Week 10 Illinois Hoops Update/Top 40 (FREE)

When Sides Collide Alters Rankings

The week concluded with five key games at Benet Academy that allowed us to see where many teams currently stand amongst the rest. Coming off a thrilling OT win at Brother Rice the night before, DePaul Prep had another top-20 opponent, Normal, on the ropes. But as the game got late, fatigue caught up and DePaul lost in Double-OT to the Ironman. Normal picked up its 20th win that game behind a 28-point, 12 rebound performance from Noah Cleveland Noah Cleveland 6'8" | C Normal Community | 2024 State IL . In the next game, Gianni Cobb Gianni Cobb 6'0" | PG Homewood Flossmoor | 2024 State IL scored 22 keep Homewood-Flossmor unbeaten in Illinois. Knocking off Downers Grove North 59-51 and holding on to the #2 spot in the rankings.

While H-F stayed unbeaten in the state, another program’s unbeaten run in Illinois came to and end at the event. Mt. Carmel and Northwestern commit Angelo Ciaravino Angelo Ciaravino 6'6" | SF Mt. Carmel | 2024 State #160 Nation IL lost 82-70 to Kenwood. The Broncos, who have arguably the most talented roster in the state, picked up their biggest win of the season and jumped back into the top 10. They were led by DePaul commit Chris Riddle Chris Riddle 6'5" | SF Kenwood | 2024 State #204 Nation IL , who scored 31 points in that contest.

Led by Illini commit Morez Johnson Morez Johnson 6'9" | PF Thornton | 2024 State #33 Nation IL , the Thornton Wildcats ended Benet’s unbeaten win streak at home, knocking off the Red Wings 63-54 to end the When Sides Collide showcase. While Johnson secured another 21-point double-double, 2024 point guard Isaiah Green Isaiah Green 6'1" | PG Thornton | 2024 State IL scored a career-high 26 points. The Wildcats are now ranked #3 behind Curie and H-F.

Biggest Cinderella?

This is an easy answer. After beginning the season unranked, Waubonsie Valley has climbed its way into the top 10 and are one of just a few unbeaten teams in Illinois. Their biggest win came against Normal last weekend in a 40-38 thriller. Last Friday, they had a very close call against Naperville North. But pulled away late. Given their strength of schedule, and the wins some other teams had this week, we dropped them into to the ladder half of the top 10. Their biggest tests coming up will be DeKalb, Bolingbrook, and Neuqua Valley.

Three Teams Return

East St. Louis, St. Pats, and Moline have re-entered the rankings. East St. Louis had a slow start to the season. But they’ve won six straight and knocked off a ranked Centralia squad over the weekend. Sr F Taylor Powell Taylor Powell 6'6" | SF East St. Louis | 2024 State IL leads the team in scoring averaging 14 ppg. St. Pats re-enters due to their unbeaten record in 2024. While Moline, the defending 4A champions, have a 16-2 record on the season.

Lake Forest, Lake Zurich Make Their Debuts

Lake Forest recently knocked off Warren 54-51. Sitting at 13-5, they picked up a pair of quality wins against Waukegan and Rolling Meadows this past week. Lake Zurich, who beat Lake Forest a couple weeks ago, have a really solid resume. Their only losses have come against Loyola, New Trier, Waubonsie Valley, and Stevenson in OT. They’ll have a big game Friday when they travel to Warren.

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