Illinois Basketball Pre-Playoffs Top 40

The regular season has officially ended in Illinois. Heading into the postseason, there was just one significant change. Bolingbrook jumps up in the rankings after winning at Homewood-Flossmor last week. The Raiders have a complete team led by [player_tooltip player_id='1295497' first='Josh' last='Aniceto'], KJ Cathey, [player_tooltip player_id='1541243' first='DJ' last='Strong'], [player_tooltip player_id='1385301' first='JT' last='Pettigrew'], and dynamic freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2323624' first='Davion' last='Thompson']. They'll be the top seed at the 4A Aurora East Sectional.   I'll be covering much of the Rockford Guilford Sectional next week where another Freshman, [player_tooltip player_id='2194324' first='Jaxon' last='Davis'], looks to lead the 13th-ranked Warren Blue Devils downstate. 25 of the teams ranked are in 4A and 14 are in 3A. Breese Central is the only representative in the rankings classed in 2A.   Full Rankings   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Rank</td><td>School</td><td>Sectional Notes</td><td>Class</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Curie</td><td>Top seed at R-B</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Homewood-Flossmor</td><td>Lost to Bolingbrook. Top seed at Rich.</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Thornton</td><td>Top seed at own sectional.</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Metamora</td><td>Top seed at Pontiac.</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>DePaul Prep</td><td>Top seed at St. Viator</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Bolingbrook</td><td>Upset H-F. Top seed at East Aurora.</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Brother Rice</td><td>#2 seed at Thornton.</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Mt. Carmel</td><td>Top seed at Hinsdale South</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Normal</td><td>Top seed at Pekin (Sub-Sectional A)</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Kenwood</td><td>#2 seed at R-B</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>Downers Grove North</td><td>#2 seed at East Aurora</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Quincy</td><td>#2 seed at Pekin (Sub-Sectional B)</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>Warren</td><td>Top seed at Guilford (Sub-Sectional B)</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Peoria Richwoods</td><td>#2 seed at Pontiac (Sub-Sectional A)</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>Mt. Zion</td><td>Historic Season. Top seed at Lincoln (Sub-Sectional B)</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>Marist</td><td>Hot at the right time. #2 seed at Rich</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>Kankakee</td><td>Top seed at Pontiac (Sub-Sectional B)</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>Benet</td><td>#4 seed at East Aurora</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>Collinsville</td><td>Top seed at Pekin (Sub-Sectional B)</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Lake Park</td><td>Top seed at Addison Trail</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>Waubonsie Valley</td><td>#3 seed at East Aurora</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>Rockford Guilford</td><td>Top seed at own sectional (Sub-Sectional B)</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>23</td><td>Centralia</td><td>Top seed at Triad</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td>New Trier</td><td>#4 seed at Maine South</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>25</td><td>De La Salle</td><td>#2 seed at Hinsdale South</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>26</td><td>Rich Township</td><td>#4 seed at own sectional</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>27</td><td>Loyola</td><td>Top seed at Maine South</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>28</td><td>Riverside-Brookfield</td><td>#3 seed at own sectional</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>29</td><td>East St. Louis</td><td>Top seed at Triad (Sub-Sectional B)</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>30</td><td>Marian Catholic</td><td>#3 seed at Thornton </td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>31</td><td>Moline</td><td>#2 seed at Pekin (Sub-Sectional A)</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>32</td><td>Bloom</td><td>#3 seed at Rich</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>33</td><td>Breese Central</td><td>Top seed at Benton (Sub-Sectional A)</td><td>2A</td></tr><tr><td>34</td><td>Lincoln Park</td><td>#4 seed at R-B</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>35</td><td>Neuqua Valley</td><td>#6 seed at East Aurora</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>36</td><td>Lake Forest</td><td>#2 seed at St. Viator</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>37</td><td>Morton</td><td>#3 seed at Pontiac</td><td>3A</td></tr><tr><td>38</td><td>Glenbrook South</td><td>#3 seed at Maine South</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>39</td><td>Evanston</td><td>#6 seed at Maine South</td><td>4A</td></tr><tr><td>40</td><td>Niles North</td><td>#5 seed at Maine South</td><td>4A</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>

The regular season has officially ended in Illinois. Heading into the postseason, there was just one significant change. Bolingbrook jumps up in the rankings after winning at Homewood-Flossmor last week. The Raiders have a complete team led by Josh Aniceto Josh Aniceto 5'9" | PG Bolingbrook | 2024 State IL , KJ Cathey, DJ Strong DJ Strong 5'9" | PG Bolingbrook | 2024 State IL , JT Pettigrew JT Pettigrew 6'8" | C Bolingbrook | 2025 State IL , and dynamic freshman Davion Thompson Davion Thompson 6'2" | SG Link Academy | 2027 #21 Nation MO . They'll be the top seed at the 4A Aurora East Sectional.