Ted’s Takes: Best Regional Semifinal Games

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Playoffs begin this week and there's still plenty of exciting games to watch in the opening rounds. Especially in some of the 4A regionals where there are up to seven teams ranked inside the top 40. Here are four of my favorite opening round matchups scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(3) Alton vs (6) O'Fallon - Rock Island Sectional</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alton and top 10 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2376270' first='Semaj' last='Stampley'] have put together a very strong resume this season. Holding a 19-11 record and are the #3 seed in their sub-sectional. They've also cracked our rankings this season and are on a 3-game winning streak. But Stampley and the Redbirds will have a date with [player_tooltip player_id='1501486' first='Ben' last='Akoro'], another top 20 senior in the class, on the other end. It has not been the Season O'Fallon has wanted. But this should be an enticing matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(6) Riverside-Broookfield vs (11) Simeon - Mt. Carmel Sectional</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This will be a solid matchup against a pair teams with less than 10 losses on the year. Riverside-Brookfield most recently picked up their biggest win of the season against Glenbard East. But Simeon has just four losses in Illinois this season. Winner likely faces St. Ignatius in the regional final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(7) Kenwood vs (10) Perspectives - Mt. Carmel Sectional</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two squared off in January, where Kenwood pulled away with a 1-pt win at home. Kenwood is coming off an impressive run in the CPS tournament which included a win against Whitney Young. But Perspectives has kept numerous ranked teams very close, and will put up a terrific battle in this one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(4) St. Patrick vs (13) Notre Dame - Loyola Sectional</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Back whence was doing videography, this was the most exciting rivalry game of the season. And for good reason. JV game sold out, rowdy student sections, and more. Now they square off in the first round of the IHSA playoffs at New Trier. In the regular season, the Shamrocks won a tight 45-36 game at home earlier this year. And while the two teams have had opposite seasons, rivalry games will tend to be closer. The Dons are led by Emran Alisphic and Carmen Meccia. While the Shamrocks have Macalester commit [player_tooltip player_id='1939226' first='Joseph' last='Costanzo'] and several others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->