2006-07 Illinois Class A basketball tournament

Texas is the mecca of high school football... but the Land of Lincoln is the place for high school hoops.

Fans will sell out Carver Arena in Peoria this weekend, despite the fact that the games are available on TV by most every cable server in the state. It's also the end of an era, of sorts. The IHSA will switch to a four-class basketball tournament next year, much to the chagrin of just about everybody who follows prep hoops.

Here's a look at today's quarterfinal games. The winners will play their semifinal contests Saturday afternoon, followed by the third place/championship games in the evening.

Step up and make your picks. I'll be busy and unable to provide updates throughout the day, but follow the action for yourself at www.ihsa.org

Quarterfinal 1 (Noon)
Maroa-Forsyth (30-1) vs. Savanna West Carroll (26-5)
Maroa, which finished third last year, earned its second straight trip to state. The news is that the Trojans won their super-sectional game without the services of all-state guard Robert Kreps (an Illinois-Chicago recruit) who underwent an emergency appendectomy on Sunday. Kreps earned AP Co-Player of the Year honors by averaging 24.5 points (and shooting 41 percent from the 3-point line). His status for the game is very much in doubt, but guard Ben Cochran has picked up the slack by scoring 26 points in the last two games.

West Carroll is making its first apperance at state under 29-year old coach Chris Knuth. It's a consolidation of a three schools, including Mount Carroll, which finished second in 2002-03. The Thunder are a balanced squad, with three players averaging in double figures.

Quarterfinal 2, 1:45 p.m.
Teutopolis (30-2) vs. Nashville (33-0)
This game deserves to be a semifinal at the least, but the luck of the draw means one of them will go home early.

Nashville is in the midst of the best season in the program's 100-year history. The No. 1-Hornets, led by Northern Iowa recruit Lucas O'Rear, have been dominating all season long. O'Rear averages 19 and 10 per game, but nobody else is in double figures. Nashville cruised to Peoria, its toughest game being a nine-point win over archrival Pickneyville (which it beat thrice this season) in the sectional final. Nashville hasn't pulled off the tri-fecta against Pickneyville since winning the state title in 1978. Coach Darin Lee is making his fifth state appearance, but he has yet to advance to the semifinals.

Teutopolis, better known as T-Town, has plenty of motivation despite avenging a 57-43 loss to the Hornets in the Riverton Shootout. Legendary coach Ken Crawford is retiring after his 26th season at the helm, compiling a record of 610-149 in that time. The Wooden Shoes are making back-to-back appearances in Peoria for the first time under Crawford, despite losing four starters from last season's team. Guard Jason Runde, the lone returning starter, has put up 20.6 ppg. Three other Shoes are in double figures, primarily because they have to be. The bench only goes one player deep. Despite that, T-Town weathered one of the toughest roads to state, including a win over archrival St. Anthony in a rubbermatch between the teams.

Quarterfinal 3, 6:45 p.m.
Farmington (30-1) vs. Mt. Sterling Brown County (26-6)

Farmington has been on a roll, reeling off 18 straight wins since Dec. 30. The low-post duo of Matt Goedeke and Josh Watznauer has been too much for most teams to handle. The Farmers play some defense, too, allowing a paltry 39.8 ppg. Farmington is back for the first time since a third-place finish in 1998.

Brown County is making its first state appearance. 6-foot-4 Josh Babb has played like he's five inches taller, leading the Hornets with 19 points and 7.5 rebounds. I'd tell you more, but I'd be spouting ignorance. Although it would seem the 1-4 start at the beginning of the season is a thing of the past.

Quarterfinal 4, 8:30 p.m.
Chicago North Lawndale (24-9) vs. Granville Putnam County (30-3)
Six of N. Lawndale's nine losses were taken away by forfeit... most likely b/c of an ineligible player. Two of the other three losses were to Carlyle, an elite eight team last year, and the aforementioned Nashville. Cordero Smith is averaging 17 ppg for the Phoenix, and Isiah Evans has been a beast, averaging 14.7 points and 11.7 rebounds. North Lawndale is a newcomer to the state festivities as well.

Putnam County is back for the first time since 1981. The reason why is 6-foot-8 wunderkind Carlton Fay, an AP first-team pick after putting up 23.6 points and 12 rebounds. Any Putnam County experts out there can add their insight.. I've not had the chance to see them.

 

QF 1 -- Maroa. Whether Kreps plays or not, I think the Trojans have what it takes to win here.

QF 2 -- Nashville. 33-0 ain't no accident.. but this game won't be the blowout the first meeting was.

QF 3 -- Farmington. What's that they say about defense?

QF 4 -- Putnam County. Nothing more than a guess.

Semis
Nashville over Maroa -- Nashville probably wins this game if Kreps is healthy. He's not.. so the Hornets roll.

Farmington over Putnam County -- Defense again.

Third place
Putnam County over Maroa -- Fay has a field day, because Maroa has no way of stopping him.

Championship
Nashville over Farmington -- No surprise that the top two low-post duos in the state go to battle here. O'Rear is a big SOB... but moves like a skinny, quick SOB. Farmington will struggle, like everybody else, to keep him off the glass.

 

Wow, I sure am glad this has its own thread...

 

North Lawndale made it to the Elite Eight last year, btw.

 

How's the team from Piper City doing?

 

Well-played.

Also, it's not a real tournament without Aldon-Hebron.

 

If this was the NCAA Tourney bracket, you would officially be out of the running for anything.

 

Yup. I cover this shit. I didn't say anything about knowing it.

Atually, it ain't shit. It's high quality. But I still don't know a damn thing about it

 

Double was 2-2 in the quarters.
His champ and third-place winner are dead.

 

Nashville lost? Dang ... Although seeing T-town winning one for Crawford isn't terribly surprising in the grand scheme of things.