If you’re looking for a complete breakdown of the entire Class 4A tournament field, you’re in the right place. Here are the picks for every sectional in the state, along with who will be playing in Champaign on the final weekend of the season.
Bartlett Sectional
Semifinal picks: Batavia over Glenbard East; Glenbard North over York
Sectional pick: Batavia
There might not be another sectional with more legitimate balance among the top four seeds than in this Bartlett Sectional.
That leads to the belief this sectional could go any way possible among those four seeds. And don’t be surprised if one of the Wheatons throws a wrench into things in regional play as the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds.
Wheaton-Warrenville South, a team no one really ever enjoys playing, just knocked off red-hot Batavia in the final week of the season and is playing its best basketball.
But if it can get by Wheaton-Warrenville South South in the regional rematch, we’ll ride the hot hand of Batavia. This is a No. 4 seed that has ramped up its defense, has solid guard play with point guard Xavier Justice and has enough offensive firepower in Joe Reid and Evan Blankenship.
Mount Carmel Sectional
Semifinal picks: Curie over St. Laurence; St. Ignatius over Young
Sectional Pick: St. Ignatius
This sectional is going to be a doozy.
Surviving the regional play in this sectional won’t be easy at all. There are quality lower-seeded teams lurking everywhere. The cast of characters ready to pounce are Kenwood, Lyons, Riverside-Brookfield, Oak Lawn and Perspectives-Leadership.
Lyons is talented with size, length and shooting. The Lions have also ripped off 11 straight wins to close out the season. There wouldn’t be a tougher test for a No. 1 seed in any regional than what Curie would get with Lyons.
Riverside-Brookfield is another team playing well at the right time, going 15-2 in the second half of the season behind two-way threat Cam Mercer. The senior guard is a staunch defender to throw at Young’s Marquis Clark in the regional final and who averages 21 points a game.
We’ve got three of the top four seeds advancing with one slight upset: No. 5 St. Laurence over No. 4 Mount Carmel. The two went to overtime in the regular season but the young Caravan have not been trending the right way down the stretch, going just 2-6 in their last eight games.
Can St. Ignatius tame Marquis Clark of Young in a semifinal matchup? It was a tight one in the regular season with St. Ignatius winning 61-60 nearly three months ago. We’ll take the balance of the Wolfpack over the starpower Clark provides.
And then cue up a dandy of a sectional final with St. Ignatius and Curie and their go-to seniors: Curie’s Justin Oliver and St. Ignatius’ Chris Bolte. The projection here is the winner of this one — Curie beat St. Ignatius 42-40 two months ago — will be playing on the final night of the season.
Joliet West Sectional
Semifinal picks: Homewood-Flossmoor over Brother Rice; Marist over Lockport
Sectional Pick: Marist
The regionals here produce the top four seeds — barely. Lockport will be thankful and fortunate the regional is on its home floor with surging Joliet West and dangerous Bloom in the regional with them. The Porters, led by Nedas Venckus (20 ppg) and Nojus Venckus (16 ppg), are 15-1 since the holidays and that includes a win over Homewood-Flossmoor.
The forecast is for the top two seeds, H-F and Marist, to advance to a sectional final. They’ve clearly been the top two seeds in this sectional over the course of the season.
H-F’s Darrius Hawkins Jr. has truly been brilliant, while the addition of Charles Barnes at Marist has been a game-changer.
Marist’s opportunity to rectify the stinging 86-85 sectional loss to Rich last year is finally here for the RedHawks. They find a way to win their first sectional title in 45 years.
Rock Island Sectional
Semifinal picks: Alton over Edwardsville; Rock Island over Normal
Sectional Pick: Rock Island
With so many different odd regional matchups and travel due to the geographical footprint of this sectional, forecasting the results here is a challenge.
There is also some real star power in this sectional, starting with Normal’s 1-2 punch of 6-7 junior Jarrel Brown and 6-6 sophomore Chase Kasten (18 ppg). The Ironmen are the No. 1 seed in their subsectional.
There is a top 10 junior in the state, Belleville West’s J’Dyn Lloyd (19.2 ppg), along with 6-7 senior Ben Akoro (16.2 ppg), a Division I talent from O’Fallon.
Alton boasts a lethal combo of Semaj Stampley (13.5 ppg), a high-scoring senior guard headed to South Dakota State, and fast-rising junior Ryan Howard (17.9 ppg), while Edwardsville has a real sleeper talent in Micah Butler (15 ppg).
And one heck of a regional title matchup could showcase super sophomore Amarion Smith-Holley of Peoria Richwoods and Rock Island junior guard Deven Marshall.
But if Rock Island, led by Marshall (20.5 ppg), can get back to playing the sectional on its home floor — the Rocks must first beat Peoria Richwoods in that Minooka Regional — I like its chances.
Fremd Sectional
Semifinal picks: Fremd over Stevenson; Palatine over Hersey
Sectional Pick: Palatine
What more could you ask for if you’re a high school basketball fan in the Mid-Suburban League and, specifically, in Palatine?
The MSL has provided fireworks and a wild three months. It shouldn’t let up in the postseason.
The regular-season results start with Rolling Meadows, the No. 6 seed. The Mustangs played the top three seeds in three one-possession games, beating Hersey 42-40 while losing to Fremd 41-38 and to Palatine 42-40.
