Class 1A/2A boys basketball preview
Class 1A Mooseheart sectional
Top four seeds: North Shore Country Day, Chicago Hope Academy (18-6), Dwight (23-3), Newark (26-1)
Regional hosts: St. Benedict, Christian Liberty Academy, Hinckley-Big Rock, Dwight.
At Christian Liberty Academy: Monday: No. 2 Christian Liberty Academy vs. No. 7 Roycemore, 6 p.m.; No. 3 Elgin Academy (7-14) vs. No. 6 Faith Lutheran, 8:10 p.m.; Tuesday: No. 4 Chicagoland Jewish vs. No. 5 Alden-Hebron (6-16), 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday: No. 1 North Shore Country Day vs. Chicagoland Jewish-Alden-Hebron winner, 6 p.m.; Christian Liberty-Roycemore winner vs. Elgin Academy-Faith Lutheran winner, 8:10 p.m.; Friday: Championship game, 7:30 p.m.
Outlook: Elgin Academy will have to pull a couple of upsets to emerge as a regional champion. The Hilltoppers open the tournament against Faith Lutheran, a team they defeated 56-26 on Jan. 5. If seeds hold, EA would face host Christian Liberty. The 'toppers lost to Christian Liberty by 5 points on the same floor on Jan. 26. If Elgin Academy wins that game, they would likely face top seed North Shore Country Day, which defeated the Hilltoppers twice this season by 16 and 15 points, respectively. "We're familiar with the field because we've played against or seen them," Elgin Academy coach David Vogt said. "We're pretty confident and we're definitely optimistic. We've been building toward this for the last couple of months. Anything can happen." Connor Flexman (13 ppg.) and Aaron Thomas (12 ppg.) lead the Hilltoppers, who won only 4 games a year ago. Newark is the team to beat in the sectional, led by 2,000-point scorer Kyle Anderson. The Norsemen are the champions of the Little Ten Conference. They enter the playoffs ranked No. 2 in the state in the latest AP poll.
Advancement: The winner of the Christian Liberty regional advances to the Mooseheart sectional to face the winner of the Chicago-St. Benedict regional, where Chicago Hope Academy is the top seed.
Class 2A Genoa-Kingston sectional
Top four seeds: Rock Falls (21-6), Westminster Christian (21-4), Winnebago (18-9), Rockford Christian (26-0)
Regional hosts: Riverdale, Plano, Winnebago, Rockford Christian
At Plano: Tuesday: No. 4 Mendota (8-17) vs. No. 5 St. Edward (7-20), 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday: No. 1 Westminster Christian (21-4) vs. Mendota-St. Edward winner, 6 p.m.; No. 2 Genoa-Kingston (11-15) vs. No. 3 Plano (13-12), 8:10 p.m.; Friday: Championship game, 7:30 p.m.
Outlook: Top-seeded Westminster Christian will try to win the second regional championship in program history, led by senior center Ian Dutcher (17.0 ppg., 9.5 rpg.), senior guard Brandon Cork (10.0 ppg., 37 3-pointers), senior forward Luke Carani (9.8 ppg., 6.4 rpg.) and senior guard Andrew Mason (9.2 ppg.). The Warriors, who won a Class 1A regional in 2007-08, have beaten the Nos. 2 and 5 seeds already. They defeated Genoa-Kingtson 53-39 on Dec. 11, and they knocked off St. Edward 67-55 at Thanksgiving. "That was months ago," said Warriors coach Bruce Firchau. "You see all the time where teams become different teams from what they were earlier. I think the other teams are all No. 1 seeds, at least that's our mindset and approach. Anybody can win this regional. It's who's hot this coming week." The Warriors have won two straight and 12 of 13. They open the playoffs on Wednesday, possibly against St. Edward, which first faces Mendota in Tuesday's play-in. "That would be a great game," St. Edward coach P.J. White said of a possible rematch with Westminster. "I'm not looking past Mendota, though, because that's the challenge. We've seen them play and we think that they're pretty comparable to us. Hopefully, it will be a good game. They've bounced us out of the football playoffs two years in a row, so it would be nice to keep that from happening again." St. Edward is led by senior guard Michael Ellis (20.6 ppg.). Rock Falls won the NCIC in its final year in the league. The Rockets are the top seed at Riverdale. Rockford Christian is ranked No. 8 in the latest Class 2A AP poll.
Advancement: The winner of the Plano regional advances to the Genoa-Kingston sectional to face the winner of the Riverdale regional.
Jerry Fitzpatrick