> SOUTHERN INDIANA — The Mid-Southern Conference vs. the Hoosier Hills Conference is like little brother against the big brother in the driveway.

Wins don’t come easily and they should all be celebrated.

For Clarksville, the wins against the HHC have been extraordinarily rare. The Class 2A No. 7 Generals have a lot of goals for this season, like winning the MSC and their first sectional since 1986. Beating Floyd Central on Tuesday and Jeffersonville on Dec. 21 should also rank highly among those goals.

On to the picks:



TOP GAMES OF THE WEEK (TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY)

BOYS — CLARKSVILLE (1-0) AT FLOYD CENTRAL (0-0), TONIGHT

Floyd Central lost just about everything from last year’s team. However, there’s a lot of basketball talent roaming the halls at Floyd Central. It will just be a matter of time before the Highlanders are back to winning.

However, the Generals have just as much talent and a ton more experience. The addition of Andrew Jones from Henryville was a coup for Clarksville. He could help take the Generals to the next level. And Austin Johnson is clearly one of the most underrated players in Southern Indiana.

If Clarksville is as good as we expect it to be, it should beat a team with no varsity experience playing its first game of the season.

THE PICK: Clarksville 70, Floyd Central 62.



GIRLS — BORDEN (2-1) AT NEW WASHINGTON (4-1), TONIGHT

With South Central having dropped in talent the past couple of years, the Southern Athletic Conference and Class A sectional will likely come down to the Braves and the Mustangs again this season.

Borden has had the upper hand the past couple of seasons. But with Erin Mikel and Allison Rademacher gone for the Braves, the tide seems to have turned in the favor of New Wash’s experienced bunch.

These are two great coaches. There is no doubt about that. And it will be an interesting game. However, especially early in the year, I like the team with the returning varsity experience and the homecourt advantage.

THE PICK: New Washington 59, Borden 48.



GIRLS — NEW ALBANY (2-1) AT NORTH HARRISON (2-3), THURSDAY

Pay no attention to North Harrison’s record. Its three losses have come to Jeffersonville, Scottsburg and Silver Creek. The Cats will finish the season well above .500.

New Albany is coming off of a home loss to Corydon Central. But after losing four starters from a year ago, the Bulldogs’ 2-1 start is quite impressive. It’s becoming more and more apparent that Tammy Geron is quite a coach and that New Albany has more talent than maybe most expected.

Expect the Bulldogs to go on the road and get their second win away from home on their way. The schedule only gets tougher from here with Class 4A No. 4 Bedford North Lawrence on Saturday and Class 3A No. 10 Scottsburg next Thursday — both on the road.



OTHER BIG GAMES

• Boys — Christian Academy (0-1) at Henryville (0-1), tonight: I meant it last week when I said Dan Carmony will turn the Henryville program around. It just may take a little longer than expected. THE PICK: Christian Academy 68, Henryville 45.

• Girls — Floyd Central (2-1) at Madison (4-0): Madison has been blowing teams out. None of those teams are as good as the Highlanders. This could go either way, but I give a slight edge to the Class 3A No. 9 Cubs. THE PICK: Madison 55, Floyd Central 53.

• Girls — Charlestown (2-2) at Austin (1-2), Wednesday: After a tough season last year, the Eagles appear to have bounced back. Charlestown had a nice win on Saturday, but getting a win at Austin is going to be too tall of a task. THE PICK: Austin 66, Charlestown 52.