After Curie’s loss last night in Kentucky there are just two teams left unbeaten. Here’s a look at their chances to run the table.
Evanston
The Wildkits head home from Centralia with a tournament title and an unblemished record. Throw in a couple of high-profile non-conference wins over Notre Dame and Orr and the 13-0 start has been awfully impressive.
“It’s not in my mind at all unless someone mentions it,” says Evanston coach Mike Ellis regarding the 13-0 start. “I’m proud of our guys meeting challenge after challenge so far.”
With the departure of key seniors and the transfer of promising talent Louis Lesmond to Notre Dame, this unbeaten start to the season has been a surprise to everyone.
“Based on what I saw in the summer, yes, I’m surprised,” says Ellis. “But we were all figuring out our roles throughout the summer. Now understanding their roles, their knowledge of the game has been the big difference for us.”
But getting through January unscathed will be difficult.
If Evanston can hold off Aquan Smart and Niles North in a home game Jan. 7, Ellis’ team could roll into the teeth of its schedule in late January sporting a perfect 20-0 record. But then it gets really tough, starting with a Jan. 25 showdown with Bloom in the When Sides Collide Shootout at Glenbard East.
Following the Bloom matchup, Evanston’s late-January grind includes ranked Loyola (Jan. 28) and a road date at Glenbrook South (Jan. 30) in a huge Central Suburban League South matchup.
In addition, Evanston will host talented Oak Park in early February.
If the Wildkits can somehow survive that challenging stretch of games, superstar Patrick Baldwin, Jr., and Wisconsin powerhouse Hamilton will be waiting Feb. 8. Evanston faces Baldwin, one of the top five players in the country in the Class of 2021, in the ETown Showdown.
Odds of finishing the regular season unbeaten: 40-1
Thornton
Although Thornton was a preseason top 25 team, no one expected the Wildcats to be unbeaten heading into the new year. Well, the Thornton coach maybe did.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised,” Thornton coach Tai Streets says of his team’s unblemished record. “I just know how this group works. They work their tails off and compete every single day. But we don’t talk about being unbeaten. Each day and each game is a new battle. You can’t look ahead to things like [being unbeaten].”
Nonetheless, Streets’ team heads into January with a perfect 13-0 mark after winning the Big Dipper at Rich South last week. More impressively, the Wildcats handled both Bolingbrook and Bloom in the biggest résumé-building wins of the year.
Of the three remaining unbeaten teams, the Wildcats have the best chance of running the table. But it won’t be easy.
An interesting battle in a few weeks at Kankakee will be a very tough test. The Kays are 11-1 and playing at Kankakee is never easy. Plus, Kankakee will travel to Thornton in early February.
Then there will be a much-anticipated rematch with Bloom, which played the first game between these two old SICA East rivals without point guard Donovan Newby. Thornton won that first matchup 61-58, but the next one will be in Chicago Heights against a loaded Blazing Trojans team that will be primed and ready.
If Thornton can somehow win both road games at Kankakee and Bloom? The remaining schedule is hardly daunting.
Odds of finishing the regular season unbeaten: 25-1
