2026 IHSAA Boys Sectional Pairings Released For South Bend Area

The 116th annual IHSAA boys basketball state tournament is ready to start." The annual blind draw released Feb. 22 produced the sectional brackets that kick off sectional week March 3-7, and it left a notable contradiction: bracket pages list South Bend Saint Joseph in the Mishawaka-hosted 4A bracket, while the IHSAA's official assignments place South Bend Saint Joseph in Class 4A Sectional 19 at New Prairie.

The Mishawaka-hosted Class 4A Sectional 3 schedule published with local times shows Mishawaka facing South Bend Adams Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m., Penn meeting Michigan City Wednesday, March 4, at 6 p.m., and South Bend Riley facing LaPorte Wednesday, March 4, at 7:45 p.m. The bracket pairs the listed Game 1 winner with South Bend Saint Joseph on Friday, March 6, at 6 p.m., with the other quarterfinal and semifinal lines set for March 6 and a sectional championship scheduled Saturday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. Notably, the IHSAA official sectional assignments list Sectional 3 teams as LaPorte, Michigan City, Mishawaka, Penn, South Bend Adams and South Bend Riley, and do not include South Bend Saint Joseph.

Class 1A Sectional 52 at Bethany Christian is set with FW Canterbury vs. Hamilton Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m.; Lakewood Park Christian vs. Smith Academy Wednesday, March 4, at 6 p.m.; and Bethany Christian vs. Lakeland Christian Wednesday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. The bracket pairs the Fremont opponent against the Game 1 winner on Friday, March 6, at 6 p.m., with the Game 2 winner meeting the Game 3 winner Friday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m., and the sectional championship Saturday, March 7, at 7 p.m.

At LaVille-hosted Class 2A Sectional 34, the opening day matchups list Bremen vs LaVille and Winamac vs Knox on March 3, with Bremen or LaVille projected to meet Career Academy on March 6 and Jimtown slated to face Winamac or Knox March 6. The bracket narrative captures the local stakes plainly: "Winamac spots the same record through Feb. 22, though, and could prevent Bremen from winning its first sectional title since 1999." The draw text continues, "Bremen drew rival and host LaVille (14-8) to start, while Winamac would have to get past Jimtown (14-7) in a potential semifinal clash."

The area-wide draw covers eight South Bend-area sectionals, including Culver Community-hosted Class 1A Sectional 51, which pairs Trinity Greenlawn vs Triton March 3 and Oregon-Davis vs Argos March 3, with Culver Community meeting North Judson-San Pierre Wednesday, March 4, at 8 p.m. Other nearby Class 2A sectionals listed include Sectional 35 at Westview and Sectional 38 at Manchester with their March 3 opening games and March 7 championships.

Beyond sectionals, the statewide postseason timeline moves quickly: regional games are scheduled for March 14, the semistate pairings show March 15 with semistate games March 21, and the state finals are set for March 28. With sectional week tipping Tuesday, March 3, the winners will begin the push toward regionals March 14; meanwhile the mismatch between published brackets and the IHSAA's official sectional assignments for South Bend Saint Joseph stands as the principal item needing clarification before teams hit the floor.