Boys basketball: Scouting Fox Valley 3A-4A postseason
The IHSA postseason for Class 3A and 4A boys basketball teams begins Monday around the state. Here's a look at regional play involving Fox Valley area teams.
Class 4A Rockford Boylan sectional
Regional sites: Barrington, Bartlett, Crystal Lake South, Harlem
Top seeds: Barrington, South Elgin, Rockford Jefferson, Rockford Boylan
Barrington regional: No. 1 Barrington (15-12) opens the postseason Tuesday against the winner of Monday's 7:30 p.m. play-in game between No. 4 Larkin (1-25) and No. 5 Dundee-Crown (4-21). The Broncos have won 3 straight and 5 of their last 6.
Larkin will try to finish a tumultuous season on a positive note by making some noise in the playoffs. The Royals have won 8 games on the court this season but were forced to forfeit 7 of those victories due to a violation of IHSA bylaws regarding coaching certification. The Royals demonstrated their potential eight days ago when they upset South Elgin, which is the top seed in the Bartlett regional. Senior guard Ryan Smith has connected on 91 3-point attempts this season.
"I think it will be a competitive game with Larkin," Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber said. "I've seen them play several times and they have some weapons."
Dundee-Crown, a junior-heavy team, is led by junior Ryan Smith (10.6 ppg.), senior Sean Bernhard (10.3) and junior Jamel Kimbrough (8.9).
Wednesday's semifinal pits No. 2 Cary-Grove (14-11) against No. 3 Streamwood (8-17) at 7:30 p.m.
Cary-Grove is the champion of the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference. The Trojans are playing without junior guard Nick Richter, who was averaging 11.2 points per game before he broke a bone in his foot three weeks ago. Senior Matt Jones has taken over at point guard. Senior forward Chad McCarron leads Cary-Grove in scoring (16.6) and is second in rebounding (5.3).
"They're a tough, hard-nosed team and you can't take anything away from them," Streamwood coach Tim Jones said. "Cary-Grove throws some different stuff at you. They'll play a lot of zone, a lot of man and they have a couple of good shooters.
"If we play well and don't shoot ourselves in the foot, we have a good chance in that regional. If we play the way we're capable of playing - and that's a big if - we have the kind of matchup we're happy with."
Streamwood is led by senior forwards Marcus Lewis (14.2 ppg.) and Marcus Greene (9.1). Senior Derrick King and sophomore Lorenzo Mitchell each average better than 7 rebounds per game.
"They are athletic and they seem to play a lot of guys, so they might have a little more depth than us," Cary-Grove coach Ralph Schuetzle said. "But that's typical for us. We need to rebound, play harder than them and try to play smarter than them. If we can do that, I think we have a chance of being successful."
Bartlett regional: South Elgin (17-9) seeks its first regional title in what amounts to a mini-Upstate Eight Conference tournament.
The Storm will play Tuesday against the winner of Monday's play-in game between No. 4 St. Charles East (12-14) and No. 5 Elgin (6-20).
Elgin has lost 5 straight and 12 of 13 entering the postseason. St. Charles East beat South Elgin 51-48 on Feb. 12 to cap a 5-game winning streak, but has since lost 4 straight. The Saints beat the Maroons 52-45 on Jan. 21.
South Elgin plans to make adjustments if it faces St. Charles East again on Tuesday.
"We've got to play better," Storm coach Chaz Taft said. "Defensively, we didn't play well in spurts in the tough situations. I thought they got all the loose balls, the diving plays, the second-chance points. That's what they beat us on, and that can't happen if we're going to do anything in the state playoffs or it's one and done.
"The second thing is we've got to do a better job of handling their zone."
No. 2 Bartlett (14-11) will play No. 3 St. Charles North (16-11) in a semifinal on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Hawks and North Stars split two meetings during the regular season.
"Playing on your home floor in a regional is always an advantage but it's also pressure," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "Hopefully, we'll live up to that pressure and play our best basketball.
"Most of the last month of the season has been focused on St. Charles North and getting ready to play them because they are quite an opponent. They do a lot of different things than South Elgin."
Crystal Lake South regional: No. 1 seed Jefferson (20-6) finished in second place in the NIC-10 conference, 2 games behind Boylan. The J-Hawks play Tuesday at 6 p.m. against the winner of Monday's play-in game between No. 4 Huntley (14-12) and No. 5 Jacobs (8-18).
The Red Raiders and the Golden Eagles will square off for the third time this season and the second time in three days. Huntley won the first meeting 59-50 on Feb. 9. Jacobs defeated visiting Huntley 46-42 on Friday to win its fifth straight game. After a 3-18 start to the season, Jacobs enters the postseason confidently.