Palatine beat Barrington 52-51. Those two are set to meet in a regional championship.
Then it gets even better with those top three seeds: Hersey beat Palatine in three overtimes; Fremd knocked off Palatine in overtime; and Fremd edged Hersey in overtime.
The two best MSL teams all season, Fremd and Palatine — and who split the two regular-season matchups — meet up one more time in Palatine. This one with a whole lot on the line.
Loyola Sectional
Semifinal picks: DePaul Prep over New Trier; Evanston over Loyola
Sectional pick: DePaul Prep
DePaul Prep will have its hands full in a 4A sectional with multiple ranked teams standing in its way of a fourth straight sectional championship.
With a healthy Christopher Kirkpatrick, there is a real temptation here to pick New Trier. The Trevians have developed so much balance and possess that size and length.
How about an Evanston-Loyola rematch? It was Evanston over Loyola in a dramatic January win, thanks to a Ben Ojala buzzer-beating three-pointer. Evanston was without CSL South Player of the Year Vito Rocca. But this time the game will be at Loyola. Expect another toss-up.
Both of these sectional semifinals will be dogfights. If these two games aren’t tight, down-to-the-wire finishes, it will be a surprise. But the two teams that haven’t faced one another this season, DePaul and Evanston, finally meet in the sectional final.
It’s just so hard to go against a DePaul team with senior anchors like Rashaun Porter and Rykan Woo. The winning pedigree is real and the schedule that has prepared the Rams is second to none.
DePaul has beaten Hyde Park, Loyola, Kankakee, St Ignatius, New Trier, Mount Carmel, Marist, St. Laurence and Warren. That list includes six teams currently ranked in the top 15.
Bolingbrook Sectional
Semifinal picks: Benet over Naperville North; Neuqua Valley over Bolingbrook
Sectional pick: Benet
Is there a team that can put a scare into the top three seeds that are all ranked among the top 10 in the Super 25? Realistically? Probably not, though Oswego is playing well and will get one more shot at Bolingbrook on its home floor in the regional final. But Bolingbrook has beaten the Panthers twice, including a 83-60 win in January.
That leaves the Naperville North-Downers Grove South matchup as the lone regional title game that will be up for grabs.
Neuqua Valley has the type of shooting and scoring in stars Cole Kelly and Mason Martin to put a scare into Benet. All they do together is put up 40-plus points a game and force you to game plan for them.
But it first must get by a very talented Bolingbrook team, led by sophomore Brady Pettigrew, on the Raiders’ home floor. Neuqua did knock off Bolingbrook in a regular season January tussle. This would shape up as arguably the best sectional semifinal game in the state.
Even in a strong, top-heavy sectional, it’s very difficult to pick against Benet here with all it as shown over the first three months of the season. This isn’t just the best team in the state, it’s the most complete team. The Redwings boast size, difference-making interior defense, rebounding and can knock down shots from the three-point line.
Rockton-Hononegah Sectional
Semifinal picks: Warren over Rockford Auburn; Waukegan over Rockford Guilford
Sectional pick: Warren
With Warren already having beaten Rockford Auburn this season and taking down Waukegan twice, there isn’t a more prohibitive favorite in any 4A sectional.
However, Auburn is scary with high-scoring guard Amir Danforth. This is a decorated player in the Rockford area who is wrapping up a monster career. In addition to averaging 19.8 points a game this season, Danforth has popped off for games of 44 and 42 in his career. He has scored 2,187 points — the second most in the history of the NIC-10 — and made a whopping 352 three-pointers in his career.
Throw in the fact the Knights have won 10 of its last 11 games with the only loss at the hands of a very good Rock Island team, it’s a team that should at the very least grab Warren’s attention.
And it’s never easy to beat a team three times in a season, especially one with the talent and experience Waukegan possesses.
But Jaxson Davis and Company are at another level. The Blue Devils are in position to win their third straight sectional championship.
Class 4A Supersectional Picks
UIC: St. Ignatius over Batavia
Batavia last made it to state 35 years ago. The impressive turnaround this season, and a long tournament run as a No. 4 sectional seed, comes to an end. St. Ignatius has made two trips to state in Class 3A. Now it advances to a Class 4A State Finals.
ISU: Marist over Rock Island
Marist makes the most of its first supersectional game in 45 years, reaching state for the first time ever.
NOW Arena: DePaul Prep over Palatine
Coach Eric Millstone’s Palatine program has put together a heck of a four-year run but this is too tall of a task for the Pirates.
This won’t be like DePaul’s previous supersectional games — the Rams beat Kaneland and Crystal Lake South by a combined 60 points in the last two 3A supers — but it’s a tough matchup for the Pirates.
NIU: Benet over Warren
If this one materializes, it’s a rematch of a January showdown where Benet prevailed 67-60. Trying to take down Warren superstar Jaxson Davis twice in one season is no small feat. But Benet marches on in its quest to repeat.
Class 4A State Semifinal Picks: St. Ignatius over Marist; Benet over DePaul Prep
This IHSA Final Four would make history — and likely cause a bit of a stir — with four private schools squaring off in the state’s largest class.
Class 4A State Championship: Benet over St. Ignatius
We’ve come full circle. Benet takes care of the one team it lost to this season — a 69-65 defeat on the last Sunday of November.