BB MARION COUNTY TOURNEY: Once more unto the breach

By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor

The annual crapshoot known as the Marion County Tournament got under way Jan. 8, and this year’s free-for-all of 16 boys basketball teams featured a field where exactly half the schools entered the competition ranked in the latest Associated Press polls.

Of those eight schools, seven of them won their first-round games Tuesday. The one that didn’t was Class 4A 10th-ranked North Central (Indianapolis), winner of three of the last four County crowns. The Panthers were eliminated in overtime, 57-51, by 4A No. 8 host Ben Davis, which avenged a 55-50 loss four nights earlier at NC.

In other opening-round action, we saw …

• The other two overtime clashes: Lawrence Central’s 50-47 escape from Southport and 2A fifth-ranked Speedway’s 82-78 squeaker over visiting 4A Decatur Central
• The routs: 4A No. 1 Pike’s 81-48 romp past visiting Roncalli, 4A No. 10 host Lawrence North’s 93-39 pasting of Indianapolis Lutheran, 2A top-ranked visiting Park Tudor’s 51-28 putdown of Perry Meridian, and 4A No. 16 Warren Central’s 75-46 waltz at Beech Grove 
• The leftover: 3A No. 15 Brebeuf Jesuit’s 70-65 win at 4A Franklin Central

Thus, the quarterfinal round figures to feature three potential barnburners – 4A No. 10 Lawrence North (8-1) at 3A No. 15 Brebeuf (7-4), 2A No. 5 Speedway (10-0) at 2A No. 1 Park Tudor (9-1), and 4A No. 8 Ben Davis (8-2) at 4A No. 16 Warren Central (6-4) – plus a long-shot (3-6 Lawrence Central) hosting the state’s top-ranked team regardless of classification (10-0 Pike).

Too bad they don’t have pre-semifinals doubleheaders anymore, eh?

Here is that tasty Jan. 9 quarterfinals lineup complete with Sagarin power numbers, courtesy of johnharrell.net:

4A #1 Pike (10-0) at Lawrence Central (3-6)
GAME TIME: MARION COUNTY TOURNAMENT 7:00 PM ET, Lawrence Central.
COACHES: Bill Zych, 49-13 in 3rd year at Pike. J.R. Shelt, 54-65 in 6th year at Lawrence Central.
SAGARIN RATINGS: Pike, 98.33, 1st overall, 1st in Class 4A. Lawrence Central, 84.11, 32nd overall, 25th in Class 4A.
LAST OUTING: Pike defeated Indianapolis Roncalli, 81-48, Jan. 8. Lawrence Central defeated Southport, 50-47, overtime, Jan. 8.
VS. COMMON FOES: Pike 2-0. Lawrence Central 0-2.
OPPONENTS' RECORDS: Pike 58-38, Lawrence Central 65-27.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Pike, 20-1.
LAST MEETING: Pike 78, Lawrence Central 51, Dec. 7, 2012.

4A #10 Lawrence North (8-1) at 3A #15 Brebeuf Jesuit (7-4)
GAME TIME: MARION COUNTY TOURNAMENT 7:00 PM ET, Brebeuf Jesuit.
COACHES: Jack Keefer, 624-250 in 37th year at Lawrence North. Noah Haynes, 7-4 in 1st year at Brebeuf Jesuit.
SAGARIN RATINGS: Lawrence North, 95.47, 6th overall, 6th in Class 4A. Brebeuf Jesuit, 82.47, 49th overall, 8th in Class 3A.
LAST OUTING: Lawrence North defeated Indianapolis Lutheran, 93-39, Jan. 8. Brebeuf Jesuit defeated Franklin Central, 70-65, Jan. 8.
VS. COMMON FOES: None.
OPPONENTS' RECORDS: Lawrence North 51-39, Brebeuf Jesuit 57-43.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Lawrence North, 9-3.
LAST MEETING: Lawrence North 63, Brebeuf Jesuit 49, Dec. 7, 2012.

2A #5 Speedway (10-0) at 2A #1 Park Tudor (9-1)
GAME TIME: MARION COUNTY TOURNAMENT 7:00 PM ET, Park Tudor.
COACHES: Chuck Bennett, 86-115 in 10th year at Speedway. Ed Schilling, 75-16 in 4th year at Park Tudor.
SAGARIN RATINGS: Park Tudor, 87.76, 24th overall, 1st in Class 2A. Speedway, 76.42, 88th overall, 7th in Class 2A.
LAST OUTING: Speedway defeated Decatur Central, 82-78, overtime, Jan. 8. Park Tudor defeated Perry Meridian, 51-28, Jan. 8.
VS. COMMON FOES: Speedway 2-0. Park Tudor 2-0.
OPPONENTS' RECORDS: Speedway 38-57, Park Tudor 48-60.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Park Tudor, 15-4.
LAST MEETING: Park Tudor, 71-50, regional, Mar. 10, 2012.

4A #8 Ben Davis (8-2) at 4A #16 Warren Central (6-4)
GAME TIME: MARION COUNTY TOURNAMENT 7:00 PM ET, Warren Central (WBDG, 90.9 FM).
COACHES: Mark James, 26-9 in 2nd year at Ben Davis. Greg Graham, 53-46 in 5th year at Warren Central.
SAGARIN RATINGS: Warren Central, 94.39, 8th overall, 8th in Class 4A. Ben Davis, 93.87, 9th overall, 9th in Class 4A.
LAST OUTING: Ben Davis defeated North Central (Indianapolis), 57-51, overtime, Jan. 8. Warren Central defeated Beech Grove, 75-46, Jan. 8.
VS. COMMON FOES: Ben Davis 0-1. Warren Central 0-1.
OPPONENTS' RECORDS: Ben Davis 50-50, Warren Central 64-34.
SERIES LAST 15 YEARS: Warren Central, 12-8.
LAST MEETING: Ben Davis 51, Warren Central 50, overtime, Dec. 14, 2012.

The complete tourney schedule:

MARION COUNTY TOURNAMENT
Opening round (Tue, Jan. 8)
4A #1 Pike 81, Roncalli 48
Lawrence Central 50, Southport 47 (OT)
4A #10 Lawrence North 93, Indianapolis Lutheran 39
3A #15 Brebeuf Jesuit 70, Franklin Central 65
2A #5 Speedway 82, Decatur Central 78 (OT)
2A #1 Park Tudor 51, Perry Meridian 28
4A #8 Ben Davis 57, 4A #10 North Central (Indianapolis) 51 (OT)
4A #16 Warren Central 75, Beech Grove 46

Quarterfinals (Wed, Jan. 9)
4A #1 Pike (10-0) at Lawrence Central (3-6), 7 p.m.
4A #10 Lawrence North (8-1) at 3A #15 Brebeuf (7-4), 7 p.m.
2A #5 Speedway (10-0) at 2A #1 Park Tudor (9-1), 7 p.m.
4A #8 Ben Davis (8-2) at 4A #16 Warren Central (6-4), 7 p.m.

Semifinals (Fri, Jan. 11 @ Southport)
Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.
Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 7:30 p.m.

Championship (Sat, Jan. 12 @ TBD)
Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14, 7 p.m.