Four Classes, One Stage: Complete Preview of 2026 IHSAA Boys Basketball State Finals

Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will host something extraordinary on Saturday, March 28: four consecutive Indiana boys basketball state championship games, one per class, running from a 10:30 a.m. tip through a prime-time nightcap that won't start until roughly 8:15 p.m. Eight programs earned their way to downtown Indianapolis. Their stories could not be more different.

How to get there and how to watch

The full schedule is set: Class 1A tips off at 10:30 a.m. (Triton vs. Barr-Reeve), Class 2A follows at approximately 12:45 p.m. (Westview vs. Parke Heritage), Class 3A goes at 6 p.m. (Cathedral vs. New Haven), and Class 4A closes the night at approximately 8:15 p.m. (Crown Point vs. Mt. Vernon).

Tickets are $20 per person and reserved for one two-game session. All tickets are digital-only through your mobile phone and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com (service fees apply) or in person at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse box office. The Ticketmaster fee brings the all-in price to $24.75. All four games will be streamed live via pay-per-view on IHSAAtv.org, where you can pay $20 per game or $25 for all four.

Class 1A: Barr-Reeve vs. Triton — 10:30 a.m.

Barr-Reeve (27-1) has won 18 straight games. This is the eighth time the Vikings have made it to state, and they are looking for their third championship, having previously won in 2015 and 2021. The Vikings' road to Gainbridge included a tense postseason: they had two one-possession wins in the state tournament, beating West Washington 55-53 in the regional championship and Liberty Christian 39-37 in the semistate — before Kierson Lengacher took over in the semistate final. Barr-Reeve's record heading to the state final stands at 27-1. Lengacher canned 29 points to help the No. 2 Vikings claim their first semistate crown since 2021 with a 52-47 win over No. 3 Hauser.

Standing in their way is a Triton program making a long-awaited return. Triton (25-3) is returning to the state finals for the first time since 2013, when it lost to Borden. The Trojans have won 15 straight games and lost just one game to a 1A team all season, falling to Kouts in January. Their other two losses came to NorthWood (3A) and Bremen (2A). Triton beat Tri-County and North Vermillion in semistate to earn this appearance. They have one state championship in program history, winning in 2008 against Lutheran. It will be the first meeting between two schools who combine for 13 championship game appearances.

Class 2A: Westview vs. Parke Heritage — approx. 12:45 p.m.

This matchup is defined by one program chasing history and another hungry to finally break through. Westview (27-1) is the clear favorite on paper. The Warriors have won 26 straight games, with their only loss of the season coming to Northridge, a 4A school, by 12 points on December 1. Their tournament path was similarly dominant: the Warriors defeated Fort Wayne Luers 69-48 in the Class 2A north semistate final after beating Lapel 65-62 in the semifinals earlier that day. Westview is chasing program legacy: they are on a 26-game winning streak, looking for their third state title and first since 2000. Senior Treigh Schelsky leads the Warriors at 15.9 points per game.

Parke Heritage arrives as a true first-timer with momentum. The Wolves (26-4) have won 13 straight games and beat Triton Central and Linton-Stockton in semistate. This is only the second time Parke Heritage has made the state championship game; their other appearance was in 2021, where they lost to Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian. The Wolves are looking to capture their first state title in school history. Over the last four years, no program in Class 2A has been more consistent: four straight sectional titles (a Parke County record) and four straight trips to semistate. For all that sustained excellence, Saturday is the first crack at a championship. Head coach Rich Schelsky carries a record of 168-58 at Parke Heritage in his eight years with the program.

Class 3A: Cathedral vs. New Haven — 6 p.m.

The evening session opens with the most credentialed program in the field squaring off against a Cinderella that just won't stop. Cathedral (24-5) knocked out the top two teams in Class 3A on a single Saturday to get here. "The Fighting Irish are battle tested and led by senior stars Keaton Aldridge and Julien Smith, who both average over 15 points per game." Cathedral held off No. 10 Brebeuf Jesuit 69-67 in the regional final, then at semistate avenged an earlier loss to Princeton before beating No. 1 Silver Creek 73-68 — a result that removed the tournament's top-ranked team and signaled that this Cathedral group is built for exactly this kind of pressure. The Fighting Irish are playing for their third state title.

New Haven (22-7) is the underdog, but the Bulldogs have earned the right to be here. "New Haven enters the championship game playing with house money. The Bulldogs lost their last two games of the regular season but have gotten hot at the right time, taking out No. 9 West Lafayette by 15 in regionals and No. 6 Columbia City for a second time this season in the semistate final." The defining moment of their run came in that semistate: junior guard Tarver Baskerville hit the game-winning shot against Columbia City with less than 3 seconds remaining, sending New Haven to its first state finals appearance. The Bulldogs are looking to win the school's first state title in any sport. That context transforms a 22-7 record from a liability into a storyline.

Class 4A: Crown Point vs. Mt. Vernon — approx. 8:15 p.m.

Both schools are playing in their first boys basketball state championship game. That shared first-timer status makes this nightcap genuinely unpredictable — and the teams already know each other well. It's a rematch of the Hall of Fame Classic championship, a game Crown Point won 60-56 on December 23.

Crown Point (25-1) suffered its only loss of the season to Gary 21st Century, a 2A school, on January 31. In semistate, Crown Point beat Northridge 46 and Fort Wayne Snider 47 on the way to a championship win over Northridge, 66-40. The Bulldogs' semistate run included a bench contribution from Michael Wilson, who came off the bench during the championship run, part of a roster depth that has defined Crown Point all season.

Mt. Vernon (Fortville) enters as the hottest team in the field's biggest class. The Marauders (27-3) have won 10 straight games. In their postseason run, they knocked off Pike in the regional championship, avenging their regular-season loss to the Red Devils. Mt. Vernon then beat Decatur Central 66-46 and outlasted New Albany 77-69 in semistate to reach Gainbridge. The engine of their run is a player destined for the next level: the Marauders are led by Purdue commit Luke Ertel, who delivered a triple-double against New Albany to send Mt. Vernon to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The bigger picture

Every class carries a genuine historical stake on Saturday. Barr-Reeve wants a third banner. Westview wants to end a 26-year drought. Parke Heritage and Crown Point are chasing a first title ever. New Haven is playing for the first championship trophy in any sport in school history. Cathedral is the only team on the floor with multiple rings to their name, and they demolished the top two seeds last Saturday to prove they intend to add another.

Eight teams, four classes, one stage. The gates open at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday morning and don't close until crown-wearers from four corners of Indiana walk off the floor.