We covered the toughest sectional draws for Indiana high school boys basketball teams with a legitimate opportunity to make a tournament run. Now we take a look at the teams that had to nod in agreement when they saw their names on the screen for Sunday’s draw. Here are 10 teams with an advantageous draw in next week’s sectional tournament:

Avon

Avon (13-10) has struggled a bit since winning the Hendricks County tournament, though a more difficult schedule has contributed to losing seven of 10 games.

The Orioles, led by sophomore Jedidiah Minnett (13.3 ppg) and juniors Deandre Lott-Hancock (10.5 ppg, 7.0 rebounds), Kendrick Dunmore (8.8 ppg, 7.1 rebounds), Rashod Bethley (8.0 ppg) and Rohan Pearson (6.6 ppg, 3.5 rebounds), will look to put it together again in Class 4A Sectional 12 at Terre Haute South.

Avon, though drawing the host team, probably ended up with the best draw possible. The Orioles will play Terre Haute South (10-10) in the semifinal on Friday. Avon beat Terre Haute South, led by senior guard Zayvion Baker (19.3 ppg), 68-55 on Dec. 8. Terre Haute North (20-3) has the bye into the other semifinal against the winner of Tuesday’s game between Plainfield (14-7) and Brownsburg (13-11).

Avon split games with Brownsburg and Plainfield and did not play Terre Haute North.

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Batesville

Batesville (16-5) is looking for its first sectional championship in five years. Coach Aaron Garrett’s team has won seven of its past eight games and probably is a slight favorite going into Class 3A Sectional 29 at Greensburg.

The Bulldogs are just 4-3 against the sectional field but those losses to Greensburg, Connersville and South Dearborn came by a combined 13 points. And guess what? Batesville, led by junior Cade Kaiser (15.0 ppg, 5.4 rebounds) and seniors Sam Johnson (12.8 ppg, 5.9 rebounds) and Jack Grunkemeyer (9.7 ppg, 6.1 rebounds), has a chance to avenge all three of those losses.

The Bulldogs will open on Wednesday against South Dearborn (12-9) and then would see either Franklin County (7-14) or Connersville (5-18) on Friday. Those are winnable games. The next-best teams in the sectional are probably Greensburg (16-7) and Lawrenceburg (15-7) on the other side of the bracket.

Cathedral

There is little advantage in the always-tough Sectional 10 at Lawrence North. But the bye is certainly welcome in the seven-team field. Cathedral (16-5) had it last year and defeated Warren Central and Crispus Attucks to win the sectional at Warren Central.

The eighth-ranked Irish could have a similar path this year with the bye into the semifinal and a matchup with either Lawrence Central (11-9) or Warren Central (13-10) on Friday. Coach Jason Delaney’s team, led by junior Brady Koehler (16.3 ppg, 6.6 rebounds) and sophomore Keaton Aldridge (16.2 ppg, 6.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists), is probably one of the three favorites here with No. 5 Lawrence North (21-3) and No. 7 Crispus Attucks (18-6) … but would only have to defeat one for the championship.

Getting two wins in Sectional 10 is certainly not easy but better two than three.

Danville

Class 3A second-ranked Danville (18-2) is the two-time defending sectional champion and is the favorite to win No. 3 in Sectional 25 at Lebanon.

Danville, which is 6-0 against the sectional field, also picked up a good draw with Western Boone (3-18) in the first round on Tuesday and Crawfordsville (7-13) in the sectional semifinal on Friday night. The Warriors defeated Western Boone by 25 points and Crawfordsville by 19 during the regular season.

The toughest competition is on the other side of the bracket. Tri-West (16-6) is probably the team Danville will see in the championship, though Lebanon (9-13) is solid, and Monrovia (11-11) has won eight of its past 10.

The Warriors are led by senior Evan Lawrence (13.5 ppg, 11.3 rebounds), junior Jace Scrafton (11.8 ppg, 4.8 rebounds), sophomore Elijah Tricker (10.8 ppg, 5.1 assists) and senior Zachary Waits (9.4 ppg, 2.8 rebounds).

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Decatur Central

The Hawks (13-7) are certainly not the favorite in Class 4A Sectional 11 at Southport. That would be defending state champion Ben Davis (16-5).

But the good news for Decatur Central is that the Giants are on the opposite side of the bracket. The Hawks, who have not won a sectional championship since 2005, will play the winner of Roncalli (13-8) and Franklin Central (10-13) in the semifinal on Friday.

Decatur Central should take a five-game winning streak into that game. The Hawks are led by senior KC Berry (16.2 ppg) and junior Melakih Cunningham (14.8 ppg, 8.1 rebounds).

Fort Wayne Wayne

The Generals (18-3) won a sectional last year for the first time since 1994 and then defeated Noblesville to win the program’s first regional championship since 1981. Wayne, though unranked, looks loaded for a similar run with senior guard Jevon Lewis (19.2 ppg, 7.5 assists) and juniors H.J. Dillard (13.2 ppg, 10.6 rebounds) and Chase Barnes (11.9 ppg, 4.5 rebounds) as experienced team leaders.

