SW Indiana boys basketball: 15 games to circle on your calendar for 2023-24 season

EVANSVILLE — High school boys basketball season in Southwestern Indiana officially began last week.

There are plenty of matchups this winter we're excited to see. One early-season tournament will feature some of the best basketball players in the area. And a couple of teams will face opponents who recently played in IHSAA state championships.

So let's take a look at 15 of the best boys basketball games to watch this season, listed by date:

Heritage Hills vs. Evansville Christian (Saturday at Brownsburg)

Two of Southwestern Indiana's top high school basketball players will square off against each other: Patriots junior and reigning All-SW Indiana Player of the Year Trent Sisley and Eagles senior Josiah Dunham. Both players have averaged over 24 points per game last season. This is also the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Bosse vs. Cathedral (Saturday at Brownsburg)

In the same tournament as Heritage Hills-ECS, the Bulldogs face an early test in the Fighting Irish, who are two seasons removed from winning the Class 4A state championship. Cathedral graduated many of its top scorers, but Bosse still has senior Taray Howell, who averaged 23.2 PPG last season.

North Posey at Heritage Hills (Dec. 8)

We should have another exciting matchup between the Vikings and the Patriots. Three of their last four meetings were decided by less than 10 points. A combined nine points decided their last two — each team has a victory in that span.

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North at Reitz (Dec. 12)

The Hill should be rocking on this evening as the Huskies and the Panthers have combined to win seven of the last nine sectional 16 championships. Both teams still possess star power, from North senior Brayden Huebner to Reitz sophomore Braylen Langley, who averaged 17.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last season, respectively.

Memorial at Bosse (Dec. 12)

It's fun whenever these two teams play. Their recent matchups have been down to the wire, including Bosse's 66-63 victory when they last met in the postseason. Memorial's last road victory at Bosse was in 2011.

South Spencer at Gibson Southern (Dec. 15)

The Titans won their first sectional title since 2002 last season and will host the two-time defending Pocket Athletic Conference champion Rebels. Gibson Southern, who last won the PAC in 2017, aims to snap a five-game skid to South Spencer.

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Castle at Reitz (Dec. 15)

This exciting slate of games continues at The Hill. The Knights may have graduated their top scorer and rebounder, current University of Evansville player Wes Aigner, but their roster still carries plenty of experience with seniors like Ryan Lambert and Ayden McAtee.

Heritage Hills at Memorial (Dec. 15)

This is the first opportunity to see Sisley play in the City this year. While he totaled a game-high 26 points and six rebounds against the Tigers last season, Memorial senior Tucker Tornatta also had a dominant outing in his team's victory (22 points, 14 rebounds).

Heritage Hills vs. South Spencer (Dec. 29 at Perry-Spencer Tournament)

A good Spencer County rivalry soon awaits before the New Year. Rebels junior Ty Brown is also an elite scorer for his team and provides many exciting moments. He had 25 points in South Spencer's previous meeting against Heritage Hills.

Evansville Christian at Linton-Stockton (Jan. 5)

How about this matchup for the Eagles? The defending state runner-up Miners just graduated one of their best players in school history, current Kentucky Wildcat Joey Hart. Linton is younger this season but still has 11 straight 20-win seasons. Matt Britton, formerly with South Spencer, is in his first year coaching the team.

Castle at Memorial (Jan. 5)

Another marquee matchup at this midway point of the season and a critical one in terms of Southern Indiana Athletic Conference standings. The Knights have won five straight against the Tigers and scored over 60 points in all those meetings.

Princeton at Gibson Southern (Jan. 12)

Both teams went back and forth with each other in last season's meeting at Princeton — the Tigers won the matchup 45-43 and had the game-winner within the final 15 seconds. The Titans, who last defeated Princeton in 2016, look for revenge in the newest chapter of this Gibson County rivalry.

Reitz at Memorial (Feb. 1)

Another top rivalry in the City takes place in the final month of the regular season. Memorial looks to get back in the win column in this series after dropping four straight games to Reitz. The Tigers have been limited to less than 50 points in the last two contests.

Harrison at Reitz (Feb. 9)

Likely the biggest game of the season in the City. These teams have won the last four SIAC titles, so can one of them come away with the championship once again? The Warriors' 47-45 victory against the Panthers helped propel them to their first SIAC title since 2014.

Bosse at Harrison (Feb. 16)

Despite its ending, Warriors coach Nathan Fleenor called his team's previous home meeting with the Bulldogs "the best basketball game of the year." So what will this year's installment of Harrison-Bosse bring? Warriors junior Shane Sims will certainly be a player to watch after totaling 25 points and nine assists in last season's meeting.

Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Twashington490.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA basketball: 15 best games to watch in SW Indiana in 2023-24