What's the best town in Indiana?
We’re in the middle of March which means bubbles have burst and madness on the hardwood is about to ensue. While you’re filling out your NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament brackets, we here at Get Indiana have put together a 64-town bracket broken into North, South, East and West regions. Each region has 16 towns seeded 1 through 16. We drew the line for small towns at roughly 18,000 for population, so sorry in advance if your town didn’t make the cut. The fun part? Your votes will determine the winners and how the bracket ultimately plays out. Which Indiana small town will become a Cinderella story and run deep into the bracket, and which one will cut down the nets and receive a $1,000 bar tab at its local dive bar with yours truly?
Head to my Instagram @natespangle and vote daily on my story. Let the games begin!
North Region of Small Town Bracket Challenge
(1) Warsaw vs. (16) Shipshewana
(8) North Manchester vs. (9) Rensselaer
(5) Angola vs. (12) Winamac
(4) Plymouth vs. (13) Albion
(3) Columbia City vs. (14) De Motte
(6) Tipton vs. (11) Monticello
(7) Rochester vs. (10) Westville
(2) Auburn vs. (15) Bourbon
The small town favorite Warsaw claims the No. 1 seed in the North Region but could run into a town nobody wants to face in the tournament — fifth-seeded Angola in the Sweet 16. Lake life is king in Warsaw and Angola, and both counties — Kosciusko and Steuben — are home to over 100 lakes apiece. What makes Angola a sleeper pick? Find out here.
Expect the higher seeds to hold true in the bottom half of this region, setting up a 2 vs. 3 matchup, Auburn and Columbia City, with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line.
My hometown Bourbon has an autobid for perpetuity. They are going to have their hands full with Auburn.
South Region of Small Town Bracket Challenge
(1) Jasper vs. (16) Nashville
(8) Santa Claus vs. (9) French Lick
(5) Tell City vs. (12) Brownstown
(4) Washington vs. (13) Rising Sun
(3) Madison vs. (14) New Harmony
(6) Boonville vs. (11) North Vernon
(7) Salem vs. (10) Corydon
(2) Bedford vs. (15) Loogootee
The South Region may be the deepest of them all. Nashville as a 16 seed and Jasper as the 1? The seeding committee must’ve spent a little too much time at The Schnitzelbank. But seriously, Jasper was our first small town breakdown of 2025 and has rightfully earned the top seed here.
If ninth-seeded French Lick pulls off a first-round win against Santa Claus (the town, not Santa Claus himself), it could be a popular upset pick in the round of 32. Much like the North Region, the higher seeds should advance with Bedford and Madison meeting in the Sweet 16 in the lower half. We’ll leave this here for you though: This is Jasper’s region to lose.
East Region of Small Town Bracket Challenge
(1) New Castle vs. (16) Vevay
(8) Rushville vs. (9) Berne
(5) Peru vs. (12) Knightstown
(4) McCordsville vs. (13) Centerville
(3) Greensburg vs. (14) Milan
(6) Cicero vs. (11) Union City
(7) Batesville vs. (10) Hartford City
(2) Connersville vs. (15) Selma
No region boasts impressive high school gyms quite like the East. Top-seeded New Castle has the biggest gym in the world — the New Castle Fieldhouse — with a capacity of 8,424. The Spartan Bowl in second-seeded Connersville holds 5,134, and it’s been dubbed “The Grand Palace on Grand Avenue.” And don’t forget about 12th-seeded Knightstown, which is home to the nostalgic Hoosier Gym.
It’s going to be tough for any town to take down New Castle or Connersville, setting up a clash of best gym bragging rights to head to the Final 4.
West Region of Small Town Bracket Challenge
(1) Crawfordsville vs. (16) Clay City
(8) Ellettsville vs. (9) Rockville
(5) Greencastle vs. (12) Bloomfield
(4) Danville vs. (13) Rossville
(3) Speedway vs. (14) Battle Ground
(6) Brazil vs. (11) Sullivan
(7) Princeton vs. (10) Attica
(2) Frankfort vs. (15) North Judson
Third-seeded Speedway is a trendy pick to reach the Final 4. Three words — Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Five ‘villes are in the upper half of this region, but we expect the one that begins with Crawfords to emerge into the Elite 8 for a showdown with Speedway.
The Small Town Showdown Bracket Challenge is going to be a ton of fun, and your votes will decide the outcomes. When it’s all said and done, I’ll see you at the local dive bar of the winning town with drinks on me!
