It's regional time

Time to head to Shelbyville to bring forth one of the best regionals in the state, beginning with one of the marquee games in Indiana.

In the black & gold corner: #3 Mt. Vernon (21-2), champions of the Hoosier Heritage Conference, Hancock County, the Hall of Fame Classic and the Mt. Vernon sectional.
In the blue & white corner: #7 Greensburg (20-2), champions of the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference, Tree City Holiday Tournament and the Greensburg sectional.

The broadcast begins at 9:40 a.m. Saturday (LISTEN HERE) with the pregame show, and tipoff at 10 a.m. Should the Marauders win, we'll have the regional title game at 7:40 p.m. from Garrett Gymnasium.

There are three regionals in the state with three Top 10 teams -- this one, the 3A regional at Washington and the 1A regional at Triton. #1 Danville (23-1) is the third ranked team, facing a dangerous Brebeuf (14-8) squad in Saturday's second morning semifinal.

To the Marauders' game. MV has been very impressive this season, especially in a 17-game winning streak in which the Marauders' defense has been stifling. MV allowed two high-scoring teams 37 points last week, and slowed down some of the sectional's top players. Meanwhile, Daniel Turner had a huge sectional, with 44 points in the two games en route to being named tournament MVP. He has, of course, a really solid supporting cast with 6-7 D'Armond Davis (12 points against HH), 6-4 Jake Stafford (22 in the regular-season finale against Yorktown) and 6-4 P.J. Hubert, whose early 3-point shooting staked the Marauders to leads in both of last week's sectional games.

They've been very workmanlike and businesslike and it really shows on the boards, where they've been badly outrebounding teams.

This is the Marauders' first regional since 1999, when they played eventual state champ Plainfield on the Garrett Gymnasium floor in a one-game affair. MV is looking for regional title #3 in school history, to go along with titles won in 1987 and 1991.

To get here, Greensburg had to survive a couple of high-wire finishes in the sectional, beating Scottsburg 48-46 on a driving shot with four seconds left by senior forward Shawn Burcham in the opening round, and then knocking off Batesville 49-48 in OT in the title game, with 6-3 senior forward Ty Miller hitting two FTs in the closing seconds to win the game. The Pirates are experienced, with 10 seniors on the 11-man roster, and five seniors who start. Like MV, they have balance, with three players (6-3 senior Greg Dougan, Burcham and Miller) averaging between 10.1 and 11.6 ppg, and a fourth (5-10 senior Adam Wilson) totaling 9.1. Greg Dougan averaged 13.7 ppg in the sectional, while Burcham totaled 10 ppg. Greensburg also has tournament experience, having won this regional last year by beating Roncalli and North Montgomery.

The other game features Danville and Brebeuf, and the only rematch in the tournament. Danville won an earlier meeting 42-36, and the Warriors are led by 6-10 Purdue signee Travis Carroll (19.7 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 65% FG) and 6-2 senior Jordan Widener (16.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg). Two other players -- guards Tyler Hall and Michael Humphrey -- are also at or close to double-figures. Danville is deep and loaded, a big reason it is 23-1 and has only played one game within 5 points -- and that was the season opener against Western Boone. Brebeuf is led by Trent Hoffman (11.9 ppg) and Evan Kroot (10.1 ppg) and has a lot of balance behind. Andy Fagan's team is defensively-minded, but plays a brutal schedule that is meant to prepare the Braves for this time of year.

We're looking forward to having you join us for breakfast Saturday morning, and maybe for dinner Saturday night, as we bring the Marauders in the Shelbyville regional. We will be with MV throughout the tournament.