By GREG MENGELT

There’s no New Albany, no Jeffersonville, no Floyd Central and no Silver Creek on Opening Night of the 2021-22 boys’ basketball season.

So it’s not the greatest slate of games on the first night of local basketball, but that’s not to say there aren’t some games of interest. (There were 7 games statewide Monday, but nobody cares because none of our local teams were involved; tonight is the true opening night in Southern Indiana.)

The local slate begins with a pair of rivalry games, including Charlestown at New Washington in the Hoosier Hills Hoops Game of the Night. Borden and Eastern also renew their rivalry in a game that should be very competitive.

In fact, of the 6 games on opening night, we picked four games to be within 4 points and another to be within 10. North Harrison should beat South Central comfortably. That’s the only opening night game that we have a pretty good idea of which team is going to win.

Rock Creek-Henryville, Eastern-Borden, Corydon-Seymour and Lanesville-Evansville Christian should all be determined by which team executes their game plans better and New Washington believes it has a shot at upsetting Charlestown.

Despite the local powerhouses waiting a few more days to begin their seasons, the day boys’ basketball begins in Southern Indiana is one of the best days of the year.

Basketball is fully back … and it’s glorious.

TODAY’S GAMES | TUESDAY, NOV. 23

GAME OF THE NIGHT
CHARLESTOWN (0-0) AT NEW WASHINGTON (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: James Matthews Gymnasium, New Washington.
• Coaches:
Charlestown — Matt Lynch (0-0 in first season at Charlestown, 69-50 in sixth season overall).
New Washington — Kyle Brown (9-15 in second season at New Wash and overall).
• Last year’s records:
Charlestown — 8-12 (2-6 MSC).
New Washington — 9-15 (2-3 SAC).
• 2020-21 final Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
Charlestown — No. 288 overall, No. 83 Class 3A.
New Washington — No. 340 overall, No. 61 Class A.
• Most recent game:
Charlestown — Lost to Scottsburg 60-54 (Charlestown Sectional, first round, March 3, 2021)
New Washington — Lost to Lanesville 53-42 (Borden Sectional, first round, March 2, 2021)
• Last 20 years: Charlestown 26-6. The Pirates have won three of the last four meetings.
• Most recent meeting: Nov. 26, 2019 — At New Washington 65, Charlestown 50.
• News and notes: Former New Albany star Matt Lynch takes over at Charlestown after 5 years at Tell City, where he had three winning seasons and won a sectional title in 2019.
• Outlook: This is the first Charlestown-New Wash rivalry game in two calendar years. Let’s hope that never happens again.
• Greg’s pick: Charlestown 57, New Washington 48.

NORTH HARRISON (0-0) AT SOUTH CENTRAL (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: South Central High School main gym.
• Coaches:
North Harrison — Lou Lefevre (36-10 in third season at North Harrison, 301-90 in 18th season overall).
South Central — Greg Robinson (173-168 in 16th season at South Central, 195-231 in 20th season overall).
• Last year’s records:
North Harrison — 18-4 (8-0, MSC champions).
South Central — 2-18 (1-4 SAC).
• 2020-21 final Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
North Harrison — No. 61 overall, No. 11 Class 3A.
South Central — No. 365 overall, No. 71 Class A.
• Most recent game:
North Harrison — Lost to Silver Creek 44-41 (Charlestown Sectional, semifinal, March 5, 2021).
South Central — Lost to Lanesville 42-41 (Borden Sectional, semifinal, March 5, 2021).
• Last 20 years: North Harrison 15-5. The Cougars the last eight games against South Central. All 20 games were season openers.
• Most recent meeting: Nov. 24, 2020 — At North Harrison 71, South Central 38.
• News and notes: North Harrison has won 18 games in each of the past two years. That’s their most wins in the last 25 years. … The Rebels’ last winning season came in 2018-19 when they were 16-9. They won 11 games the last two years combined.
• Outlook: The Cougars will probably drop off a little bit based on what they lost, but Lefevre finds a way to win no matter his personnel. It’s likely they’ll be the top threat to Silver Creek’s title in March.
• Greg’s pick: North Harrison 53, South Central 31.

EASTERN (0-0) AT BORDEN (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: Borden Junior-Senior High School.
• Coaches:
Eastern — Chandler Prible (12-13 in second season at Eastern and overall).
Borden — Doc Nash (204-149 in 16th season at Borden and overall).
• Last year’s records:
Eastern — 12-13 (3-5 MSC).
Borden — 12-11 (3-2 SAC).
• 2020-21 final Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
Eastern — No. 271 overall, No. 60 Class 2A
Borden — No. 263 overall, No. 31 Class A
• Most recent game:
Eastern — Lost to Paoli 32-31 (Paoli Sectional, championship, March 6, 2021).
Borden — Lost to Christian Academy 58-56 (Borden Sectional, semifinal, March 5, 2021).
• Last 20 years: Borden 16-15. The Braves have won 7 of the last 9 in the series.
• Most recent meeting: Nov. 24, 2020 — Borden 53, at Eastern 44.
• News and notes: Last year was Borden’s first winning season since 2016-17. … Last year, the Musketeers improved 10 games — from 2-21 in 2019-20 to 12-13 last season.
• Outlook: It appears that Eastern may have the better team coming back, but it’s hard to ever doubt a Doc Nash-coached team.
• Greg’s pick: Borden 65, Eastern 64.

