The Region is looking up this year, and these two teams are both off to good starts. Munster is getting great production from transfer Brandon Trilli (Desert Vista, AZ), and a strong sophomore class led by David Cundiff means the future is bright for the Mustangs.

Mighty might, Drew Adzia is a leader on the court, and he's seen production go up each season. TJ Lux is one of the top shooters in the junior class, and at 6'5" and a quick release, he is able to elevate over defenders.

It's the best start at North Central since the 2016-2017 season. Certainly the best start in the post Doug Mitchell era. The Panthers are playing hard and competing defensively. Joey Brown leads a cast of role players, and the transfer of David Lloyd from Noblesville is paying early dividends.

As good of a run this has been for Carmel the last decade, it's not uncommon for them to soak up a couple of early season losses on a loaded schedule. Peter Suder is doing his part, and when the others (mainly Charlie Williams and Sam Orme) are aggressive, they have a long versatile attack with enough shooting on the fringe. They will always guard.

Floyd Central has won the last five outings, and they bring in a great deal of experiece and length into this matchup. Caleb Washington is the goto for FC, but a strong group of seniors can all score. The development of Wesley Celichowski has been fun to see from afar, and at 6'11", he's a definite defensive presence.

Providence will have to be hitting from the outsdie, and they have a decent amount of that, especially in Casey Kaelin, Grant Seebold and Quinten Hesse. Jaden Johnson is good too, but he's mostly running things for the Pioneers.

Both teams head into this one 3-0, led by strong guards. Isaac Higgs for Reitz. Weston Aigner and Caleb Niehaus for Castle. Gavin Shippert is a major matchup problem for Castle with his size and skill.

Making a stop on the way down to the Bosse Winter Classic, Hammond Central is squaring off vs. North Daviess. Both teams are off to strong starts with excellent junior guards. Jordan Green is filling big shoes early on in the wake of Hammond's graduations. Jayden and the Wilson twins are are likely the best guard trio, in any class, in SW Indiana.

This will be University's toughest test of the young season. Meanwhile, Brebeuf, after three straight OT games to start the season, blew out Shortridge and Covenant Christian.

Larry Pierce has made a big jump offensively for the Blazers, and he's joined offensively by two sophomore guards, Sabien Cain and Robert Russell. Cain brings good size to the point guard spot and looks to be sleeper in the 2024 class. Brebeuf is more of the known quality, especially Billy Smith.

Outside of Smith, Brebeuf has gotten a great deal of help from Marial Puou and Alex Gothard.