The Sectional 6 field at Homestead is not as strong as it is some years. Wayne also benefitted from drawing Fort Wayne South Side (7-15) in the first round on Tuesday. The Generals beat the Archers by 17 points earlier this month. New Haven (6-16), which lost to Wayne 98-61 in December, would be the semifinal matchup.

Homestead (12-11) and Columbia City (15-7), the next-strongest teams in the sectional, are on the opposite side of the bracket. Homestead played Wayne to a 58-52 loss two weeks ago.

Greenwood Christian

Greenwood Christian did not benefit from the first draw. But the IHSAA forgot to put Central Christian in the original Class A Sectional 59 bracket at Lutheran and the Cougars (13-7) came out much better for it.

This will not be an easy sectional to win with defending state champion Lutheran (12-8) and Tindley (14-8) in this top-heavy seven-team field. But Greenwood Christian, led by senior Max Booher, a 1,000-point scorer, is on the opposite side from Lutheran and Tindley. The Cougars lost to Lutheran in the sectional championship each of the past two seasons.

Mt. Vernon

OK, probably not ideal to see New Palestine (18-5) in the first round of Class 4A Sectional 9 at Greenfield-Central. But the Marauders knocked off Dragons (who were playing without junior Ben Slagley) 66-44 on Tuesday with five players in double figures.

Mt. Vernon (14-8) is playing with sophomore Luke Ertel (16.0 ppg, 2.8 assists in four games), giving coach Joe Bradburn’s team a full lineup going into next week. The other benefit is that Greenfield-Central (21-0), Richmond (19-3) and Anderson (17-5) are on the other side of the bracket. If Mt. Vernon defeats New Palestine, it will see Pendleton Heights (10-12) in Friday’s semifinal.

Mt. Vernon won the sectional in 2021 and ’22 before losing to New Palestine in last year’s sectional championship.

Orleans

Sectional 63 at Loogootee is always one of the toughest in Class A. This year is no different. Third-ranked Orleans (19-2), in search of its first sectional title since 2015, was probably the biggest beneficiary of the sectional draw in this seven-team field.

The Bulldogs play a first-round game on Tuesday night vs. Shoals (9-13), a team it defeated by 46 points two weeks ago. Orleans would then play Vincennes Rivet (5-15) in the semifinal round. A win there would give coach Tom Bradley 400 in his 25 seasons at Orleans.

It would also set up Orleans in the championship game — probably against No. 1 Barr-Reeve (19-2) or No. 7 Loogootee (14-7). Barr-Reeve beat Orleans 40-37 in three overtimes in December; Orleans beat Loogootee 35-32 on Feb. 1. The Bulldogs are led by junior Rylan Crocker (14.2 ppg, 47% 3-pointers) and seniors Ian Hall (10.4 ppg, 4.0 rebounds) and Xavier Alston (10.1 ppg, 4.7 rebounds).

Twin Lakes

The Indians (17-6) won sectional titles two of the past three seasons and coach Kent Adams might have a team that can do it again in Class 3A Sectional 28 at Frankfort.

Twin Lakes, led by seniors Jamison Ousley (20.5 ppg, 4.4 rebounds), Gavin Businger (10.8 ppg, 3.3 assists) and Avery Condo (8.4 ppg, 41% 3-pointers), is 5-0 against the sectional field, including wins over Benton Central (14-8) and West Lafayette (15-6), who meet in the first round on Wednesday.

Twin Lakes opens with Western (5-16) and would then see North Montgomery (10-12) in the semifinal. Western did play Twin Lakes to a triple-overtime loss in November, however.

Five more …

∎ Fort Wayne Concordia: The Cadets (11-11) are probably a slight favorite in Class 3A Sectional 21 at Woodlan and are opposite Woodlan (14-7) and Leo (10-12), who play each other in the first round on Wednesday. Concordia would have to get through Garrett (5-16) and Angola (8-14) to reach the championship.

∎ Bloomington South: This is not Bloomington South’s best team in all-time coaching wins leader J.R. Holmes’ 54 years. But the Panthers (14-9) do have a decent draw in Sectional 13 at Bloomington North with Greenwood (8-13) in the first round and Martinsville (3-18) in the semifinal. Center Grove (16-4) and Bloomington North (11-11) are on the other side.

∎ Tippecanoe Valley: The Vikings (14-8) are the only team with a winning record in Class 3A Sectional 18 at Tippecanoe Valley. The next-best team, Culver Academy (7-13), has a tougher game against John Glenn (10-12) on the other side of the five-team bracket. Tippecanoe Valley opens in the semifinal with Knox (6-14), a team it defeated by 22 points.

∎ Gary 21st Century: The Cougars (16-6) open play in Class 2A Sectional 33 against Gary Lighthouse (6-9) on Tuesday and then would play Whiting (2-20) on Friday. Andrean (12-10), Bowman Academy (10-12) and Illiana Christian (14-8) are on the opposite side.

∎ Oldenburg Academy: Oldenburg Academy (11-10) has two sectional titles (2014 and 2020) to its credit and could win another one in Class A Sectional 60 at Edinburgh. The Twisters received the bye into the semifinal and will see Morristown (4-17) or Southwestern (3-16). Oldenburg lost to Edinburgh (10-10) and Jac-Cen-Del (9-13), two teams it could see in the championship.

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

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school basketball tournament: Best IHSAA sectional draws