5 Weekend Deals

My girlfriend is a big fan of Groupon.  She's also a big fan of Living Social, newspaper coupons, and a blog called What I Wore.  With that in mind, I've decided to clue you in on five steals of a deal for basketball games this weekend. 

FRIDAY GAMES ($10 for two, in and out for $18 with dinner included):

Heritage Christian at Park Tudor: 

Not quite the Crosstown Shootout rivalry that I posted about yesterday, but a solid rivalry regardless.  With my credibility facing a huge letdown after recommending to watch that game last night, this game will be a deal.  It's a chance to watch 2013 recruit Basil Smotherman lead his squad against IU commit, Yogi Ferrell.  Smotherman would be considered a Purdue/Xavier lean at this point, but it's still early.  Nick Hoover is a gritty senior for Heritage that will help give his squad a push at a big win.  Ferrell has a lot of young help at Park Tudor, led by freshmen Trevon Bluiett and Troy Spears.  Both Bluiett and Spears will have a lot of the Midwest Division 1 schools calling their house for the next couple of years.  JB Rapp began his career playing under Darnell Archey and is shooting the 3-ball at an Archey-esque clip of 55%.

The Madison County Tournament:

The 5th place game begins at 5:00pm and includes Elwood vs Frankton.  Don't be in a rush after work to get to that one.  Lapel and Alexandria tip off after that, which should be a good atmosphere.  The Madison County Tournament rarely fails to provide some great games and the championship game is no different:  Anderson vs Pendleton Heights.  It's a great opportunity to see Butler commit, Kellen Dunham, who's averaging 22.9 pts/gm this season.  Fellow senior, Kendall Waters, is lighting up scoreboards as well dropping in 16.8 a game.  Anderson is Anderson.  They're well coached and will be a tough out as the season gets going.  If you like the pre-class sectional feel, there's no better place to be than the Wigwam tonight.  If you're a hoopshead, you can watch three games cheaper than going to see "Little Fockers".

Carmel at Center Grove:

If this were football, it'd be a no brainer.  Center Grove is known as the "Carmel of the South".  While Carmel would be offended if you ever mentioned them as the "Center Grove of the North".  In fact, maybe that's how we should describe them.  Center Grove squeaked out a game versus Perry Meridian after winning the Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle over Christmas break.  They're well coached and feature two division 1 players in Andy Smeathers (Butler) and Johnny Marlin (IPFW).  For basketball, Carmel doesn't travel very well, but expect the Grovers to be out in full force.  Their student section will be in the running for the Operation Basketball Award at season's end.  New Carmel coach, Scott Heady, brings a balanced and improving team down south led by Josh Balbridge, Alec Peterson, and Ben Gardner.  This game will be decided late.

Cleveland State at Butler:

Monetarily this isn't as good a deal as the previous three.  Basketball and atmosphere-wise, it puts the others to shame.  Unfortunately, Butler doesn't quite sell-out, but it should be close tonight.  If this is your game tonight, make sure you get there early.  Cleveland State comes to town 15-1 and feeling like this is their year to win the Horizon League.  Butler comes in after a tough Saturday-Monday stretch which saw them beat Valparaiso at home before falling to Milwaukee on the road.  The Horizon League is on it's way to become the top mid major conference as teams try to raise to Butler's level.  They've set the bar high, but Cleveland State feels their close.  Bring some padding tonight because this one will be physical. 

SATURDAY:

What better way to kickoff a Colts Saturday night than to watch some high school hoops before-hand.  Most AD's have moved start times up, allowing the opportunity to do both.  In fact, you can probably make a trip to Marsh to pick-up some Rotel and Velveeta in the middle.  If this sounds like what you want to do, make a trip to Muncie pronto.  It's Hamilton Southeastern vs Muncie Central.  A recognizable name to basically every college in the nation, Gary Harris, may be worth the ticket alone.  A bonus feature for you is that Muncie Central is really solid.  They lost some early games, but bounced back with their first win over Pike in 14 years.  Adam Botts looks to be a winner like his brother Ben (IPFW) and Nick Osborne is coming into his own in the paint.  Muncie Central also features an unheralded sophomore, Travis Woods, that should show up on some radars this summer.  In an early start, take the Bearcats in the upset.