The Winnebago Boys secured the No. 1 seed in the Class C-1 State Basketball Tournament in Lincoln by downing Columbus Scotus 65-50 in the C1-3 District Final at Norfolk High last Monday night.
The Indians led 20-13 after one before the Shamrocks won the second quarter 12-7 to make it a 27-25 game at halftime in favor of Winnebago.
The Indians outscored Columbus Scotus 19-8 in the third quarter to go up 46-33 at the end of three.
Winnebago put up 19 points in the fourth quarter compared to 17 for the Shamrocks.
Head Coach Jeff Berridge says the win was bigger than just claiming the top seed. "It was big. More than that it was like a moral victory for us. Being they were ranked number one almost all year long, so we were kind of down in the rankings. So it was a big win for us that way, and it's a big win getting the number one seed going into the tournament. I mean we kind of got the easier side of the bracket, but Class C-1 there's so many good teams in the tournament anybody could win it really."
Berridge adds his team knew what to expect from and came ready to play against the Shamrocks. "Yes we did. We were anticipating a good game, and that's what we got. And our boys came out and they fought hard. And we kind of controlled the game for a while, and it got close, but at the end of the game we pulled it out and we won."
26-2 and top seeded Winnebago meets 21-5 and 8th seeded Kearney Catholic in the first round of the State Tournament Thursday morning. Berridge says the Stars are well coached, but if his team plays their game they should be fine. "I mean they're a solid team. They're there for a reason. And I've been told their coach has been there for a while. And he's got a pretty good system. And his kids always run his system pretty good. So we're just looking to play Winnebago Basketball, and if we do that there's not a whole lot of teams that can run with us up and down the court for the whole game."
The Indians are making their third straight state tournament appearance, and are looking to win C-1 again after winning it in 2015, while Kearney Catholic is making their first state appearance since 2014.
This is a tough C-1 field, but there's no doubt that Winnebago is capable of winning the whole thing.
I think the state championship will come down to the Indians and either Bishop Neumann or Columbus Scotus, and if Winnebago plays the way they did against the Shamrocks they should stand a pretty good chance to win the C-1 title for the second time in the last three years.
David Wingett has to have a huge tournament, and must come up big with some monster dunks and things of that sort for Winnebago.
This tournament is a huge showcase for him in terms of where he could land in College.
More important than that though is how the team plays.
The Indians just have to play Rez Ball, and play it at a high level.
Winnebago just has to play their game, and do what they did two years ago, and they should be fine.
The Indians have to play their tails off for four quarters every game they play in this tournament, and cannot afford to take a single play off.
One possession, one turnover, one missed lay up, one missed free throw, could be the difference in at least one of these state tournament games for Winnebago.
The Indians simply have to do everything in their power to come out on top and become state champions once again.
The Indians take an 11-game winning streak into Thursday's game, which is set to start at 9:00 a.m. at the Devaney Center.
The game can be heard on 107.9 the Bull.
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