Quincy Notre Dame (15-0)  Peoria Manual (10-4)  Staunton (16-1)   Yorkville Christian (12-6)  Chicago (Hope Academy) (13-5)  Teutopolis (16-2)  Tolono Unity (15-2)  Chicago Crane (11-9)   Warrensburg-Latham (17-3)  Chicago (Christ The King) (14-4)  Chicago (Clark) (16-4)   Kankakee (Bishop McNamara) (17-4)  Carterville (18-2)  St. Joseph-Ogden (12-5)  Nashville (17-2)   Williamsville (13-4)  Warsaw-Hamilton (West Hancock) (12-3)  Bloomington Central Catholic (10-8)  Trenton (

Lawrenceville (17-1)  Tuscola (17-2)   Newman Central Catholic (21-0)   Jacksonville (Routt) (17-3)   LeRoy (16-1)  Waltonville (17-2)   Woodlawn (16-2)  Goreville (15-1)  Bluford (Webber) (15-2)   Chicago (Marshall) (10-7)   Chicago (Fenger) (9-12)  Sparta (16-2)   South Holland (Unity Christian) (10-6)    Abingdon-Avon (17-2)   Deer Creek-Mackinaw (13-3)   Hardin (Calhoun) (12-3)   Dakota (15-1)    Lexington (15-4)    Casey-Westfield (13-6)    Lanark (Eastland) (14-2)   Tol

Quincy Notre Dame (14-0)  Peoria Manual (8-4)   Staunton (13-1)  Yorkville Christian (10-6)  Chicago (Hope Academy) (11-5)  Teutopolis (12-2)  Tolono Unity (12-2)  Chicago Crane (9-8)  Warrensburg-Latham (16-2)  Chicago (Christ The King) (12-3)  Chicago (Clark) (14-3)  St. Joseph-Ogden (11-4)  Bloomington Central Catholic (8-7)  Williamsville (10-4)  Kankakee (Bishop McNamara) (15-3)  Eureka (12-4)  Trenton (Wesclin) (11-3)  Nashville (14-2)  Warsaw-Hamilton (West Hancock) (1

Jacksonville (Routt) (15-2)   Lawrenceville (15-1)  Tuscola (17-0)    Newman Central Catholic (18-0)  Goreville (13-1)  Waltonville (15-2)   Bluford (Webber) (12-2)    Abingdon-Avon (15-2)    Woodlawn (14-2)  LeRoy (14-1)   South Holland (Unity Christian) (10-5)  Sparta (14-2)    Chicago (Marshall) (8-6)    Chicago (Fenger) (8-10)   Deer Creek-Mackinaw (11-3)    Hardin (Calhoun) (10-2)   Dakota (11-1)    Casey-Westfield (12-5)   Lexington (13-3)   Toledo (Cumberland) (15-2) 

Lisle (Benet Academy) (17-1)  Chicago (Depaul Prep) (14-2)   Chicago (Marist) (12-1)   Loyola Academy (14-2)   Chicago (Curie) (11-1)   Chicago (St. Ignatius) (14-2)   New Trier (12-3)   Warren Township (10-1)   Homewood-Flossmoor (13-1)   Chicago (St. Patrick) (13-1)   Burbank (St. Laurence) (14-1)   Arlington Heights (Hersey) (12-1)   Whitney Young (11-6)  Bolingbrook (8-3)   Chicago (Kenwood) (10-2)   Oswego East (11-3)   Waukegan (11-3)   Moline (11-3)   Rock Island (11-2

Kankakee (10-1)  Decatur (MacArthur) (11-0)   Centralia (14-1)   East St. Louis (12-1)  Maple Park (Kaneland) (13-0)  East Peoria (8-0)   Peoria (Richwoods) (10-2)  Geneva (11-1)   Cary-Grove (11-2)   Mount Vernon (11-2)   Deerfield (11-4)   Chicago (Hyde Park) (10-4)   Peoria (8-5)  Morton (9-4)   Chicago (Morgan Park) (8-4)   Chicago (Leo) (10-3)   Washington (8-4)  Metamora (10-4)  Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin) (7-3)   Troy (Triad) (9-5)   Peoria (8-5)  Chicago (King)

Quincy Notre Dame (11-0)   Peoria Manual (6-3)   Chicago (Christ The King) (11-2)   Warrensburg-Latham (14-1)   Staunton (10-1)   Chicago Crane (7-7)   Chicago (Clark) (12-3)   Yorkville Christian (10-3)   Chicago (Hope Academy) (7-5)   Warsaw-Hamilton (West Hancock) (6-2)   Teutopolis (11-2)  Tolono Unity (10-2)   St. Joseph-Ogden (10-4)   Bloomington Central Catholic (7-6)   Kankakee (Bishop McNamara) (13-3)   Trenton (Wesclin) (9-2)   Roxana (11-4)   Byron (8-2)   Cartervi

Woodlawn (14-0)   Lawrenceville (13-1)  Tuscola (14-0)   Newman Central Catholic (15-0)   Sparta (11-2)   Jacksonville (Routt) (12-1)   LeRoy (11-1)   Goreville (11-1)   Waltonville (11-2)   Deer Creek-Mackinaw (10-2)   South Holland (Unity Christian) (10-5)   Dakota (9-1)    Bluford (Webber) (10-1)   Casey-Westfield (9-3)   Chicago (Marshall) (8-5)   Lexington (11-2)   Chicago (Fenger) (7-9)   Colfax-Ridgeview (11-2)   Toledo (Cumberland) (13-2)   Minonk (Fieldcrest) (8-4)  