ROCK CREEK (0-0) AT HENRYVILLE (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: Furnish Gymnasium, Henryville.
• Coaches:
Rock Creek — Chris Brown (348-281 in 26th season and overall).
Henryville — Jared Hill (91-76 in eighth season at Henryville and overall).
• Last year’s records:
Rock Creek — 12-11.
Henryville — 12-11 (4-1 SAC).
• 2020-21 final Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
Rock Creek — No. 258 overall, No. 30 Class A
Henryville — No. 273 overall, No. 61 Class 2A
• Most recent game:
Rock Creek — Lost to Christian Academy (Borden Sectional, first round, March 2, 2021).
Henryville — Lost to Southwestern 56-41 (Southwestern Sectional, semifinal, March 5, 2021).
• Last 20 years: Henryville 9-8.
• Most recent meeting: Jan. 8, 2021 — At Rock Creek 60, Henryville 46.
• News and notes: Henryville closed last season with seven wins in its final nine games, including a 6-game losing streak in February. … Last year was Rock Creek’s first winning season since 2017-18.
• Outlook: Like a couple other games today, this one could go either way. So I’ll take the home team.
• Greg’s pick: Henryville 56, Rock Creek 53.

CORYDON (0-0) AT SEYMOUR (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium, Seymour.
• Coaches:
Corydon — Joe Hinton (21-26 in third season at Corydon Central).
Seymour — Kirk Manns (18-27 in third season at Seymour and overall).
• Last year’s records:
Corydon — 10-13 (4-4 MSC).
Seymour — 10-12 (2-5 HHC).
• 2020-21 final Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
Corydon — No. 229 overall, No. 65 Class 3A
Seymour — No. 176 overall, No. 82 Class 4A
• Most recent game:
Corydon — Lost to Silver Creek 77-42 (Charlestown Sectional, first round, March 2, 2020).
Seymour — Lost to Bedford North Lawrence 52-38 (Seymour Sectional, first round, March 2, 2020).
• Last 20 years: Seymour 5-0. The Owls have beaten Corydon to open the past five seasons.
• Most recent meeting: Nov. 24, 2020 — Seymour 48, at Corydon 44.
• News and notes: Corydon’s last winning season came 7 years ago under Jamie Kolkmeier. … The last time Seymour finished above .500 was 2006-07 when the Owls went 15-7. Seymour has won two sectional games since that season. … Manns averaged 10 points in four seasons at Michigan State. He is a North Judson graduate.
• Outlook: Corydon has a strong junior class and should just keep getting better. We’re taking the Panthers on the road.
• Greg’s pick: Corydon 56, Seymour 54.

EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN (0-0) AT LANESVILLE (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: Lanesville High School.
• Coaches:
Evansville Christian — David Kruse (0-0 in first season at Evansville Christian, 26-45 in fourth season overall).
Lanesville — Mikel Miller (287-209 in 22nd season at Lanesville and overall).
• Last year’s records:
Evansville Christian — 13-9.
Lanesville — 18-8 (5-0 SAC, conference champions, sectional champions).
• 2020-21 final Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
Evansville Christian — No. 247 overall, No. 25 Class A.
Lanesville — No. 213 overall, No. 18 Class A.
• Most recent game:
Evansville Christian — Defeated Victory Christian 60-44 (Indiana Christian School Athletic Association championship, Feb. 27, 2021).
Lanesville — Lost to Barr-Reeve 64-34 (Loogootee Regional championship, March 13, 2021).
• Last 20 years: Evansville Christian 1-0.
• Most recent meeting: Nov. 24, 2020 — At Evansville Christian 67, Lanesville 50.
• News and notes: Lanesville won its sixth sectional championship since 2006 last season. … New Evansville Christian coach David Kruse went 26-45 in three seasons at South Spencer. He replaces Aaron Thompson, who took the Eagles from 1-16 in 2018-19 to 13-9 a year ago. … Evansville Christian hasn’t participated in an IHSAA sectional since 1986 when they lost 156-30 to Evansville Bosse.
• Outlook: Evansville Christian hasn’t been very good in the past, but last year a freshman, Josiah Dunham, averaged 22 points per game. In fact, their top three scorers are back from a team that beat Lanesville and Northeast Dubois and only lost by 11 points at Forest Park. A win isn’t going to be easy for reigning sectional champion Lanesville, but we think the Eagles will find a way to win it.
• Greg’s pick: Lanesville 68, Evansville Christian 64.