10 Best Super Sectional Previews

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monday night are super sectional games all over Illinois.&nbsp; The winners will play in the state final four later in the week.&nbsp; We dive into some of our favorite matchups here in <strong>10 Best Super Sectional Matchups</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>4A</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Homewood Flossmoor vs Curie (UIC)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>HF is coming off a really good win against a quality Bloom squad.&nbsp; Now that they have taken care of the south suburbs it is their turn to take on the city power Curie.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1385293' first='Bryce' last='Heard'] from HF and Curie's [player_tooltip player_id='1157211' first='Carlos' last='Harris'] are playing like the superstars they are.&nbsp; Both of these teams can legitimately win the state title, but they have to win this game first.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Palatine vs Warren (NIU)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both of these squads are playing their best basketball of the season.&nbsp; Palatine star [player_tooltip player_id='1541230' first='Connor' last='May'] is consistently putting up 20+ every single night.&nbsp; Warren point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2323571' first='Jaxson' last='Davis'] is playing well beyond his years as a freshman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Glenbard North vs New Trier (Hoffman Estates)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Glenbard North is the Cinderella of 4A coming into these supers.&nbsp; Without Crues it has been [player_tooltip player_id='1552441' first='Josh' last='Abushanab'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1157222' first='JJ' last='Hernandez'] taking on the heavy load which they have done to date.&nbsp; New Trier sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1554516' first='Christopher' last='Kirkpatrick'] is on fire after hitting a game winner.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1385306' first='Colby' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1552486' first='Danny' last='Houlihan'] also can go off on any given night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Downers Grove North vs Normal Community (Illinois State)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Normal Community is coming off an epic game and win at the buzzer against Quincy in improbable fashion.&nbsp; Their guards of [player_tooltip player_id='1172774' first='Braylon' last='Roman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1285483' first='Niko' last='Newsome'] were outstanding in the win.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1157233' first='Jaheem' last='Webber'] (Wright State commit) had the game winner.&nbsp; DGN counters with star [player_tooltip player_id='1285524' first='Jack' last='Stanton'] who is headed to Princeton along with sharp shooter [player_tooltip player_id='1507492' first='Alex' last='Miller'].&nbsp; Two of the best teams in the state that could either win a state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>3A</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mt. Carmel vs St. Patrick (UIC)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mt. Carmel is coming off a blow out win against conference foe De La Salle where Northwestern commit [player_tooltip player_id='1373436' first='Angelo' last='Ciaravino'] had 34 points.&nbsp; More importantly junior combo guard [player_tooltip player_id='1385307' first='Cameron' last='Thomas'] is starting to step up as Robin to Ciaravino's Batman with the absence of Marks.&nbsp; St. Patrick's three headed monster of guards [player_tooltip player_id='2104971' first='AJ' last='Thomas'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1385287' first='EJ' last='Breland'] along with bouncy junior forward Neveah Hawkins are playing really well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DePaul Prep vs Crystal Lake South (Hoffman Estates)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DePaul Prep has absolutely put the clamps on teams defensively all playoffs.&nbsp; They have rock solid guard play and one of the best defensive bigs in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='1157352' first='Jaylan' last='McElroy'].&nbsp; Crystal Lake South has junior AJ Demirov who based on his stellar junior season is primed to make a major debut in our next 2025 rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thornton vs Richwoods (Ottawa)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two most physically dominating bigs in the state will square off.&nbsp; We saw this in November and it was a thriller.&nbsp; This has even more at stake.&nbsp; The top power forward [player_tooltip player_id='1157230' first='Morez' last='Johnson'] of Thornton will go head to head with top center [player_tooltip player_id='1157232' first='Lathan' last='Sommerville'].&nbsp; There are six quality guards that all are seniors and have futures at the next level.&nbsp; Who plays best among them might be the difference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mt. Zion vs Centralia (Springfield)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game seemed destined to happen.&nbsp; For a while it looked like they both might be undefeated coming into the contest.&nbsp; The best 3A team in southern Illinois vs the best from central Illinois all year long.&nbsp; The matchup I am looking forward to is inside between Centralia's [player_tooltip player_id='2217959' first='Dustyn' last='Collins'] and Mt. Zion's [player_tooltip player_id='2323267' first='JC' last='Anderson'].&nbsp; A key will be can Centralia get it at their pace.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>2A</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Phillips vs Beecher (Joliet Central)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Great 2A matchup here.&nbsp; Beecher comes in as the only undefeated team in the state with a well balanced squad.&nbsp; Phillips has a star in [player_tooltip player_id='2321396' first='EJ' last='Horton'] in the junior class.&nbsp; Should be a classic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>1A</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aurora Christian vs Pecatonica (NIU)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two of the best 1A squads from northern Illinois.&nbsp; Aurora Christian has [player_tooltip player_id='1295606' first='Cameron' last='Morel'] along with young and talented guard [player_tooltip player_id='1552428' first='Marshawn' last='Cocroft'].&nbsp; Pecatonia's [player_tooltip player_id='1874696' first='Cooper' last='Hoffman'] is the star for his squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->