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Andy Amey: Basketball better than weather in this week's forecast

andy amey, the tribune-star, terre haute, ind.
·6 min read

Jan. 18—Indiana invented high school basketball for weeks like this one — a factoid right up there with the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor (from the movie "Animal House").

I'm not sure James Naismith ever even visited our state, but if he came in the winter, he might have noticed that something was necessary to give its citizens something to do indoors.

The result? Lots of fun this week, particularly among Conference Indiana boys, and I didn't even work in the Little Illini Conference tournament for boys that starts Saturday at Newton.

So get the bricks out of the fireplace, put them in the sleigh and head through the fields for the next game.

That was inspired by the opening scenes of "Hoosiers," by the way.

1. Terre Haute North (11-3) at Clay City (11-3) — The history of this recent rivalry has been the Eels using it as a good opportunity to see how they stack up against a strong team.

This season it's just a basketball game. The Patriots had better be prepared, because the home team will be out to win this one.

2. North Daviess (11-3, 3-0) at Linton (9-4, 3-0) — It won't be quite the same as it was two years ago, the game that included Linton's Logan Webb conversing genially with North Daviess coach Bret Dalrymple while holding the ball with the clock running.

But this is still a fun rivalry to follow, and as you can see by the records, this game means something.

3. Southport (4-8, 1-1) at Terre Haute North (2-1 Conference Indiana), Saturday — So does this one, since the Patriots (and the Cardinals) control their own Conference Indiana destiny.

It may not be as fun to watch, considering the slew of outstanding athletes who graduated from last year's Southport team. Todd Woelfle is free to disagree.

4. Terre Haute South (0-1 in Conference Indiana) at Bloomington North (6-8, 1-1), Saturday — Speaking of which, both these teams also control their own conference destiny. Every team in Conference Indiana has one loss right now.

The Cougars also had a pretty big subtraction from their lineup a year ago.

5. North Vermillion (9-5, 1-0) at Parke Heritage (12-3, 2-0), 7:30 p.m. — Most overlooked winning team in the Wabash Valley? How about the Falcons, who are threatening to be Wabash River Conference contenders and certainly will be if they win this one.

The Wolves need to be wary of this one and not look ahead to another one of their test games on Saturday.

6. Parke Heritage at Mooresville (6-10 or 7-9), Saturday — Speaking of which, this will give another indication of how well Parke Heritage can handle teams with a lot of size.

It's not fair to call the Wolves a little team, however. Their weight-room work has made them a lot bigger, just not that much taller.

7. Evansville North (7-6) at Terre Haute South (7-5) — This isn't a conference game, but it's one the Braves would like to win to snap a three-game losing streak.

The visiting Huskies traditionally raise their game against Terre Haute North, so Friday's game might determine if it's Terre Haute they don't like or other teams named North.

8. Northview girls (17-3, 7-1) at Indian Creek (15-4, 7-0), 6 p.m. — The host Braves have been one of the best Class 3A girls teams in the state for the past two years and will be hard to catch in the Western Indiana Conference race if they win this one.

The Knights are good defensively and will need to be. Their shots around the rim will be contested. (And yes, there's a boys game that follows.)

9. Indian Creek at West Vigo, doubleheader, Saturday — Contesting those shots is 6-foot-4 Faith Wiseman, a 2024 Indiana Miss Basketball candidate, a Teri Morin recruit at Indiana and the biggest reason (intended) the Braves have been so strong.

The Indian Creek boys also lead the WIC, but this has traditionally been a weird weekend for Indian Creek with its back-to-back doubleheaders — and this week it's the Braves who travel.

10. Terre Haute North girls (7-15) at Brownsburg (10-11 or 9-12), Saturday — And if you'd like to see a 2025 Miss Basketball candidate, you can accompany the Pacers for a battle against the Bulldogs and 6-5 Avery Gordon. She and Wiseman already faced off this season (Faith and Indian Creek over Avery and Brownsburg in overtime) and will do so in the future: Gordon is committed to Purdue.

The Patriots are having recent success, and could see the Bulldogs again next month.

Friday boys

Dieterich (14-5) at OPH (6-11), 7 p.m., 6 p.m. CST

Terre Haute North at Clay City, 7:30 p.m.

Northview (3-3, 4-7) at Indian Creek (11-2, 6-0), approximately 7:30 p.m.

North Daviess at Linton, 7:30 p.m.

South Vermillion (8-7) at Greencastle (8-6), 7:30 p.m.

Riverton Parke (3-11) at North Central (7-6), approximately 7:30 p.m.

North Vermillion at Parke Heritage, 7:30 p.m.

White River Valley (5-7, 0-2) at Shakamak (7-7, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.

Evansville North at Terre Haute South, 8:30 p.m.

Martinsville (7-14) at Marshall (9-10), 8:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. CST

Friday girls

Northview at Indian Creek, 6 p.m.

Riverton Parke (5-14) at North Central (11-10), 6 p.m.

Sullivan (17-5, 8-1) at Cloverdale (2-18, 0-8), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday boys

Olney (19-2) vs. Paris (5-14) at Newton, Ill., 2 p.m., 1 p.m. CST

Indian Creek at West Vigo (7-8, 3-4), 2:30 p.m.

Mt. Carmel (6-8) vs. Casey (11-7) at Newton, 3:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. CST

Southport at Terre Haute North, 4:30 p.m.

Lawrenceville (16-2) vs. Robinson (2-15) at Newton, 5 p.m., 4 p.m. CST

Marshall at Newton (14-7), 6:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. CST

North Central (7-6) at North Vermillion, 6 p.m.

Urbana University High (1-14) at Martinsville, 6 p.m., 5 p.m. CST

North Clay (Ill.) (5-12) at OPH, 7 p.m., 6 p.m. CST

Terre Haute South at Bloomington North, 7:30 p.m.

White River Valley at Sullivan (12-3), 7:30 p.m.

Clay City at Cloverdale (2-12 or 1-13), 7:30 p.m.

Parke Heritage at Mooresville, 7:30 p.m.

Owen Valley (5-8) at Linton, 7:30 p.m.

South Putnam (4-10) at Dugger Union (4-10), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday girls

Dugger Union (3-15 or 2-16) at Martinsville (Ill.) (1-14), noon, 11 a.m. CST

South Vermillion (0-20, 0-5) at Riverton Parke (0-5 Wabash River Conference), 12:30 p.m.

Indian Creek at West Vigo (3-17, 1-8), 1 p.m.

Indian Creek at West Vigo, 1 p.m.

Terre Haute North at Brownsburg, 1:30 p.m.

North Central at North Vermillion, 4 p.m.

Andy Amey can be reached after 4 p.m. at 812-231-4276 or 812-231-4277; by email at andy.amey@tribstar.com; or by mail at P.O. Box 149, Terre Haute, IN, 47808. Follow TribStarAndy on the X.