This is the best week of the season for many high school basketball junkies. Sectional basketball brings together the best teams in the state to play hugely consequential games in local high school gyms.
Holiday tournament time is fun and the state finals are obviously massive. However, nothing in the sport is as electric as a major playoff matchup played in a local high school gym. After this week, almost all the games take place in college venues.
The Illinois High School Association did a nice job selecting the Class 4A sectional locations this season. There isn’t a dud in the bunch. Benet, St. Charles East, New Trier, Hinsdale Central, Rich, Schaumburg, Waukegan and Collinsville have excellent gyms that add another layer of luster to the sectional games.
New Trier’s new facility is a high school basketball palace. It doesn’t have any history yet, but that will come in time. This week’s games are Evanston vs. Lane on Tuesday and Niles North vs. Loyola on Wednesday. The winners play on Friday. If you haven’t seen New Trier’s gym yet this is an excellent chance. The Trevians have shown the state that great things are still possible with new construction.
Waukegan’s Dog Pound is one of the state’s best and most historic venues. It will be alive this week. The hosts take on Guilford on Wednesday and Warren faces DeKalb on Tuesday. If the Bulldogs and Warren win it sets up a Waukegan-Warren showdown on Friday which would be a must-see.
Waukegan’s gym is home to one of the great shots in state history, Jereme Richmond’s just past half-court buzzer-beater in 2009. That was in a Warren vs. Waukegan sectional game.
Glenbard East’s resurgent second half
Glenbard East opened the season 1-3. The Rams had a rough time over the holidays as well, losing three consecutive games at York’s Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament.
But things began turning around after a one-point loss at Riverside-Brookfield in mid-January. Glenbard East is 12-1 since then, with wins against North Lawndale, Lindblom, Wheaton Academy and Riverside-Brookfield. The only loss was to a good Deerfield team.
Rams guard Michael Nee is an under-the-radar stat. The junior averages 19 points, four rebounds and four assists. He was the Upstate Eight Player of the Year and has already scored more than 1,000 points in his career.
“I would put Mike up against any shooter in the state,” Rams coach Eric Kelly said.
Glenbard East is 22-10 heading into its sectional semifinal game against Glenbard West on Tuesday.
Super 25 updates
The rankings held up very well through the regionals. Only Hinsdale Central, Lincoln Park and West Aurora lost and no Super 25 teams lost to unranked teams.
Hinsdale Central and Lincoln Park stay in the rankings but could drop out next week depending on what happens in the sectionals. West Aurora is gone and Bloom slots in at No. 25.
The Blazing Trojans lack a go-to scorer, but they are deep and play hard and have developed some good size over the course of the season. Bloom was red-hot in February with two wins against Rich and victories against Joliet West and Lincoln-Way East.
Super 25 high school basketball rankings for Mar. 2, 2025
With record and last week’s ranking
1. Kenwood (29-1) 1
Survived Donte Montgomery
2. Bolingbrook (29-4) 2
Faces Downers North Tuesday
3. Marist (31-2) 3
At Rich on Wednesday
4. Homewood-Flossmoor (29-3) 5
Dominated Romeoville
5. Benet (28-5) 6
Hosts Waubonsie Valley Wednesday
6. DePaul Prep (28-4) 7
Heavy favorite at Antioch
7. St. Laurence (28-5) 8
Faces Hyde Park Tuesday
8. Mount Carmel (27-5) 9
Challenging week ahead
9. Brother Rice (27-6) 10
Hosts Hillcrest Tuesday
10. Curie (23-9) 14
Justin Oliver emerging
11. Waubonsie Valley (31-2) 11
Moses Wilson still available
12. Evanston (27-5) 12
Tough one vs. Lane Tuesday
13. Rich (22-8) 15
Home advantage this week
14. Simeon (21-7) 16
Took down St. Ignatius
15. Young (20-13) 20
Beat Lincoln Park
16. Hinsdale Central (29-4) 4
Season complete
17. Kankakee (25-5) 17
Faces Metamora Tuesday
18. Glenbard West (26-5) 18
Survived Luke Smith
19. Waukegan (23-7) 9
Hosts Guilford Wednesday
20. Lincoln Park (23-7) 13
Season complete
21. Lake Forest (22-9) 21
Faces Deerfield Wednesday
22. Warren (23-10) 23
DeKalb will be a challenge
23. Rolling Meadows (28-4) 24
Peaking at the right itme
24. Niles North (27-6) 25
Faces Loyola Wednesday
25. Bloom (21-8)
Healthy and dangerous