansville Harrison, Fort Wayne Snider, Franklin, Jeffersonville, LaPorte, Lawrence North, Martinsville, McCutcheon, Muncie Central, Penn, Pike, Valparaiso, Warsaw.

3A – Andrean, Batesville, Danville, Evansville Mater Dei, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Hammond Clark, Jay County, Madison, New Castle, Owen Valley, Plymouth, Roncalli, Tippecanoe Valley, Washington, Wawasee, Western.

2A – Boone Grove, Cascade, Cass, Centerville, Eastern Greene, Forest Park, Harding, Heritage Christian, Knightstown, North Montgomery, Prairie Heights, Providence, Rochester, Switzerland County, Taylor, Westview.

A – Blue River Valley, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, Hauser, Hebron, Lafayette Central Catholic, Lanesville, North Daviess, Oregon-Davis, Orleans, Riverton Parke, Shakamak, Shawe Memorial, Tecumseh, Tri-Central, Tri-County, University.

 

Schools that won first sectional championship last year

4A – None.

3A – None.

2A – Prairie Heights.

A – Lanesville, University.

 

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)

8 years – Evansville Mater Dei (3A), Tecumseh (A).

5 – Lafayette Central Catholic (A).

4 – Forest Park (2A); Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (A); Lawrence North (4A); Muncie Central (4A); Orleans (A); Tri-Central (A).

3 – Andrean (3A), Cascade (2A), Centerville (2A), Knightstown (2A), Valparaiso (4A).

 

Most Consecutive Sectional Championships

29 by Lafayette Jefferson, 1944-72.

 

Top Five All-Time Sectional Championships

69 – Kokomo.

68 – Vincennes Lincoln.

63 – Marion.

60 – Lafayette Jefferson.

58 – Richmond.

 

Schools Seeking First Sectional Championship

4A – Hamilton Southeastern, Westfield.

3A – Culver Academies, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Franklin County, West Noble.

2A – Churubusco, Frankton, Northeastern, Wheeler.

A – Bethesda Christian, Borden, Carroll (Flora), Covenant Christian, Crothersville, Elkhart Christian Academy, Evansville Day, Fort Wayne Canterbury, Holy Cross, Indiana School for the Deaf, Indianapolis Lutheran, International, Keystone, Lakewood Park Christian, Liberty Christian, New Harmony, Oldenburg Academy, Restoration Christian, Shoals, Trinity Lutheran, Union (Modoc), Vincennes Rivet, Washington Township, Westville, White’s.

 

 

IHSAA 06-07/31