IHSAA Boys Basketball Sectionals Kick Off March 3 Across Evansville Area

The IHSAA boys basketball state tournament begins this week with the sectional round." Sectional play starts March 3 across the Evansville area, with multiple first-round games scheduled the opening night—Washington (11-11) meets Vincennes Lincoln (11-13) at 5 p.m. CST, Jasper (14-8) faces Gibson Southern (17-6) at 6:30 p.m. CST, Bosse (14-8) opens against Central (8-15) at 5:30 p.m. CST and Mount Vernon (13-10) draws Boonville (18-5) at 7 p.m. CST. Courier & Press lists all times in CST for its Evansville-area schedule.

Friday and Saturday’s set pieces include the Class 4A sectional at North: North (18-5) plays Castle (7-16) Friday, March 6 at 6 p.m. CST, followed by Reitz (10-10) vs Harrison (12-10) at 7:30 p.m. CST, with the sectional championship slated for Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m. CST on the Courier & Press schedule.

The Class 3A Washington sectional is seeded as WEHT’s Sectional 31: Game 1 is Washington vs Vincennes Lincoln and Game 2 is Jasper vs Gibson Southern, with the winner of Game 1 slated to meet Princeton and the winner of Game 2 scheduled to meet Southridge (12-11). Courier & Press lists Princeton as 20-3 and has Princeton playing the Game 1 winner Friday, March 6 at 5:30 p.m. CST; the Courier copy also contains a separate line that lists the Washington sectional championship at 6:30 p.m. on March 7, creating a conflicting championship time (another Courier line shows the title game at 6 p.m.). That discrepancy appears in the source material.

At Boonville (WEHT Sectional 32), Tuesday’s openers are Bosse vs Central at 5:30 p.m. CST and Mt. Vernon vs Boonville at 7 p.m. CST. Memorial (9-13) is scheduled to meet the Game 1 winner Friday at 5:30 p.m. CST, and Heritage Hills (17-6) will face the Game 2 winner Friday at 7 p.m. CST, per Courier & Press and WEHT bracket listings.

Class 1A action is split between Loogootee and Wood Memorial. Loogootee’s Tuesday slate lists Orleans (18-4) vs Washington Catholic (0-22) at 5 p.m. CST and Vincennes Rivet (6-15) vs Medora (13-10) at 6:30 p.m. CST; Wednesday’s Loogootee games include Loogootee (14-8) vs Barr-Reeve (21-1) at 5 p.m. CST and North Daviess (15-8) vs Shoals (7-16) at 6:30 p.m. CST, with Loogootee’s sectional championship shown as Saturday, March 7 at 6 p.m. CST. Wood Memorial opens Tuesday with Wood Memorial (16-7) vs Evansville Christian (9-14) at 5:30 p.m. CST and lists Day School (7-14) vs Cannelton (6-16) Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. CST; WEHT’s Sectional 64 bracket adds Springs Valley vs Northeast Dubois and shows a seeded Tecumseh awaiting the winner of Game 1.

WEHT also supplies bracket numbering and pairings not all printed in the Courier & Press schedule excerpt: Class 4A is Sectional 16; Class 3A Washington is Sectional 31; Boonville is Sectional 32; Wood Memorial is Sectional 64; and WEHT lists a Class 2A Sectional 48 with Pike Central vs Forest Park, North Posey vs Perry Central and Tell City vs Mater Dei among its matchups, with winners to face South Spencer and each other as bracketed.

A notable administrative development appears beside Princeton’s listing: "Princeton has to officially forfeit 15 victories after an accidental 'administrative error' led to an ineligible player playing in all-but one game before Feb. 13." That forfeiture notice sits alongside Princeton’s 20-3 line in the Courier & Press excerpt and raises questions about Princeton’s official postseason record and seeding as printed.

Sectional champions from these March 3-7 games will advance in the IHSAA state tournament bracket; schedules above reflect the Courier & Press times (all times in CST) and WEHT’s sectional brackets as published in local coverage.