The sectional semifinals earlier this week provided what we’ve come to expect out of sectional basketball in this state: overtimes, buzzer-beaters, sold-out gyms, upsets and all kinds of drama.
What we are rewarded with Friday night are five big-time matchups featuring 10 ranked teams squaring off for a sectional championship. Here is a complete breakdown of each of those five sectional title games, along with a brief rundown of every other 3A and 4A sectional in the state.
No. 1 Benet (33-1) vs. No. 8 Bolingbrook (25-7) at Bolingbrook
Benet, the Class 4A favorite, will get its first legitimate test of the postseason when it faces Bolingbrook on the Raiders’ home floor.
But the Redwings are possibly the only team out there that is matchup proof, thanks to its size, defense, veteran guard presence and multiple perimeter shooters.
Seniors Jayden Wright and 7-footer Colin Stack, a pair of all-area performers, along with 6-8 junior Ed Stasys, pose problems and have been through the rigors of a state championship run.
With that size, Benet is incredible at defending the paint. Thus, it’s going to take a team that can really get out in transition and create some easy baskets. And that’s a Bolingbrook trademark. The combo of 6-4 superstar sophomore Brady Pettigrew and senior TJ Williams are athletic gazelles who thrive in the open floor.
But when fastbreak opportunities aren’t there, Bolingbrook must put together an above-average perimeter shooting night to somehow take the Redwings down. The Raiders can be very streaky from the three-point line.
You have to meet the state’s No. 1 ranked team at some point. Why not do it on your home floor while playing your best basketball of the season. That’s the best news for Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost — the Raiders played at a very high level in taking down Neuqua Valley on Wednesday night.
Pettigrew was sensational with 25 points. Led by gritty Trey Brost and rim-running, rebounding big man Jayden Madden, it was an outstanding defensive performance and one with purpose and energy. That needs to carry over into Friday.
The Redwings have answered every call and test since losing to St. Ignatius on a late November Sunday. They are rather fond of heavyweight prizefights, and there is no reason to think that won’t continue Friday night.
The pick: Benet 66, Bolingbrook 59
No. 2 DePaul Prep (30-3) vs. No. 12 Evanston (27-6) at Loyola Academy
Fair or not, when you’ve won three straight state championships, regardless of class, and you begin the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason, the expectation is you’re playing in Champaign in March. But getting there in Class 4A — and through this specific sectional — would mean a whole lot for this DePaul Prep team.
There is so much to like with the Rams, who boast two all-area performers and all-state caliber players in Rykan Woo and Rashaun Porter (18 ppg). And too many people have underestimated the impact of senior guard AJ Chambers, a defensive menace.
Woo is one of the better tough-shot makers who averages 17 points a game. Porter, a 6-7 Toledo recruit, helps win games in different ways. He is such a presence inside, on the glass and defensively with his size and big man versatility. He’s a defensive weapon who is physical and tough and can guard up or down.
When Evanston’s offense is humming, few teams are more dangerous. They don’t have a true big man, but that’s what makes the Wildkits so tricky to play. This is one of the most high-octane offenses in the state.
The Wildkits have shooters all over the floor, and while there isn’t one superstar, so many different weapons can win them a game. Take your pick among Vito Rocca, Dion Lane, Timi Ogunsanya, Ben Ojala and Tate Schroeder. They can spread you out, all put up points and hurt you on the offensive end.
Evanston will need to dig in and provide some defensive mettle if it is to thwart DePaul’s run to a fourth straight state championship.
The pick: DePaul Prep 53, Evanston 46
No. 3 Curie (30-1) vs. No. 14 St. Ignatius (30-4) at Mount Carmel
No team won its sectional semifinal game in more dramatic fashion than St. Ignatius. The Wolfpack appeared done before pulling out a stunning win over Simeon in the final seconds on Wednesday.
Can coach Matt Monroe’s Wolfpack regroup, refocus and be emotionally ready for a 1 vs. 2 sectional matchup 48 hours later?
St. Ignatius is still somewhat of a well-kept secret offensively. They can really score, averaging 64 points a game, and have multiple players who produce.
Led by their cornerstone, 6-6 senior Chris Bolte (16.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.7 apg), the Wolfpack have four players regularly in double figures. Amir Tucker (11.5 ppg), Duke Ross (10.8 ppg) and Nico Harris (10.5 ppg) join Bolte as offensive threats. Plus, they all shoot between 32-47 percent from three. They are going to have to be very good offensively to beat Curie.
