(Last week's ranking in parentheses; games through Wednesday)
1. Bloom Township 16-3 (1)
The Blazing Trojans scored their second victory of the year over Homewood-Flossmoor on Tuesday night and restored a bit of luster after blowing a late-game lead against Sandburg the week before. Donald Moore's 17-of-19 performance at the line highlighted a 23-point effort versus the Vikings, as Bloom Township showed veteran mettle by prospering in a tough environment.
2. Seton Academy 16-3 (3)
Conquering Crane several weeks ago was impressive, but the Sting's 64-62 triumph over a 16-win Marist squad Tuesday might have been even more so. To beat the Class 4A RedHawks, Seton had to withstand a 3-point-shooting barrage from its guests, who buried 11 long-range buckets. The Sting countered with nine 3s of their own and by being a dominating presence on the glass.
3. Crete-Monee 13-5 (2)
Tom Cappel's return to Hillcrest didn't provide the hoped-for result Tuesday night, as the Warriors fell to the Hawks and, in the process, also slipped one spot in the rankings. Crete-Monee's stats didn't differ too much from Hillcrest's except in one area: turnovers. The Warriors committed nearly two dozen of them while not forcing the Hawks into very many. Is that an ominous sign?
4. Homewood-Flossmoor 12-5 (4)
Losing to Bloom Township -- even twice -- is not a reason to question the Vikings' validity as a top-five program, but the failure of a veteran team to get on a roll before this is a bit alarming. Simply put, H-F seems to be running in place, and even another SWSC Blue championship is no longer a given. So how much can be expected from the Vikings once the state playoffs begin?
5. Thornwood 11-5 (5)
Thanks to last Friday's snowstorm, the Thunderbirds will have had two weeks off when they face rival Thornton tonight. They'd better shake the rust off fast, as that contest begins a grueling three-games-in-five-days stretch. Thornwood also tangles with Thornridge, and squeezed in between the District 205 clashes is the rescheduled showdown with Andrew on Sunday.
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