01/01/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Here are the ABV Rankings for January 1, 2023 with very few surprises in the six weeks of basketball so far.

The good teams that were expected to be in the hunt for hardware for the most part have stepped up while the rebuilding teams have struggled at times.

In other words, it's a usual winter. Par for the course.

Although there are a couple of exceptions.

The new IHSA enrollments were posted for next season and it effects five teams in the ABV.

Teams that are currently 1A that will be bumped up to 2A in the next enrollment cycle are Tuscola and Carlyle.

While the Warriors are enjoying their recent class drop and will likely still be a factor in 2A, the Indians will in all likelihood struggle with a 2A postseason in the next two school years.

Carterville, Freeburg and Salem go from 2A to 3A.

For those schools, this is a huge leap up for the postseason.

Breese Central was the lucky one as they are the cutoff.

The Cougars sit at 629 and remain 2A for another two seasons.

The teams have also been assigned their postseason paths to Champaign without much change from the year before.

Since there isn't a real way to get around geography, we are in store for more lopsided results.

In 2A the Sub-Sectional A that feeds into the Pinckneyville Sectional is loaded.

The 12 squads are currently 112-66 and only three of the teams (Belleville Althoff, Nashville, DuQuoin) are sub .500.

Althoff has only three teams on their schedule that are 1A and 2A.

The rest are 3A and 4A so when the postseason begins they will be ready.

Nashville is off to a slow start after graduating most of its state championship squad last spring but a nice second half of the season is expected.

DuQuoin is capable of making things interesting.

Breese Central, Breese Mater Dei, Columbia and Freeburg are part of that sub-sectional who play tough competition.

All are part of the ABV Top Ten.

Wesclin is another team that could make noise in the postseason as they have battled, and will battle, with some of these teams in the next two months.

Throw in the sectional host Panthers and quality teams from Red Bud and Sparta and this shapes up to be a tough pair of regional's hosted by Sparta and Nashville.

Speaking of the Bulldogs, Coach Jordan Beckley has done a great job rebuilding the program at Sparta, a team that hasn't had a winning record since 2012-13.

They have already passed last season's win total.

Although they don't play the toughest of schedules the Bulldogs are taking care of business as they continue to build confidence.

One of the losses was a narrow defeat to Wesclin in the Cahokia Conference.

The Sub-sectional B has some good teams in it but not the depth of Sub A.

Benton, Carterville, Murphysboro, Massac County and Vienna are the strongest of the teams with Eldorado and Carmi-White County also in the picture.

Harrisburg will be a threat by the end of the season.

Of the 26 teams feeding into the Newton 2A Sectional, only 10 of the teams have winning records so the overall talent depth isn't as strong as the Pinckneyville side.

Teutopolis looks to be the best bet to get out of that sectional with the Wooden Shoes set to host one of the regional's.

Lawrenceville has been a bit of a surprise this season and the Indians will host the other regional in that group.

Like Sparta, the Tribe hasn't faced much on the schedule so far and the LIC games will be a bit tougher in the second half of the season.

Mount Carmel has some good wins and split two games with Lawrenceville.

Newton is another team with a shot in getting to play in a sectional at home.

Sub-Sectional B where regional's are hosted by Litchfield and East Alton-Wood River have just four teams with winning marks, including the Purple Panthers who recently won the Carlinville Holiday Tournament beating the Oilers in the title game.

Alton Marquette has played a tougher slate of games and could emerge from that wreckage to reach Newton.

In the 1A Carbondale Super-sectional complex, it's anyone's guess how this will turn out.

The top team in the ABV 1A is Altamont, who would love a shot at playing at home in the sectional that they are assigned to host.

After taking care of business at Sesser-Valier last week, the Tribe sits at 10-3 with victories in 9-of-10 games since a 2-2 start.

They have shown they can win many different ways and the NTC the next two months should produce some rugged contests.

Of the 16 teams in Sub-Sectional B, seven of them appear to be headed for 20+ wins and six of them are in the ABV Top Ten.

The other side (Sub-Sectional A) isn't chopped liver, either, as three of those teams are in this week's rankings.

Tuscola, Casey-Westfield and Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg are all three having successful seasons and have postseason aspirations.

The teams that feed into the Gallatin County Sectional (on paper) are not nearly as strong.

Wayne City appears to be the cream of this crop and the only one to make the rankings this week.

The combined won-loss mark of all 32 teams from this sectional is 156-244, a .390 win percentage.

All of this should make for an interesting next two and a half months.

On a side note, if Waterloo Gibault was in the Carbondale 1A Super-sectional the Hawks would be my #1 team.

Coach Dennis Rueter's club is the best 1A in the ABV eye-test so far.

They have a tough route to Champaign through the Jacksonville 1A Super but they look up to the challenge.

See ya at the gym.

Jack