MEDIA INFORMATION            

February 19, 2009

 

PAIRINGS ANNOUNCED FOR 99TH BOYS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT

Four hundred two schools were bracketed in Conseco Fieldhouse this evening in anticipation of the start of the 99th Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament which begins the first week in March.

 

The 402 schools is four more than last year and the highest total since 403 entered the 1976 state tourney.

 

Sectional games are scheduled to run Monday, March 2, through Saturday, March 7, at 64 sites around the state. The regional round is slated for March 14, semi-states on March 21 and the state finals on March 28 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. In all, 398 games will be played over the four-week period.

 

One change from previous years and was part of last week’s girls basketball sectionals is the structure of the six-team bracket. Last April, the IHSAA Executive Committee approved a proposal from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association that calls for each of the two bye teams to play a winning team from the first round. Previously, the bye teams played each other in the second semifinal game.

 

Among the top-ranked teams in the latest Associated Press poll, Class A No. 1 Bowman Academy, making its first appearance in the IHSAA state tournament, drew a bye in Sectional 49 and will face the Washington Township-Whiting winner. In 2A, No. 1 and defending state champion Fort Wayne Bishop Luers will take on Bluffton in Sectional 38 at South Adams. In 3A, top-ranked Princeton will host Gibson Southern in the Sectional 32 opener. And in 4A, No. 1 Bloomington South drew the bye and will face the Bloomington North-Columbus East winner in Sectional 14 at Columbus North.

 

Among the other defending state champions, Brownsburg is paired with home-standing Pike in Class 4A, Sectional 12; Class 3A winner Washington will play Heritage Hills in Sectional 31 at Southridge and; last year’s Class A state champion, Triton, hosts Westville in Sectional 50.

 

Besides Bowman Academy, two other member schools will be making their first appearances in the state tournament while one, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, will compete in the tournament for the first time since 1986. Attucks, Fall Creek Academy and Indianapolis Metropolitan are assigned to Class A, Sectional 59 at Bethesda Christian.

 

Tecumseh, in Class A, leads the state with 10 consecutive sectional championships while Lafayette Central Catholic, also in Class A, has won seven straight. Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (A) and Orleans (A) follow with six in a row.

 

> Tournament Pairings (AP style)

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

Regional, Semi-State, State Finals Brackets: 4A | 3A | 2A | A

 

Facts & Figures

 

No. of Schools Entered: 402 (highest number since 403 entered in 1976).

 

Total No. of Games: 398 games in 27 days.

 

Schools Entered for First Time

4A: None.

3A: None.

2A: None.

A: Bowman Academy (Sectional 49 at Morgan Township); Fall Creek Academy (Sectional 59 at Bethesda Christian); Indianapolis Metropolitan (Sectional 59 at Bethesda Christian).

Note: Indianapolis Crispus Attucks (Sectional 59 at Bethesda Christian) will play in state tournament for first time since 1986.

 

Defending State Champions

4A: Brownsburg (Sectional 12 at Pike).

3A: Washington (Sectional 31 at Southridge).

2A: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (Sectional 38 at South Adams).

A: Triton (Sectional 50 host).

 

Defending Sectional Champions

4A: Brownsburg, Carmel, Crown Point, East Central, East Chicago Central, Evansville Reitz, Fort Wayne Snider, Franklin Central, Lafayette Jefferson, Marion, New Albany, New Castle, North Central (Indianapolis), South Bend Riley, Terre Haute North, Warsaw.

3A: Batesville, Beech Grove, Charlestown, Danville, Delta, Edgewood, Evansville Memorial, Hammond Clark, Harding, Kankakee Valley, Lakeland, Northwestern, Peru, Plymouth, Rushville, Washington.

2A: Carroll (Flora), Culver Community, Eastern Hancock, Evansville Mater Dei, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Garrett, Hammond Bishop Noll, Heritage Christian, Lawrenceburg, Northfield, Paoli, South Knox, Tipton, Tri-West Hendricks, Westview, Winchester.

A: Barr-Reeve, Borden, Daleville, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, Indianapolis Lutheran, Lafayette Central Catholic, Monroe Central, Morgan Township, Orleans, Rockville, Shakamak, South Decatur, Tecumseh, Tri-County, Triton, Waldron.

 

Schools that Won First Sectional Championship Last Year

4A: None.

3A: None.

2A: Carroll (Flora).

A: Borden, Indianapolis Lutheran.

 

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)

10: Tecumseh.

7: Lafayette Central Catholic.

6: Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, Orleans.

4: Harding, New Castle, Plymouth, Washington.

3: Batesville, East Chicago Central, Hammond Clark, Tri-County.

 

Most Consecutive Sectional Championships

29 by Lafayette Jefferson, 1944-72.

 

Top 10 All-Time Sectional Championships

69: Kokomo.

68: Vincennes Lincoln.

67: Lafayette Jefferson.

65: Marion.

59: Richmond.

57: Muncie Central, New Castle.

56: Connersville, Logansport.

50: Anderson, Lebanon.

 

Schools Seeking First Sectional Championship

4A: Hamilton Southeastern, Westfield.

3A: Culver Academies, Franklin County, West Noble.

2A: Churubusco, Covenant Christian, Frankton, Northeastern.

A: Bethesda Christian, Bowman Academy, Crothersville, Elkhart Christian Academy, Evansville Day, Fall Creek Academy, Fort Wayne Canterbury, Holy Cross, Indiana School for the Deaf, Indianapolis Metropolitan, International, Keystone, Lakewood Park Christian, Liberty Christian, New Harmony, Oldenburg Academy, Rock Creek Academy, Shoals, Tindley, Trinity Lutheran, Union (Modoc), Vincennes Rivet, Washington Township, Westville, White’s.

 

 

IHSAA 08-09/25