Top 5 High School Basketball Matchups of the Week: Jan. 6

Fishers Athletics

It’s that time of the year again, county tournaments.

A few county tournaments tip off this week in some Central Indiana counties, but there are a plenty of inter-conference battles to watch for this week. Several teams with undefeated records will be facing stiff competition. Here are this week’s top five high school basketball games to monitor.

LAFAYETTE JEFFERSON vs FISHERS (BOYS) – Jan. 7

Fishers has been one of the biggest surprises this season with an unblemished 12-0 record. What’s more impressive about the Tigers’ torrid start has been their performance without senior G Alex Szilagyi for the majority of the season. Szilagyi has been out for a majority of the season with a knee injury, but Fishers has found a way to share the wealth on offense with a shooting line of 56/45/65.

That perfect record is on the line Tuesday night against a Lafayette Jeff team that features one of the most high-powered offenses in the state. The Bronchos are led by the Barnhizer brothers, Brooks and Braxton, who average around 20 points per game. Lafayette Jeff will need to crack the code against a Fishers defense that’s allowed an average of 48.7 points this season.

CARMEL vs CENTER GROVE (GIRLS) – Jan. 10

Don’t look now, but Carmel’s girls’ team is on a five-game winning streak. The streak was extended last Saturday after the Lady Greyhounds took down top-10 opponent Penn, 44-40. After a few years of turbulent head coaching changes, first-year coach Erin Trimpe has righted the ship. Kate Clarke and Bridgett Dunn have been impressive on offense, but Carmel’s team defense has been the key ingredient to the Carmel’s recent success. Throughout their five-game winning streak, the Lady Greyhounds have allowed 42.6 points per game.

Carmel’s winning streak is on the line when they head to Greenwood to take on conference foe Center Grove. The Lady Trojans went 2-0 last week with wins over Avon and Brownsburg. Junior G Mary Wilson has taken a big leap in her third season, averaging a team-high 15.1 points per game. Center Grove also boasts the top scoring defense in the MIC, only allowing 36.9 points per game. This game could be a defensive struggle on Friday night.

HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN vs LAWRENCE CENTRAL (BOYS) – Jan. 10

HSE has not played since a Dec. 30 win over Pendleton Heights. The Royals won three of their last four before the brief hiatus. Their matchup against third-ranked Lawrence Central tips off a 3-game stretch against opponents with a combined record of 23-1.

Lawrence Central has won six in a row since their eye-opening loss to Lawrence North, including a 63-50 win over Culver Academy last week. The Bears feature one of the best backcourt duos in the state with Louisville commit Dre Davis and Kansas State commit Nijel Pack. Davis and Pack average 23.4 and 18.7 points per game, respectively, and have accounted for 56 percent of the team’s total points scored this season.

The matchup to watch will be down in the post. How will Lawrence Central defend 7’2” C Mabor Majak? Lawrence Central has one of the most athletic rosters in the state, but no one on the roster is listed taller than 6’6”. Head coach Al Gooden may resort to double teaming Majak when he gets the ball in the low block. If that’s the case that can lead to open shots for experienced guards Kole Hornbuckle and Vinny Bucilla.

LAWRENCE NORTH vs WARREN CENTRAL (BOYS) – Jan. 10

Every conference game in the MIC is a brutal, physical matchup, and this game does not stray from the norm. The series between Warren Central and Lawrence North has been lopsided in favor of the Warriors in recent years. Warren Central has won four in a row and six of the last seven dating back to the 2016-2017 season.

Both teams won tight contests last week. Lawrence North came out on top of an 80-72 shootout against an underrated Crispus Attucks team. Warren Central survived a 52-49 scare against Bedford North Lawrence. A potential one-on-one matchup to watch would be Iowa commit Tony Perkins (Lawrence North) against Warren Central junior G Malik Stanley. Both are excellent two-way guards that have been go-to scorers for their respective teams.

LAWRENCE NORTH vs HOMESTEAD (GIRLS) – Jan. 11

This is a potential 4A State Championship preview. Both teams feature Division I talent and are talented enough to make it to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in February. Lawrence North has yet to lose a game this season, while Homestead’s only loss this season has been against an out-of-state opponent. Plan ahead as you’ll need to make the 90-minute commute up to Fort Wayne if you plan to watch this top-10 battle.

Homestead has won the last four matchups against Lawrence North. The average margin of victory has been nearly 10 points. To snap the losing streak, the Lady Wildcats will need to get off to a much better start than they did against Roncalli last week. Lawrence North will also need to continue their stellar play on the defensive end – through 18 games, Lawrence North has allowed an average of 40.7 points.