BENTON - Christmas tournaments are about to be underway and there is still a lot of basketball to be played before late February. But if the season ended today, these are the regional championship matchups I predict to see in the 1A landscape. Jacksonville Super-Sectional Campbell Hill (Trico) Sectional: Elkville (Elverado) Regional: #1 Woodlawn vs #4 Steeleville Cobden Regional: #2 Hardin County vs #3 NCOE Junction (Gallatin County) Regional: #1 Goreville vs #2 Gallatin Coun

BENTON - A lot of big games have been played this week and some new names have been added to the list. After seeing some other websites' "rankings" the past few weeks, I no longer feel the need to explain to anyone why I have a certain team in a certain spot. Some of those have just been flat out bad. Some new names have been added to the Top 10 this week so let's jump right into it. 1A   Lawrenceville (10-0)  Woodlawn (9-0)  LeRoy (9-0)   Sparta (7-1)   Chicago (Fenger) (6-4

BENTON - With Week 3 wrapping up today, a lot has been rearranged. The back end of the 1A Top 10 has gotten a makeover, 2A has flipped upside down, 3A sees some new faces and 4A makes a couple changes. Things are really starting to take shape with more ranked teams playing each other in shootouts today. Playoff assignments were released yesterday and viewable on ihsa.org . Let’s get right into it. 1A  Waltonville (8-0) -Dominating wins over 2A Carterville, NCOE and Sandoval.

BENTON - We’re back for Week 3 of girls basketball rankings like we never left. Some pivotal shootout and regularly scheduled games today could shake some things up. Let’s get right down to business. 1A   Deer Creek-Mackinaw (7-0) -Big wins this week over Clinton & Eureka. @ Sullivan today.   Mt. Sterling (Brown County) (7-0) -Blowout win over Carrollton. @ Home against Newman Central Catholic today.   Okawville (7-1) -Running clock victory over Chester. Big test today with a

BENTON - The spring schedule is set for our Aura Athletics events in 2026. While there is a lot to unpack, there are three specific basketball showcases we would like to highlight the importance of. These events all take place in April, as that is a key month for college basketball recruiting. All three events fall into the live period, meaning college coaches can actively attend these showcases in person and interact with athletes. At each event, athletes will sign in (must

WALTONVILLE - The Waltonville Spartans are loaded with talent once again this year as they’re off to a 5-0 start. This team returns most of the roster from last year, but as usual, there are always graduations and transfers. With that, a role in the starting lineup opened up for Waltonville in the off-season. After spending the last few years getting some varsity minutes off of the bench, senior Weston Rose has stepped into the starting role for the state championship-caliber

MOUNT VERNON - The next couple of Friday nights are going to be awfully loud in quite a few high school gymnasiums across the state. There will be none louder than two pairs of Southern Illinois rivalry matchups with some deeply-rooted history: Waltonville vs Woodlawn and Mt. Vernon vs Centralia. If you’ve stepped foot in the gym for one of these games before, you know that if you show up after 6:30pm you probably won’t have a seat. That will be the case again this year as ma

BENTON - We’re back for Week 2 of girls basketball rankings like we never left. Some pivotal shootout and regularly scheduled games today could shake some things up. Let’s get right down to business. 1A   Okawville (5-1)   Elgin St. Edward (3-3)  Abingdon-Avon (7-1)  Brownstown/St.Elmo (6-1)  Lanark (Eastland) (7-1)   Deer Creek-Mackinaw (4-0)  Illini Bluffs (7-1)   Heyworth (7-1)   Cissna Park (6-1)  Woodlawn (4-2) The 1A girls basketball postseason is going to be a fun one

BENTON - With Week 2 wrapping up today, things have been shaken up once again throughout all four classes. There were some solid games played this week and some really good ones on the schedule for today as there are a lot of shootouts going on throughout the state. Let's jump right into it! 1A  Lawrenceville (5-0)  Waltonville (4-0)  Woodlawn (4-0)  LeRoy (6-0)   Lanark (Eastland) (2-0)   Brimfield (6-0)  Jacksonville (Routt) (6-0) Chicago (Fenger) (3-2)   Springfield (Calv

BENTON - As the season has already been rolling for a couple of weeks for most, we've gotten to see a little bit of who belongs where. Others like Long Island Lutheran, Bishop McNamara, Incarnate Word and others will open up their seasons either tonight or tomorrow. Without another second to lose, let's jump right into our Week 2 Top 50 High School girls basketball teams in the country.  Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, CA) 2-0  Ontario Christian (Ontario, CA) 7-0  IMG Academy (Br

BENTON - With preseason rankings obliterated and a huge mass of "upsets" already set in stone, some teams have surged into the Top 25 while others have picked up a loss or two and dropped down on the list. When talking National rankings, it's important to remember everyone ranks differently. I base all of my rankings off of record, strength of wins and strength of losses. Even the best of the best on paper can faulter as I had Prolific and Southeastern in my Top 5 to begin th

BENTON - Well, we’re here once again. Conference Championship weekend is officially here and we should have some good ball games to watch. As my Illinois Fighting Illini have soiled the bed yet again this season, you won’t have to worry about any bias from me. With that, let’s get right down to business and go over who plays who and what we predict to happen.  NCAA Football Playoff Predictions  Ohio State (13-0)  Indiana (12-1)  Texas Tech (12-1)  Alabama (11-2)  Oregon (11-1