Basketball Previews

TODAY

No. 1 Covington (18-1) at North Putnam (7-14)

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.

The coaches: Adam Ballard is in his third year at Covington. Collin McCartt is in his fourth year at North Putnam.

Special events: Senior Night.

Season recap: Covington’s only loss came to Class 3A West Lafayette The Cougars have lost three straight games after winning their previous two outings.

Opponents’ records: Covington 166-194, NP 210-205.

Per-game averages: Offense – Cov 70.0 (18th best in state), NP 54.5. Defense – Cov 43.3 (20th best in state), NP 58.6.

The history: Covington won 70-61 at home last year, and holds a 14-6 record in the series over the past 30 years.

Key players: Senior guard Spencer Pettit leads the Trojans with 19.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore Colton Brown adds 11.9 points per game and senior Aiden Tanner adds 10.3. Elliot Gross, Caleb Duncan and Andrew Pickel lead the Cougars in scoring.

Indianapolis Manual (13-7) at Cloverdale (15-5)

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.

The coaches: Donnie Bowling is in his third year at Manual. Patrick Rady is in his third year at Cloverdale.

Season recap: The Redskins have won three straight games and four of their last five. The Clovers have won eight of nine games in 2018, losing only at Class 3A No. 7 Danville.

Opponents’ records: Manual 171-155, Cloverdale 211-185.

Per-game averages: Offense – IM 66.7 (41st best in state), Clov 65.7. Defense – IM 53.5, Clov 58.8.

The history: The teams have not played in the past 30 years.

Key players: Manual’s Jalen Johnson (6-8 junior) leads the team in scoring at 21.9 and in rebounding at 5.6. Senior Joshua Pack adds 11.0 points per game and junior Wilante Hankston adds 10.1. Cloverdale’s Jalen Moore leads the state in scoring at 38.0 points per game and is the 22nd-leading scorer in Indiana boys’ basketball history. Jake Wilkes adds 9.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Owen Valley (8-12) at South Putnam (9-11)

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.

The coaches: Roger Fleetwood is in his second year at Owen Valley. Greg Dean is in his fourth year at South Putnam.

Season recap: Owen Valley has won two of its past three games. South Putnam has won three of its past four games.

Opponents’ records: OV 231-176, SP 192-208.

Per-game averages: Offense – OV 46.9, SP 47.2. Defense – OV 56.6, SP 51.3.

The history: Owen Valley won 47-35 at South Putnam on Jan. 26 in the WIC crossover round. Over the past 30 years, Owen Valley leads the series 25-8.

Key players: Senior Isaac Wood leads the Patriots in scoring at 11.2 points per game, while freshman Stephon Atkinson adds 10.1 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds. Allen Plunkett leads South Putnam in scoring (18.8) and rebounding (6.3), while Dalton Scott adds 7.8 points and Thomas Fanning 7.0.

SATURDAY

Greencastle (13-6) at Owen Valley

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.

Greencastle coach: Bryce Rector (second year).

Greencastle season recap: Greencastle had a three-game winning streak broken by Cloverdale in the championship game of the Putnam County Classic.

Greencastle opponents’ records: 197-178.

Greencastle per-game averages: Offense – 52.1. Defense – 49.7.

The history: Owen Valley won 46-38 at Greencastle last year, and has a 22-7 record in the series over the past 30 years.

Key Greencastle players: Colin York leads the Tiger Cubs in scoring with 20.7 points per game, while Gavin Bollman adds 10.7 points and 10.2 rebounds and Brody Whitaker adds 10.2 points per game.

South Putnam at North Vermillion (11-11)

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.

NV coach: John Berning (second year).

NV season recap: The Falcons have won two straight games after losing four of their previous five.

NV opponents’ records: 123-191.

NV per-game averages: Offense – 50.6. Defense – 48.3.

The history: South Putnam won 44-37 at home last year, and has a 16-6 series record over the past 30 years.

Cloverdale at Shakamak (8-12)

Shakamak coach: Nate O’Neall is in his second year at Shakamak.

Shakamak season recap: Shakamak broke a two-game losing streak on Tuesday with a win at North Daviess.

Shakamak opponents’ records: 171-207

Shakamak per-game averages: Offense – 42.9. Defense – 47.8.

The history: Cloverdale won 84-45 at home last year. Shakamak has a 12-7 lead in the series over the past 30 years.