"We feel real good about the regional going into it," coach Jim Hinkle said. "We think we can win it, but we also think Huntley could win it. Any of these teams can. Jefferson, South, McHenry - it's just a complete tossup. We're playing our best basketball of the year so we feel good about our chances."
Huntley is a young team overall, heavy with sophomores and led by juniors Tyler Brunschon (15.5 ppg.) and Dylan Neukirch (9.7).
Jacobs is led by seniors Matt Schmidt (13.0) and Sean Meyer (11.1) and junior point guard Mike Peterson (10.7).
"I'm a big believer that seniors can carry their teams in the playoffs because they don't want their seasons to end," Huntley coach Marty Manning said. "It'll be up to us to match Jacobs' intensity and enthusiasm."
No. 2 McHenry (16-9) will play No. 3 Crystal Lake South (14-11) in the second game of Tuesday's semifinal doubleheader at 8 p.m. The Warriors and Gators split two regular-season meetings.
"When we beat McHenry (60-50 on Feb. 19) it was one of the better games we played this season," CL South coach Dan DeBruycker said. "It'll be a tough game against McHenry, but I'm looking forward to it. It should be fun because we get to host, which is great for the kids."
Harlem regional: NIC-10 Conference champion Boylan is the overwhelming favorite. The Titans' only conference loss was against Freeport, 53-50, on Feb. 20. No. 2 Hononegah (21-7) lost to Boylan twice, by 5 and 7 points, in two regular season games.
Advancement: The winner of the Boylan sectional will face the winner of the Waukegan sectional in the Elgin supersectional at Chesbrough Field House on Tuesday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Class 3A Hampshire sectional
Regional sites: Kaneland, Woodstock North, Aurora Central Catholic, Rockford East
Top seeds: DeKalb, Marian Central, Oswego, Freeport
Kaneland regional: DeKalb (21-8) is the top seed in this regional, led by 6-foot-11 Jordan Threloff (Illinois State) and guard Dylan Donnelly. The Barbs won the Western Sun Conference, but the other teams in the regional don't view winning the title as an impossible task.
"DeKalb is tough. The big kid makes them tough," Hampshire coach Bob Barnett said. "But we played them at Christmas and it was a 3-point game with 1:15 to go. We took a bad shot and we ended up having to foul. They knocked down free throws to win by 8.
"Anything can be had. It's quite the conglomerate we have over there this year."
Regional action tips off Monday with a play-in doubleheader: No. 5 Burlington Central (13-13) faces No. 4 Sycamore (11-15) at 6 p.m.; No. 3 Hampshire (16-9) plays No. 6 Rochelle (9-17) at 8 p.m.
Central has won 2 straight and 6 of its last 9 games. The Rockets ended the regular season on the upswing with wins over Larkin and Big Northern-East champion Richmond-Burton. Central lost to Sycamore in double overtime on Jan. 23, 78-74
"Just like any regional, but especially ours, it's pretty wide open," first-year Central coach Brett Porto said. "I like our first-round matchup and I like our regional in general. I think ours will be pretty crazy, to be honest. Everyone has kind of beaten everyone. DeKalb is in the right spot as the No. 1 seed, but in that regional I think anything can happen.
"For a team like us that has been fighting and clawing all season, hopefully now is the time we click."
The Burlington Central-Sycamore winner will face DeKalb in a semifinal on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Hampshire did not play Rochelle this season, but the surging Whip-Purs have had five days to prepare for the Hubs. The Whips enter the playoffs winners of 2 straight and 5 out of 6. The winner will advance to play No. 2 Kaneland (16-9) in a semifinal on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Hampshire and Kaneland split two regular-season meetings.
Woodstock North regional: Top seed Marian Central (18-9) finished second in the Blue Division of the Suburban Christian Conference. Barring a major upset, the Hurricanes will face the winner of No. 2 Crystal Lake Central (9-17) and No. 3 Prairie Ridge (11-15) for the regional title.
Aurora Central Catholic regional: No. 1 Oswego (20-6) has won 20 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. The Panthers lost the 2009 Class 3A title game to Champaign Centennial by 2 points. They will play for the regional title against the winner of Wednesday's battle of Aurora between Marmion (17-9) and Aurora Central Catholic (15-11).
Rockford East regional: Freeport (14-11) is the top seed in an otherwise weak regional. The Pretzels were the only team in the NIC-10 to defeat league champion Boylan. No. 2 seed Belvidere North enters with a record of 9-17.
Advancement: The winner of the Hampshire sectional advances to face the winner of the of the Ottawa sectional at the DeKalb (NIU) supersectional on Tuesday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m.