How each South Bend area boys basketball team can win a regional title Saturday

Six South Bend area teams will vie for IHSAA boys basketball regional championships Saturday.

Two of them are facing each other, as Northern Indiana Conference foes Saint Joseph and John Glenn battle for a Class 3A title. Also in 3A is Fairfield, which is set to take on Hammond Bishop Noll.

Only one 4A team remains, with Mishawaka looking for its first regional title since 1955 when it faces East Chicago Central.

Two 1A teams are still alive as well, with Elkhart Christian taking on Tri-County and Marquette Catholic battling DeMotte Christian.

More: South Bend area IHSAA boys basketball regional sites, times set

Analysis: Experience shows in South Bend area boys basketball sectional finals

There will be some compelling basketball played across the state this weekend. Here’s how each area team can win Saturday and advance to next week’s semistate round.

Mishawaka (19-7) vs. East Chicago Central (22-4)

Class 4A Michigan City regional, 5 p.m. ET

How Mishawaka can win: Control the pace.

Take one look at the scoring averages of both teams and you can guess the styles of basketball they play. East Chicago Central averages 69.2 points per game while allowing 61.1 per game on average. Meanwhile, Mishawaka scores 52.1 points per game, surrendering just 46.2 points per game.

More: Mishawaka seniors again have Riley’s number, this time for 45-43 OT sectional title win

If the Cavemen can slow the game down and play at the pace they want to, they’ll have a shot at winning. Mishawaka thrives off low-scoring games, as 16 of its 19 wins have come while allowing 50 or less points.

It’s much easier said than done slowing down ECC, which has won 16 games in a row. Junior Dominique Murphy leads the way with an average of 21.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Senior Jemeil Rich does a little bit of everything, with averages of 13.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2 steals per game. Junior Yamauree Wallace is effective as well, averaging 12.2 points and 7 rebounds.

Experience could be key for the Cavemen as well. Seniors Brady Fisher, Rasauun Johnson, Cooper Pritchett and Anthony Nelson, alongside junior Jackson Snyder, all played key roles in last year’s postseason run, giving them an advantage over a Cardinals team that hasn’t been in this spot since 2017.

South Bend Saint Joseph (17-9) vs. John Glenn (13-13)

Class 3A South Bend Washington regional, 7 p.m.

How Saint Joseph can win: The stars play like stars.

If Chase Konieczny plays like he did during the sectional, it could be a long night for Glenn. The junior combined for 57 points and 21 rebounds in two wins over Mishawaka Marian and South Bend Clay, bolstering his case to be selected as an Indiana Junior All-Star.

'Special talent': Konieczny powers Saint Joseph boys basketball to sectional title over Clay

Konieczny is averaging 19.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for the season, while senior Jayce Lee is right behind with 15.3 points and 5.3 rebounds on average. Big performances from those two will go a long way in helping the Huskies win.

How John Glenn can win: Muck up the game.

Similar to what Mishawaka needs to do, Glenn has to find a way to slow the game down. Fifty-two is the magic number for the Falcons, as all 13 of its wins have come when holding its opponents below that threshold. Saint Joseph scores a shade under 69 points per game on average, 13th best in the state.

Glenn doesn’t have a deep rotation, relying mostly on six players. Four of them were on last year’s team that was in a similar position, entering a regional final against a South Bend team as an underdog. Glenn beat Washington, 58-54, that day, with now-senior Joe Chrapliwy hitting a ‘3’ with 20 seconds remaining — then blocking a shot with six seconds to go — to help his team win. Will history repeat itself Saturday night?

From January: How Glenn flipped the script on LaVille in the boys basketball Bi-County finals

Fairfield (19-6) vs. Hammond Bishop Noll (20-7)

Class 3A Triton regional, 7 p.m.

How Fairfield can win: Three-point shooting and defense.

A big reason why the Falcons defeated reigning 3A state champion NorthWood in the sectional final last week was its three-point shooting. Fairfield made 8-of-16 attempts from beyond the arc, including five from senior Carson Smith, in the 50-39 victory.

More: Ranking the top 10 regional games this weekend

The Falcons aren’t flashy, but they’ve been effective in what they do. They don’t have a player averaging more than 11 points per game, but its main eight contributors all shoot 38% or better from the field. They’ve also allowed just 41 points per game, 12th-best in the state.

Noll enters Saturday winners of 13 of its last 14 games. Three seniors average double-digit scoring for Noll: Caleb Parks (15.5), Jaedin Reyna (11.5) and Amauri Moore (11.1).

Elkhart Christian Academy (16-9) vs. Tri-County (14-11)

Class 1A North Judson-San Pierre regional, 5 p.m. ET

How ECA can win: Let Aiden Hibbard do his thing.

The Eagles will have the best player on the court Saturday in Hibbard, who averages 22.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 3.9 steals per game. Similar to Konieczny, if Hibbard plays like he did during the sectional, ECA has a good chance to win its first regional title in program history.

Marquette Catholic (11-15) vs. DeMotte Christian (19-7)

Class 1A South Bend Washington regional, 4 p.m.

How Marquette Catholic can win: Learn from past mistakes.

Marquette and DeMotte played a month ago, with the Knights prevailing, 73-63. The game was tied at 17 after the first quarter before DeMotte slowly built its lead over the next three periods, coming away with the victory.

A key stat the Blazers will want to flip this time around is rebounds. The Knights grabbed 29 rebounds compared to 22 for Marquette in the Feb. 6 encounter, limiting the possessions for the Blazers. DeMotte also had three more assists and two less turnovers than Marquette.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: How each area boys basketball team can win a regional title Saturday