CS8
1. Glenwood – There’s a new sheriff in town, but he’s a familiar face. The Glenwood Titans finished at the top of the Power Rankings last season after winning the conference. All year long the Titans have quietly went about their business and now here they are…at the top of the Power Rankings with a chance to win the Central State Eight yet again. Glenwood went into Lober-Nika and won. A win at home on Friday over Lincoln secures at least a share of the title.
2. Lanphier – Something’s not quite right with the Lions. A home loss on senior night is not the way that Xavier Bishop wanted to wrap up his career at Lober Nika. That being said, the Lions can still win the Central State Eight that is very deep this season. For the past month, everyone has been looking forward to Friday’s date between Lanphier and Southeast at Scheffler gym, but now it seems like a must win for the Lions before they head to the Bowl next week to start postseason play.
3. Jacksonville – Discussions in the channel1450 dungeon were had about leaving the Crimsons at number two this week because they simply find a way to keep on winning. Jacksonville is done with their CS8 schedule and have an outside shot at a tie atop the CS8 if Lincoln and Southeast can pull off wins on Friday. A triple overtime thriller against the Generals after grinding out a win at Rochester just shows this team can win in a variety of ways. Playing their regional at the Bowl will certainly favor the Crimsons next week when teams like Lanphier come to town in a win or go home situation.
4. MacArthur – A trip to the Bowl ended the Generals outside shot at a conference crown but Mac still sits at number four in the rankings because of their body of work. The Brummett boys and the rest of their crew can cause a lot of havoc in the Lincoln regional next week where they will likely see a couple familiar faces in Ike and Southeast as the top seed in that group.
5. Southeast – It seems like just yesterday the Spartans sat atop the standings. If it’s any consolation, the five spot in our Power Rankings has been a launching pad for CS8 teams recently, so it’s not a bad spot to be heading into the postseason. A loss at Glenwood is nothing to be concerned about considering where the Titans are right now and the Spartans kept their conference hopes alive with a two point win at Roy S. Anderson gym, where it’s not easy to win. The East side needs to complete the season sweep of Lanphier on Friday and get some help from the Railsplitters.
6. Lincoln – The Railsplitters are sitting just above the .500 mark on the season and fell to 8-9 in the CS8 with a tough home loss on senior night Tuesday to Southeast. Lincoln can play spoiler on Friday when they travel to Chatham where Lanphier, Southeast and Jacksonville will all be rooting for them to take down the Titans. A win over Glenwood would do great things for this team’s confidence heading into next week when they get to play at home to start postseason play.
7. Rochester – Dalton Handlin surpassed the 1,000 career point mark this week, which is impressive considering the Rockets have struggled to score at times this season. Rochester got a nice road win over Springfield High Tuesday night but a date with the Crimsons to start regional play is a tough draw.
8. Eisenhower – If there’s a time to put it together, it’s now for the Panthers. Ike could see their rivals (MacArthur) twice in the next week, the second one in regional play, so it’s prime time for the Panthers to finally close out a game.
9. Springfield High – The Senators get to play SHG on Monday, so they could pick up a postseason win. That’s a positive, right?
10. SHG – An eight point loss to MacArthur last week is some sort of consolation considering they scored 70 points. Maybe the Cyclones can steal one from the Senators at the Bowl on Monday where they are actually the higher seed.
Area
1. Pleasant Plains – The Cardinals have been on a steady ride on the back country roads all season long. It seems as though Pleasant Plains rarely has an off night. Tremendous balance has allowed that to occur, making the Cardinals an attractive choice to make a deep run in the postseason. Pleasant Plains had to go on the road against Riverton last Friday to clinch the Sangamo outright and it just wasn’t phased in front of a raucus crowd. The Cardinals took control of the game with a clenched fist and didn’t let go. Against Beardstown in the Plains regional final on Monday night, Isaac Collins got a big weight off his shoulders as the junior reached the 1,000 career points plateau. If that allows him to play freely during the postseason, look out. Plains will face the winner of Auburn – Riverton on Friday for the regional title.
2. Williamsville – Just like Plains, the Bullets have been consistently good this season after an uneven start. What’s scary is that Williamsville appears to be peaking at the right time and playing its best basketball with the playoffs now here. Harrison Creswell has found a “get after it” mentality which has allowed him to take over games in the post and Matt Watson is the perfect point guard for the Bullets with what coach Nick Beard wants to do. Maybe the most underrated factor when it comes to the Bullets is their defense. Beard makes it a point to try and hold opponents under 40 points per game and opponents have had a very difficult time exceeding that number. That’s a formula for success in the postseason.
3. Riverton – The Hawks entered the final week of the regular season undefeated in the Sangamo. That impressive run came to an end, as Riverton lost its last two games of the regular season against the top two teams in the conference: Pleasant Plains and Williamsville. Anybody on the team would tell you that the Hawks didn’t play up to their ceiling, but Riverton is sitting pretty in the No. 3 slot in this week’s Power Rankings. If The Hawks can get past Auburn on Tuesday night in the Plains regional, they’ll get another crack at Plains on the Cardinals’ home floor.
4. PORTA – This is the time of year when the Blue Jays really come alive. Nick Rathgeb has a seasoned playoff pedigree and that really rubs off on his players because no moment ever really seems too big for PORTA. The Jays will face a tough task in the Eureka Regional. The Jays may have to face a hot Williamsville team in the regional title game.
5. Auburn – The Trojans had a tough go against Williamsville at home in their regular season finale, but who hasn’t over the last few weeks? An interesting situation awaits the Trojans, though. They will face Riverton on Tuesday night. If the Trojans can sneak by the Hawks, that sets up an Auburn – Plains regional final. The Trojans have played Plains to the wire in each of the teams’ meetings this year. Possible upset alert? We’ll see.
