And so it begins.
Tonight is the start of the greatest month of high school boys basketball in the state — or maybe the nation since no one does basketball like Indiana.
Three Jackson County teams begin their postseason journeys tonight with the hopes of extending their seasons at least one more game.
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Here’s a breakdown of the games being played:
Seymour Sectional
Jeffersonville at Seymour, 6 p.m.
The end of the season doesn’t get any easier for the Owls after three of their last four games of the regular season were against teams with at least 18 wins.
Two of those games came against teams ranked in the top five of Class 3A — Silver Creek and Greensburg — and all three losses were by at least 22 points.
Now, to begin their sectional campaign, the Owls host the Jeffersonville Red Devils. Earlier this season, the Owls hosted their Hoosier Hills Conference rivals and were beaten 56-40 with Indiana University legend Steve Alford in the building.
Seymour will undoubtedly be looking for some revenge against Jeffersonville for the earlier loss, but the visiting Red Devils will be looking for even more glory after claiming the HHC title for the second year in a row.
The Red Devils are riding a five-game winning streak, including a three-point win over cross-state rival Louisville Ballard last month. Jeffersonville averages 64.5 points per game — tops in the conference — while only allowing 52.7.
Jeffersonville also got an extra game off after its Friday night tilt with Castle was canceled due to a water main break.
Seymour found some success against the Red Devils by slowing down the pace of play. They did the same thing last week against Columbus North and found themselves down by just a point at the half. If the Owls can control the tempo for all four quarters, they could find themselves with a shot at upsetting the Red Devils.
Edinburgh Sectional
Trinity Lutheran at
Edinburgh, 6 p.m.
There’s an old sports saying about the struggle of beating a team three times in one season.
Should the Cougars prove victorious tonight, they’ll have accomplished that difficult third win over the Lancers and second on their home court.
The previous two Trinity wins weren’t the most convincing though they won each of them by 10 points. In both contests, the Lancers jumped out to an early lead and then fell apart in the second half.
Edinburgh allows 61.7 points per game while piling up just 46.7. Their average margin of negative 15 points is second last in the sectional.
Edgewood Sectional Brownstown Central vs. South Vermillion, 7 p.m.
The IHSAA’s infinite wisdom decided to pit two teams 118 miles away from each other and more than an hour away from the sectional site.
They must think fans from Clinton and Brownstown must like long car rides.
Brownstown Central ended its regular season with a four-point win over Class A Orleans, and the Braves should hope the victory is a positive step as they begin postseason play.
The Wildcats, however, are riding a two-game losing streak after winning six in a row and are allowing just 54.1 points a game.
Though the Wildcats have a winning record, they have just one win against a team from Class 3A or 4A.