Here we go. The high school boys basketball sectional draw was revealed Sunday night and the path is set to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The sectional games will be played Feb. 27 through March 2 (a reminder there will be an extra week between the semistate and the state finals on March 30 due to the NCAA tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse):

Here are my big takeaways, reminders and observations from Sunday’s sectional draw:

IHSAA basketball sectional draw: Check out the statewide brackets

Fishers’ prize

All Fishers did this season was go 21-1 and rise to the top of the Class 4A poll. What does that get the Tigers going into the sectional? Not much.

The one team that defeated Fishers — Carmel — popped up across from the Tigers in the Sectional 8 bracket at Noblesville. The Greyhounds snapped Fishers’ 16-game winning streak with a 54-46 home win over the Tigers on Jan. 27. Carmel started 5-9 but has since won seven of its past eight games to improve to 11-10. Wins over previously undefeated and No. 1 Fishers and Lawrence North are among those wins for Carmel.

So yeah, not ideal for Fishers — or Carmel, for that matter. The only real winners in the Sectional 8 draw were No. 3 Westfield (18-2) and Hamilton Southeastern (15-7). Both teams received the bye into the Friday night (March 1) sectional semifinal. The Fishers-Carmel winner will play HSE.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Noblesville (19-2) will play Zionsville (11-11) with Westfield awaiting the winner. Defending sectional champ Noblesville is 3-2 against the sectional field with losses to Fishers and Westfield.

Fishers is still probably a slight favorite but that is a tough, tough draw.

Cathedral gets the bye again in Sectional 10

Like it did last year, No. 8 Cathedral (15-5) received the bye in Sectional 10 at Lawrence North. The Irish, a 4A state champion two years, ago have won back-to-back sectional titles. The Irish will play the winner of Lawrence Central (11-8) and Warren Central (12-10) in Friday’s semifinal round.

There is plenty of intrigue on the other side of the bracket, where fourth-ranked Lawrence North (20-3) looked like the potential favorite to win state after a 17-0 start but has since split six meetings. The Wildcats will play North Central (14-7) in the first round. Lawrence North defeated North Central by 20 points and by two points in back-to-back weeks in January. City champion Crispus Attucks (18-5) will play Tech (14-7) in the other first-round game.

The potential is there for a City champion (Attucks) vs. County champion (Lawrence North) semifinal game in Sectional 10. Lawrence North won 72-71 in the first meeting between the teams on Dec. 19.

The Wildcats are 6-0 against Sectional 10 opponents but have not played Cathedral.

Dynamite games at Greenfield-Central

Class 4A sixth-ranked Greenfield-Central (21-0) is the last of the unbeaten teams but that means nothing going into Sectional 9.

The Cougars, led by junior Braylon Mullins, probably would have preferred to see anybody but Anderson (17-5) in the first round. But guess what? Anderson will be Greenfield-Central’s opponent for the third consecutive year. The Indians won the previous two meetings, though the program is still in search of its first sectional title since 2009.

The winner of that game will play the winner of Richmond (19-3) vs. Muncie Central (7-14). Coach Billy Wright’s Richmond team is looking for its first sectional title since 2015.

Another tremendous first-round game in Sectional 9 pits New Palestine (18-4) against Mt. Vernon (13-8). New Pal is the defending sectional champ. A preview of that game will be played on Tuesday at Mt. Vernon. Pendleton Heights (10-12) has the bye and will play the New Pal-Mt. Vernon winner.

I’m not sure there is a favorite in this incredibly balanced sectional.

Defending state champ draws rival

Can Ben Davis repeat as state champions?

The seventh-ranked Giants (15-5) are not as deep (or tall) as a year ago but will be the favorite in Sectional 11 at Southport. I would expect a first-round game against Pike (6-14) to be tougher than the Red Devils’ record might suggest.

Franklin Central (10-13) is 6-1 against sectional opponents, including a win over Ben Davis. But the Flashes, who open with Roncalli (12-8), have lost seven of their past nine games. Southport (8-11), which could be Ben Davis’ semifinal opponent, has been playing well and Decatur Central (12-7) received the bye to see either Franklin Central or Roncalli.

Elsewhere in 4A …

∎ Brownsburg (13-10) vs. Plainfield (13-7) in the first round of the five-team Sectional 12 at Terre Haute South is intriguing. The winner of that game has to travel back to Terre Haute to play Terre Haute North (20-3) in the semifinal. Tough. Avon (13-10) has to feel great about its draw, though play at Terre Haute South (9-10) is not ideal either. That is a wide-open sectional. Terre Haute North beat Plainfield by two points three weeks ago. Brownsburg has not played Plainfield or Terre Haute North.

∎ Center Grove (15-4) is a significant favorite in Sectional 13 at Bloomington North and Franklin (15-3) in Sectional 14 at East Central. Same for Flory Bidunga and Kokomo in Sectional 7 at Lafayette Jeff. The fifth-ranked Wildkats (21-3) will play Harrison (West Lafayette) (11-11) in the first round, then likely Lafayette Jeff (12-8) and Marion (8-12).

