No surprises in big-school seedings
All quiet on the seeding front.
According to DuPage County coaches, last week's Class 3A and 4A online seeding meetings went pretty much according to plan. Not that anyone's jumping for joy - the fields are far from easy - but the brackets broke to form for the most part.
The Class 4A Neuqua Valley sectional featured little surprise with its top four teams. Glenbard East (21-1) was the clear choice for the top seed, especially with a win over No. 2 Neuqua Valley (23-1). A tough schedule and strong play earned Benet (19-3) the third seed, while a recent push allowed Naperville North (18-5) to secure the fourth seed.
"It took a lot of work to get that fourth seed," said Naperville North coach Jeff Powers, whose team has won eight of its last nine games. "We've played a good schedule, our losses are pretty close. When you look at all of that, I think we probably deserved the fourth seed."
While Glenbard East anchors the Willowbrook regional, Neuqua Valley's headed to Plainfield East. Benet will play at Geneva and Naperville North heads to Waubonsie Valley.
"You'd like that homecourt advantage, but Willowbrook's right in our backyard," said Glenbard East coach Scott Miller. "I think we'll get a lot of people there."
In Class 3A Wheaton Academy coach Paul Ferguson thought last week's loss to Benet might adversely affect his team's seeding in the Riverside-Brookfield sectional, but that turned out not to be the case.
The Warriors (21-2) are seeded fourth behind state powerhouses Marshall, St. Joseph and North Lawndale. The brutal bracket begins for Wheaton Academy in a regional its hosting for the first time in program history, a regional that includes No. 5 Riverside-Brookfield.
Matching last season's regional championship run won't be easy for the Warriors.
"I thought that loss (to Benet) would really hurt us in the sectional, and it didn't hurt us at all," Ferguson said. "We were hoping we'd end up fourth in the sectional and that's where we were."
Not this team: So which underdog team would you least like to face in the upcoming playoffs? Glenbard North has to be on that list.
Granted, the Panthers are barely over .500 at 11-10, but they've shown the potential to play with - and beat - the top teams. Last Friday was a perfect example.
Glenbard North took DuPage Valley Conference champion Glenbard East down to the wire on the Rams' home court, falling 60-59 when a last-second shot went off the mark.
"We were disappointed, I really felt like we deserved to win," said Panthers coach Joe Larson. "It was still a real good sign that we're playing well right now. That team has 21 wins. There aren't a lot of teams that have been close to them."
Other than Glenbard East's lone loss to Curie, the closest anyone has come to the Class 4A Neuqua Valley sectional's top seed was a pair of 10-point games.
While Glenbard North's relied on the steady play of seniors James Fleming, Reggie Davis and Mike Carev, the emergence of juniors Brandon Clark, Anthony Keener and Alex Smith in addition to sophomore Josh Fleming are a big reason for the team's resurgence in the second half of the season.
The Panthers, winners in five of their last seven games and seeded 14th in the Neuqua Valley sectional, play No. 17 Downers Grove North in the Geneva regional quarterfinals. The winner plays third-seeded Benet.
"The way we've been playing," Larson said, "I think we'll be able to match up well with a lot of teams."
Battle tested: As Benet (19-3, 10-0) makes a push toward the program's first East Suburban Catholic Conference title since 1995, the Redwings know the road won't be easy. Literally.
Benet's last three ESCC games will be on the road, starting this weekend against Marian Catholic (7-20, 2-9) and co-leader St. Joseph (18-5, 10-0). Next Wednesday the Redwings travel to play Notre Dame (16-8, 8-3).
It's an awfully tough stretch to close the season. If Benet wins two out of three - one win needs to be Saturday at St. Joe's - the Redwings will be conference champions.
Benet's been solid all season, but last week's win at Wheaton Academy especially proved the Redwings' toughness on the road. By winning that game 64-55, Benet handed the Warriors (22-2) their first loss to an Illinois team.
"We're playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of poise right now," said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "We feel like we're pretty battle tested."
Keeping it together: Montini also is battle tested. Only the Broncos have won few battles.
There is good news in this 2-21 season. Montini's no-senior squad sticks together, practices hard, has improved on the court and learns things they'll apply next season, completely intact as a varsity squad.
"I think it's a compliment to their character for the kids to continue to come to practice every day, to try to get better," said Montini coach Brian Opoka, praising the guts of his junior class: Jacob Stevenson, Tim Perlowski, Tom Murray, Jim Harrington, Tom Lentine and Matt Kersten.
Seven sophomores on the varsity, led by top scorers Tyshawn Johnson and Rich Bodee, make this a team built for the future.
"They come to practice every day, and we've had some unbelievable practices," Opoka said.
When you're 2-21 that's easier said than done. Another silver lining is the diminishing margin of their losses. Although Montini is winless in the Suburban Christian Blue the games have been dramatically closer the second time through the league. The last SCC Blue test comes Friday against St. Francis, which beat the Broncos 63-47 on Jan. 8.
"Really, I am proud of them," Opoka said. "This is not an easy thing for anyone - me, or the kids."
The Broncos' second-year coach offers perspective: "If this is the worst that happens to them, then things are going to be OK."