Super Tuesday preview
Here's a look at the Class 3A and 4A boys basketball supersectionals across the state by Daily Herald Sports Writer Marty Maciaszek.
Class 4A
Hoffman Estates (Sears Centre), 8 p.m.
Glenbrook North (23-4) vs. Waukegan (24-4)
Hoffman Estates (2004) and Glenbrook North (2005) derailed Waukegan's last two supersectional trips. But this group is led by two big-time talents in 6-foot-6 Illinois-bound junior Jereme Richmond (21 ppg, 10 rpg, 4 apg), whose 40-foot buzzer-beater bounced Warren 71-69 in the sectional final, and 6-4 Fairfield-bound senior G Colin Nickerson (19 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.5 apg). The Bulldogs won the first meeting 67-64 on Dec. 5 but the Spartans, who have won 14 in a row, took the Central Suburban North title game 76-71 in OT on Feb. 25. Six-6 junior Alex Dragicevich (20 ppg, 8 rpg) leads the way but Jordan Schmit, Austin Weber and Michael Phillips are scoring threats. Can the Spartans, who had 19 and 17 turnovers in their sectional games, use a bigger floor to their advantage to handle Waukegan's full-court pressure? The game will be broadcast live on WKRS-AM 1220.
De Kalb (NIU Convocation Center), 8 p.m.
Dundee-Crown (23-5) vs. Neuqua Valley (30-1)
Getting to Peoria has been Neuqua Valley's goal since it fell one step short in last year's supersectional to 4A champion Richards. The Wildcats have survived some tourney scares but have balance and depth led by 6-5 Derek Raridon and 6-5 junior Dwayne Evans (14 ppg). D-C has also had some close calls as it won its first sectional title on a last-second jumper by 6-1 Jeff Beck (17 ppg), who is complemented by versatile 6-0 Marcus Henry and 6-6 Charles Kimbrough.
Chicago State (Emil Jones Center), 8 p.m.
Whitney Young (23-9) vs. Hyde Park (28-4)
Don't be fooled by Young's record as it played a schedule loaded with national powerhouses. It has prepared the Dolphins for their tourney run with 6-2 Iowa State-bound G Chris Colvin (15 ppg, 9 apg) and senior Marcus Jordan leading a deep, balanced crew. Hyde Park was the Public League runner-up in its first title game trip since 1956 and is led by 6-4 senior G Malcolm Griffin (17 ppg, 7 apg, 5 rpg).
Normal (ISU's Redbird Arena), 7:30 p.m.
Thornton (28-1) vs. Belleville East (22-8)
Thornton coach Troy Jackson doesn't have the big star power he did when Proviso East fell short of Peoria with Dee and Shannon Brown. But the Wildcats have handled a No. 1 ranking most of the season behind talented 6-1 junior G Reggie Smith. Belleville East had to work overtime - four in an epic 126-115 regional final win over Belleville West and just one in the sectional semis - to get here behind senior G Kevin Pettiford (14 ppg, 4 apg).
Class 3A
Hoffman Estates (Sears Centre), 6 p.m.
North Chicago (24-5) vs. North Lawndale (28-5)
The road hasn't been easy for North Lawndale, last year's 2A champion, toward a repeat title. Jermaine Winfield has returned after he was shot in the leg in January after a game. Six-5 star F Jonathan Mills (14 ppg, 16 rpg, 5 apg), who is headed to Texas A&M Corpus Christi, played in the sectional after a court overturned an ineligibility ruling by North Lawndale for allegedly cheating on a test. It avenged a 66-61 loss to St. Joseph at the Sears Centre in January with a 78-52 sectional final win. North Chicago is also familiar with the Sears Centre after it lost to eventual champion Marshall in the 3A supersectional last year. The dynamic senior guard duo of 1,000-point career scorers Keith Ford and Deshawn Chambliss looks for a happier ending. The game will be broadcast live on WKRS-AM 1220.
Springfield (Prairie Capitol Center), 7:30 p.m.
Champaign Centennial (29-1) vs. Belleville Althoff (21-8)
Centennial coach Tim Lavin fell one step short of the state tourney as a starting guard on York's 1982 team that reached the supersectionals. Lavin has the state's top-ranked team and one of its top players in Ohio-bound James Kinney (17.2 ppg, apg), who is the school's No. 2 career scorer. Althoff picked up Belleville West's overtime lead by using an extra four minutes to top Carbondale in the sectional final behind 6-4 sophomore Carson Sonnenberg (14 ppg, 5 rpg).
Chicago State (Emil Jones Center), 6 p.m.
Leo (26-4) vs. Brooks (26-6)
Pointing the way for Leo, which won the Catholic League North title, is 5-10 senior G James Pointer (23 ppg, 5 apg, 4 spg) for a school that won the 2004 A title under Noah Cannon. Brooks, from the Public League, got 29 points from George Marshall, one of its four sophomore starters, as it rallied from a 12-point third-quarter deficit to beat Hillcrest in the sectional final.
DeKalb (NIU Convocation Center), 6 p.m.
Oswego (24-6) vs. Rock Island (21-9)
When Oswego last made the state tourney in 1974 it was with one of the shortest starting lineups in history under Steve Goers. Size isn't an issue for a team that lost by 32 to Conant in the York tourney semifinals but is 17-1 in 2009 behind the 6-4 trio of PG Andrew Galow, Colin Seibert and junior Andrew Ziemnik. Rock Island ended an uncharacteristic nine-year sectional title drought behind 6-2 sophomore G Chasson Randle (19 ppg, 6 rpg, 5 apg), who already has five Big Ten scholarship offers, and 6-6 senior F Brandon Pullman (16 ppg, 7.5 rpg).