Before the calendar flips to February and before IHSA postseason pairings come out in two weeks to set the path to reach State Farm Center, Sports Editor MATT DANIELS has The News-Gazette’s latest area Top 10 poll:
1. Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin
➜ Record: 23-0
➜ Previous ranking: No. 1
Anderson Thomas and the Blue Devils have their sights set on getting the program to the state tournament for the first time. Taking an undefeated record into February certainly makes that seem like a possibility. Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin hits the road on Friday night to play a Hoopeston Area team that is capable of pulling an upset, with the Cornjerkers a respectable 15-7. But the Blue Devils can take solace in a 56-33 win against Hoopeston Area just last week at the Vermilion County Tournament. A tournament BHRA owns, with the Blue Devils winning their sixth straight county title by topping Westville 61-38 last Saturday night. BHRA followed that win up with a 67-49 home victory on Tuesday night against Watseka.
2. St. Joseph-Ogden
➜ Record: 15-5
➜ Previous ranking: No. 2
Kodey McKinney and the Spartans had to enjoy their last two wins. An 85-33 victory at St. Thomas More on Tuesday night and a 68-36 home win against Prairie Central last Saturday evening has the reigning Illini Prairie Conference champions sitting with a 4-0 league record and playing arguably their best basketball of the season. A chance to get to 5-0 in Illini Prairie play is there for the taking on Friday night when SJ-O, riding a seven-game winning streak, hosts Monticello at 7 p.m. Friday before the Spartans venture to Decatur next Tuesday night for a nonconference game against St. Teresa.
3. Westville
➜ Record: 20-4
➜ Previous ranking: No. 3
Aiden White and the Tigers are enjoying the program’s first 20-win season since the 2015-16 campaign saw Westville finish with a 21-9 record. The Tigers, who placed second last Saturday night at the Vermilion County Tournament after a loss to Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin, got to their 20th win with a superb defensive effort — a common theme throughout the season — during a 44-24 home win against Salt Fork on Tuesday night to knock off the Storm for the second time in the past week. The Vermilion Valley Conference win has Westville sitting at 5-0 in league play before it hits the road to play at Watseka on Friday night in another VVC game. Go ahead and circle Feb. 18 on the calendar because that Friday night is when Westville hosts BHRA in a rematch that could decide who wins the VVC outright.
4. Unity
➜ Record: 17-6
➜ Previous ranking: No. 6
Dane Eisenmenger and the Rockets have a clear motivating factor to keep their current run of success intact past February and into the first week in March. Because Unity will play host to a Class 2A sectional at the Rocket Center. The area team with the longest current winning streak not named Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin sports nine straight victories before Friday night’s Illini Prairie Conference road game against Prairie Central in Fairbury and is 4-0 in league play. Unity returns home next Tuesday to host Pontiac in another Illini Prairie game.
5. Tuscola
➜ Record: 17-4
➜ Previous ranking: No. 5
Caiden Russo and the Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak last Friday night with a double-digit Central Illinois Conference home win against Clinton and then made it two convincing wins in a row with a 73-46 nonconference victory at Arthur Christian on Tuesday night. A home date with a good Shelbyville team awaits on Friday night for another CIC game before a quick turnaround on Saturday afternoon when the Warriors host nonconference foe Bloomington Central Catholic. All of this leads into the CIC Tournament that tips off Monday night in Clinton for the Warriors when they play Central A&M.
6. Champaign Central
➜ Record: 12-9
➜ Previous ranking: No. 4
Cayden Love and the Maroons are mired in a three-game losing skid entering Friday night’s home game against state-ranked Peoria Manual in a Big 12 Conference game. Losing to another state-ranked team in Centralia last Friday night in the semifinals at the Salem Invitational, albeit by two points, is what started the recent season-worst skid by Central. The Friday night game with Manual marks the eighth game in the last three weeks for Central, which will have some time to decompress and get back in the practice gym next week before they host crosstown rival Urbana next Friday night at Combes Gym.
7. Salt Fork
➜ Record: 14-7
➜ Previous ranking: No. 8
Kamdyn Keller and the Storm don’t really have a bad loss all season. Playing in the Vermilion Valley Conference and in the Vermilion County Tournament has guaranteed that, with Salt Fork earning third place at the county tournament last Saturday night with a double-digit win against a Hoopeston Area team that has won 15 games. But Salt Fork, which rattled off six straight wins to start the year, are likely glad it doesn’t have to play Westville again this season after the Tigers handed them two lossess in a seven-day span. A road trip to play at Iroquois West is on tap Friday night before a home game on Saturday afternoon against Fisher.
8. Arcola
➜ Record: 15-6
➜ Previous ranking: No. 7
Braden Phillips and the Purple Riders started the season on a strong note, winning their first eight games. Since then, however, Arcola has seemingly alternated wins and losses each time out. Avoiding losing streaks, though, is a sign of a good program. Tuesday night’s 63-49 win against Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond has Arcola playing in the fifth-place game of the Lincoln Prairie Conference Tournament against Cerro Gordo/Bement on Friday night at Nancy Stiff Gym in Arcola. The Purple Riders resume league play next Tuesday night at Heritage.
9. Centennial
➜ Record: 11-10
➜ Previous ranking: Not ranked
Kellen Davis and the Chargers can play — and beat — good teams. The last two games prove that notion, with Centennial easily winning 61-39 last Saturday at Rochester and topping Springfield Lanphier 64-58 on Tuesday night at home. A chance for a third straight win happens at 7 p.m. Friday when Centennial hosts a struggling Danville team at Coleman Carrodine Gym before another nonconference foe, East Peoria, visits Champaign next Tuesday.
10. Monticello
➜ Record: 12-9
➜ Previous ranking: No. 9
Colton Vance and the Sages endured the lowest-scoring game of coach Kevin Roy’s 19 seasons in charge of the program last Friday night during a 46-25 loss at Paxton-Buckley-Loda in Illini Prairie Conference play. The loss didn’t linger, though, with Monticello defeating Prairie Central 55-43 on Tuesday night at the Sievers Center for an important Illini Prairie win if it hopes to keep pace with St. Joseph-Ogden and Unity. Speaking of SJ-O, Monticello has a chance to wreak havoc in the Illini Prairie race if it can pull off a road win against the Spartans on Friday night before they continue their mini road swing with a Tuesday night tip at Rantoul.
