Local teams enter regionals as underdogs

It is known as "America's Original March Madness" - a phrase that is a registered trademark of the Illinois High School Association.

This week, it will be playing in a high school gymnasium near you.

Appropriately, Class 4A and 3A regional boys basketball tournament action begins Monday as we turn the calendar page to March.

In Geneva, the host Vikings will tip off Monday night against West Chicago.

The regional field includes third-seeded Benet Academy (22-3), sixth-seeded Downers Grove South (16-9), No. 14 Glenbard North (11-13) and No. 17 Downers Grove North (8-16).

Geneva, which finished its regular season with an impressive record of 18-9, was awarded the 11th seed in the 22-team Neuqua Valley sectional.

"From our perspective, we feel very fortunate to be hosting a regional," said Vikings coach Phil Ralston.

How strong is the Neuqua Valley sectional?

The top four teams - Glenbard East (24-1), Neuqua Valley (27-2), Benet Academy and Naperville North (20-6) - own a combined record of 93-12.

Meanwhile, the top three teams all captured conference championships, with Benet earning its first East Suburban Catholic Conference crown since 1995.

"In all my years of coaching, I don't think I've ever seen a field as stacked as this one," Ralston said of the sectional.

"There may be other sectionals as strong at the top end but none as deep as this one."

Considering the fact that Glenbard North owns victories over South Elgin (a No. 1 seed at the Bartlett regional) and Naperville North, and gave DuPage Valley Conference champ Glenbard East a major scare last month (losing 60-59 Feb. 12 in Lombard), Ralston's point is well-taken.

Geneva, battling injury problems most of the year, has been involved in several down-to-the-wire games, and is 10-7 in games decided by 10 points or less.

"We've been battling injuries and lineup changes but we're as healthy as we're going to get," said Ralston. "Now it comes down to playing hard, smart and together."

While the Vikings are led by senior guard Nolan Block and 6-6 junior Dan Trimble, they don't necessarily have one go-to player - which may work to their advantage.

"We don't have marquee standouts," said Ralston. "We've got a balanced team. We want to be consistent at all five positions."

The Vikings also hope to benefit from some home cooking.

"I believe having the home court is a huge advantage," said Ralston. "With the regional being at our place, we like our chances."

Batavia (17-8) and West Aurora (10-15) are seeded 12th and 13th, respectively, and playing in the Waubonsie Valley regional.

Led by 3-year starter Ricky Clopton and junior guard Jesse Coffey, the streaky Bulldogs begin play against Glenbard West Monday night. With a win, they'll advance to Wednesday's semifinals against fifth-seeded Oswego East, which handed Neuqua Valley its second loss this past week.

"I think that if we can play two good halves, we can play with anybody in the tournament," said Coffey, who combined for 11 3-pointers in recent back-to-back games against Sycamore and St. Charles East.

Batavia coach Jim Roberts has a few areas of concern heading into the tourney.

"We've got to value the ball more," he said, "and I think we've got to do a little better job of cutting off the baseline."

West Aurora faces host Waubonsie Valley Monday night. The Blackhawks are 9-8 since their 1-7 start.

There's a definite Upstate Eight Conference feel to the 5-team Bartlett regional, which tips off Monday night when fourth-seeded St. Charles East takes on No. 5 Elgin.

"It's like having a mini-conference tournament with five teams from the conference involved," said St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin, whose third-seeded squad will face No. 2 Bartlett Wednesday night.

While South Elgin was awarded the top seed, there appears to be no clear-cut favorite.

"Everybody knows each other," said Saints coach Brian Clodi, "so scouting is at a minimal. We've all got game films on each other and we all have an idea of what we need to be successful. We've just got to go out and execute the game plan."

Making things more difficult to predict is the fact that the top four teams had mixed results in games against each other.

While St. Charles East lost twice to St. Charles North and once to Bartlett, it earned a 51-48 road win over South Elgin Feb. 12 and beat Elgin in January. St. Charles North split with Bartlett, downed Elgin and lost to South Elgin.

"Going into this, we think that anybody can win it," said Clodi, whose team is led by seniors Drew Vazquez and Jess Striedl. "There are going to be no upsets."

Due to a scheduling quirk, St. Charles North has had plenty of time to rest, having played just two games over a 24-day span.

"I think we're in a good spot with the time off that we've had without a game," said Poulin said.

The extra time off could work well for junior leading scorer Josh Mikes, who has been nursing a back injury.

"We want him ready for March," said Poulin.

Both St. Charles coaches agree that South Elgin and Bartlett are formidable foes.

"I think Bartlett is the most talented team but I feel South Elgin is definitely deserving of the number one seed," said Poulin. "South Elgin may be the best defensive team and they play within their system better than anybody I saw this year."

"I think Bartlett probably has the most depth," added Clodi.

In 3A, Suburban Christian Conference rivals Marmion and Aurora Central Catholic collide in the ACC regional semifinals Wednesday night.

Marmion won the previous meeting, 54-47, as part of the High School Hoops Showdown held at the Sears Centre.

This time, the Chargers enjoy the homecourt advantage as Marmion 6-6 senior Mark Peters and ACC sharpshooting guard Joey Guth square off in the 70th meeting between the two schools.

At Kaneland, Holy Cross-bound senior center Dave Dudzinski and the host Knights open Wednesday against the Hampshire-Rochelle victor, with the winner advancing to Friday's finals where No. 1 seed DeKalb and 6-10 center Jordan Threloff may await.

Does past history matter this week?

"That's a good question," said Poulin. "I'm not sure if there's any momentum involved."

Let the madness begin.

You can reach Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com.