Generally speaking, you know what you’re going to get from a Mike Oliver-coached team. But even with all this year’s success — and just one loss on the season — it feels a bit like a team without an identity. It doesn’t matter. It’s the Curie-way.
The Condors simply do a little bit of everything pretty well at both ends of the floor. With that there aren’t a whole lot of weaknesses to attack. And what Oliver and the Condors do have is a legitimate go-to player, especially in big games, in senior guard Justin Oliver.
The 6-0 senior guard puts up 18 points a game but can be special in the most important moments. Senior Kendall Holliday (14 ppg, 7 rpg) remains one of the more unsung players in the area, while Mike Oliver, Jr., adds nine points a game.
Does St. Ignatius have enough in them to win another down-to-the-wire stunner?
The pick: St. Ignatius 62, Curie 60
No. 18 Glenbard East (31-3) vs. No. 20 York (30-4) at Bartlett
When you get two teams with 30-plus wins meeting in a sectional championship game, a whole lot has gone right for the two finalists.
Glenbard East is the No. 1 seed, boasts the best player in the sectional and has won a school record 31 games. Now it’s one win away from claiming the program’s first sectional title since 2011.
York, another team that has broken the school record for wins, has been one of the season’s biggest surprises.
The defense for the Dukes has been a constant and their forté. They continuously body up with bruisers and place hands in faces. The interior is big and physical. The perimeter has Nathan Poku as a defensive standout.
The Dukes are just tough to score on. There has only been one team to score more than 50 points in a game on them in the past two months.
They get just enough offensive production, thanks to unheralded junior Joseph Lubbe. He hasn’t received enough attention in leading York with 15 points a game. Hunter Stepanich, a 6-7, 225-pound big man headed to Princeton for volleyball and football, adds 10.1 points, seven rebounds and over two blocks a game.
Glenbard East has a player in senior guard Michael Nee who must be accounted for at all times. He’s that type of a difference-maker shooting the basketball with 20 games making three or more three-pointers. Nee, who has signed with South Dakota, is one of the state’s elite shooters with a whopping 102 three-pointers made.
Nee isn’t the only weapon, however, as coach Eric Kelly’s team has consistently put points on the board. Glenbard East has scored 60-plus points in 26 games this season, including 11 games of 70 or more. Nee averages 19 points to go with four assists a game, while Jacob Marynowski (11 ppg), Danny Snyder (11 ppg) and 6-6 Sam Walton (10 ppg, 7 rpg) are all double-figure scorers on the season.
Glenbard East is so experienced with four starters from last year that played in a sectional. But York’s physicality and controlled pace slows things down and nets its first sectional title since 1982.
The pick: York 53, Glenbard East 50
No. 13 Fremd (28-2) vs. No. 25 Hersey (21-7) at Fremd
These two Mid-Suburban League teams played just a little over two weeks ago with Fremd claiming a high-scoring 82-75 win. Fremd also won the matchup in January in a tight 67-63 win. Beating a suddenly hot, cohesive Hersey team a third time won’t be easy for the top-seeded Vikings.
The Hersey team that’s shown up in the last two games is a different team than the one that limped down the stretch of the regular season, going just 4-6 in its final 10 games. The Huskies are clearly playing their best basketball of the season, thumping Rolling Meadows 62-36 while shooting 68 percent from the field to win the regional, and then followed it up with a 64-50 win over Palatine.
Hersey’s Charlie Pomis has put up outstanding numbers with over 18 points, nearly six rebounds and three assists a game. But his game’s consistency and efficiency is what’s set the tone of late. Pomis is a serious weapon, but it’s been 6-5 junior Jake Nawrot (13 ppg) providing a different type of presence and impact with his size inside.
Fremd and versatile 6-6 Jordan Williams have just been consistent all season long. There is nothing flashy with this group. Led by Williams (18 ppg, 6 rpg, 2.5 apg), 6-5 Rafa Pinto (16 ppg) and 6-5 Tommy Moffett (13 ppg, 6.5 rpg), the Vikings function as a collective with cohesiveness, resiliency and balance. They find a way to win close games, including two in overtime.
If the first two scores are an indication, this sectional final will be a fun one that could go either way. We’re riding the hot hand of Hersey and the upset.
The pick: Hersey 66, Fremd 64
Here is a look at the remaining 4A sectionals and all the other Class 3A sectional championships.
Class 4A
Rockford Auburn (26-8) vs. Rockford Guilford (25-7)
Auburn, led by 2,000-point scorer Amir Danforth, pulled off the upset over Warren on Tuesday. But they’ve also lost to Guilford twice in the regular season. The third time is the charm.