Regional matchups

This is your reminder the tournament format changed last year to a one-game regional. On the draw show, the regional matchups were also unveiled. In Class 4A the winner of Sectional 10 will play the winner of Sectional 12 in the regional and the winner of Sectional 9 vs. Sectional 11. Also, we could see Center Grove vs. Franklin in the regional.

Other regional matchups you could see in 4A: East Chicago Central/Lake Central (Sectional 1) vs. South Bend Riley (Sectional 3) and Kokomo (Sectional 7) vs. Noblesville sectional winner (Sectional 8).

Semistate pairings

The pairings for the semistate will be drawn March 10, the day after the regional games. Each site will have four teams from the same class play two semifinal games followed by a championship at night. The sites in the north are Michigan City, Elkhart, Logansport and Lafayette Jeff and are New Castle, Southport, Seymour and Washington in the south.

On Guerin-Brebeuf rematch

The Class 3A state championship favorite could emerge from Sectional 27 at Guerin Catholic.

Guerin (16-7) emerged as the sectional champion last year and made a run to the 3A state finals. The Golden Eagles have a lot of players back from that team but lost to Brebeuf Jesuit (14-5) on Jan. 19 by nine points.

These teams ended up on opposite sides of the bracket. Guerin will play Herron and then would see Bishop Chatard (9-10) in the sectional semifinal. Brebeuf plays Shortridge (4-19) and then would see Heritage Christian (12-9). Heritage Christian took Brebeuf to overtime last week before losing 81-68.

A dynamite matchup in Class 3A Sectional 31

Class 3A third-ranked Heritage Hills (18-4) has one of the best players in the state in junior Trent Sisley but the Patriots were not helped by the sectional draw with Princeton (15-6) coming up in the first round. Also: Princeton hosts the sectional.

The winner of that game might be the favorite. But not a significant favorite, if at all. Southridge (14-6) is coming off a 12-point win over Heritage Hills this week and Washington (12-8) defeated Princeton in overtime two weeks ago. North Davies (14-8), Pike Central (11-11) and Vincennes Lincoln (10-12) are also good teams. Every team in this sectional has at least one win against another team in the sectional.

Can Jack Benter and Brownstown Central get it done?

Class 2A No. 2 Brownstown Central (19-4) might be the favorite to win a state title. But first things first. Purdue recruit Jack Benter and the Braves will have their hands full in Sectional 46 at Southwestern (Hanover). Brownstown Central opens with Henryville (7-13), then would likely see host and fifth-ranked Southwestern (19-3), followed by No. 5 Providence (16-3).

Brownstown Central, which beat Providence by 13 points earlier this season, barely got past the Pioneers last year in the sectional (44-42) on the way to the semistate final. This is the year for the Braves, but it will not be easy.

Class A takeaways

∎ Defending Class A state champion Lutheran (12-8) was going to have a tough assignment in Sectional 59 regardless of the draw. But the Saints do get to host the seven-team field and received a bye into the semifinal. From there it will get difficult, though, with a likely semifinal matchup against No. 9 Tindley (14-8). Greenwood Christian (12-7) has the advantage on the opposite side of the bracket. Greenwood Christian defeated Lutheran by eight points in early December. The IHSAA had to redraw the Sectional 59 bracket after inadvertently leaving out Central Christian.

∎ Sectional 63 at Loogootee is always one of the toughest in the state, regardless of class. This year is no different. Third-ranked Orleans (19-2), seeking its first sectional title in nine years, received the best draw. Coach Tom Bradley, just two wins from 400, will lead Orleans into a first-round game against Shoals (9-12) and then the Bulldogs would see Vincennes Rivet (5-14) in the semifinal. No. 2 Barr-Reeve (18-2), which defeated Orleans in three overtimes in December, is on the other side with No. 7 Loogootee (13-7). Those teams would meet in the semifinal. Barr-Reeve knocked off Loogootee 43-41 and Orleans beat Loogootee 35-32.

∎ Evansville Christian (20-2) is ranked No. 1 in Class A with losses only to 3A state-ranked Heritage Hills and 4A Jeffersonville. High-scoring guard Josiah Dunham and Co. have a bye in Sectional 64 at Tecumseh, probably playing Northeast Dubois (11-10) in the semifinal. Evansville Christian is a clear favorite here, but the Eagles lost to Northeast Dubois in overtime in last year’s sectional championship and have never won a sectional title.

∎ Liberty Christian (12-9) might be the pick to advance to the state finals in the north half of the Class A bracket. The Lions are young (three of top four scorers are freshmen) but have played a tough schedule with six losses to 4A opponents. Liberty Christian opens in Sectional 55 at Tri-Central against Anderson Prep (4-16) in the five-team sectional. The Lions will have to win three games to win the sectional title for the third consecutive year.

Plenty more to talk about in coming days. Stay tuned.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school basketball sectional draw: Kyle's top takeaways