The pick: Rockford Auburn 67, Guilford 65
Edwardsville (24-7) vs. Peoria Richwoods (24-7)
Both of these teams are sky high following exhilarating sectional wins earlier this week.
Edwardsville escaped the sectional semifinal with a 52-51 overtime win over Alton. The Tigers have an unsung senior in Miccah Butler (15 ppg) and a pair of three-point weapons in Butler and Brady Niemi, who is a 42 percent three-point shooter.
Now Edwardsville must find a way to contain sophomore Amarion Smith-Holley of Richwoods. He’s the catalyst and is on an absolute tear. The star guard scored 31 in a regional final win over Rock Island. He then poured in 29 points and made three free-throws with no time on the clock in the dramatic 68-67 sectional win over Normal Tuesday night.
The pick: Richwoods 61, Edwardsville 58
Class 3A
St. Francis (16-14) vs. Wheaton Academy (20-12)
These two schools are just five miles apart. Now they will battle it out for a sectional title with the sectional’s top two seeds out of the way.
Hayden Schroeder is an ultra-productive junior for Wheaton Academy, putting up 22 points and nine rebounds a game. But little-known, seventh-seeded St. Francis is rolling after taking its lumps in the state’s best conference, the Chicago Catholic League, during the regular season.
The pick: St. Francis 54, Wheaton Academy 49
Lake Forest (16-16) vs. Deerfield (22-11)
Forget the fact Lake Forest finished fifth in the North Suburban Conference and Deerfield was fourth in the Central Suburban League South. Despite those pedestrian finishes, they are both on the doorstep of a Class 3A sectional title.
Lake Forest has won five straight regionals but have not been able to get past the sectional. This would be the first-ever sectional championship in program history.
Deerfield will have the best player on the floor in Jake Pollack (20 ppg, 8 rpg) and are in search of its first sectional championship since winning back-to-back sectionals in 1996 and 1997.
The pick: Deerfield 48, Lake Forest 44
Morton, IL (28-4) vs. Kankakee (29-1)
This is the premier Class 3A sectional title game in the state and a tough test for top-seed Kankakee.
Morton has ripped off 21 straight wins, including wins over sectional finalists Richwoods, Leo and U-High, and has been dominant in the postseason.
But when you’re getting 40-50 points a night from the 1-2 punch of 6-6 Lincoln Williams (26 ppg) and 6-6 EJ Hazelett (16 ppg), you’re a tough out. The Kays win and head to their first super-sectional since 1960.
The pick: Kankakee 60, Morton 56
Kaneland (33-0) vs. Crystal Lake South (27-7)
Kaneland hasn’t lost all season and are looking to win a second straight sectional championship behind guard Marcus Cocroft (20 ppg).
After starting the season 1-4, Crystal Lake South is 26-3 since and hasn’t lost since January. That includes an upset win over Cary-Grove in the sectional.
The pick: Kaneland 68, Crystal Lake South 61
Hyde Park (24-9) vs. De La Salle (18-16)
When the sectional assignments and brackets were released, both of these teams immediately saw a path to reaching Champaign. For De La Salle it’s been 46 years since its last IHSA State Finals appearance. Hyde Park, led by stat-sheet-stuffing Amare Leflore, has never been. A win here gets them one game closer.
The pick: De La Salle 48, Hyde Park 46
Leo (26-6) vs. Hillcrest (22-8)
A pair of very good but discreet seasons from both team and individual players in this sectional final. Both should be recognized. Brian Kizer leads Leo with 15 points a game and Hillcrest’s Jamir Ratliff puts up 20 a game, including 33 in the sectional semifinal win over Thornton.
Hillcrest, looking to claim its 11th sectional championship in program history, finds a way.
The pick: Hillcrest 61, Leo 57
Decatur MacArthur (33-1) vs. Normal U-High (27-6)
There are few teams in the state that score like MacArthur. The Generals have eclipsed 70 or more points 21 times this season.
Tishawn Clements, who averages nearly 19 points a game, is the all-time leading scorer in Decatur high school basketball history. MacArthur rolled U-High 62-32 back in December. This should be closer but with the same end result.
The pick: MacArthur 68, U-High 53
Centralia (32-1) vs. East St. Louis (29-4)
This sets up to be quite a battle in the southern part of the state.
Centralia is one of the state’s iconic basketball names, winning more games than any program in state history. But with one more win it will be the most wins at Centralia since 1941. That’s saying something.
East St. Louis, led by the state’s top prospect in the senior class, Penn State recruit Jamison White, has been the team to beat in 3A all season.
The pick: East St. Louis 64, Centralia 59