The Class 4A Belleville West Girls Basketball Regional looks like a free-for-all with four fairly equal Southwestern Conference teams battling it out.
Top-seeded O’Fallon (11-6) will play fourth-seeded Belleville West (10-12) at 6 p.m. Feb. 14, while second-seeded Belleville East (13-8) plays third-seeded Collinsville (10-9) at 8:10 p.m. Feb. 14.
The two winners will meet for the championship at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16.
“Our regional — it’s just tough for us down here,’’ O’Fallon coach Ryan Massey said. “We have only eight (Class 4A) teams south of I-80 including Quincy, and we all beat up on each other during the season. Then we have to beat each other up in the regionals. That’s unfortunate. I hate that we have do that. It’s almost like a conference tournament within the actual IHSA playoffs. That’s not easy for any of us because we all know each other so well.’’
The Panthers have a 5-1 record against the other three teams in the regional with their lone loss being a 48-46 decision to Collinsville on Dec. 8.
“Now that we have the No. 1 seed, it’s going to be difficult,’’ O’Fallon senior guard Taylor Klingelhoefer said after the Panthers avenged their earlier loss to the Kahoks with a 55-49 win on Thursday night. “We’ve already beaten Belleville West twice, Belleville East twice and no Collinsville once. It’s just hard to beat everyone three days.
“We know we can do it because we’re not getting overconfident. We’re taking each game at a time.’’
Unbeaten Edwardsville, which is ranked third among Class 4A teams, is the top seed in the Class 4A Edwardsville Regional.
The Tigers (24-0) will play fourth-seeded Alton at 6 p.m. Feb. 14, while second-seeded Quincy will play third-seeded Granite City at 8:10 p.m. Feb. 14.
Unlike recent years, the road to state for the Southern Illinois teams isn’t blocked by powerful Bollingbrook this season. But, the winner of the Bloomington Sectional could be facing Marist, which is ranked sixth among Class 4A teams, in the Bloomington Super-Sectional at Illinois Wesleyan.
Here are the pairings for the metro-east schools in the Class 3A-4A playoffs:
Class 4A
Belleville West Regional
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Game 1: (1) O'Fallon vs. (4) Belleville West, 6 p.m.
Game 2: (2) Belleville East vs. (3) Collinsville, 8:10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Championship
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m.
Edwardsville Regional
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Game 1: (1) Edwardsville vs. (4) Alton, 6 p.m.
Game 2: (2) Quincy vs. (3) Granite City, 8:10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Championship
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m.
East Moline Regional
Monday, Feb. 13
Game 1: (1) East Moline United vs. (4) Normal Community, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Game 2: (2) Moline vs. (3) Pekin, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Championship
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m.
Joliet West Regional
Monday, Feb. 13
Game 1: (4) Joliet Central vs. (5) Bradley-Bourbonnais, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 15
Game 2: (1) Minooka vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m.
Game 3: (2) Joliet West vs. (3) Danville, 8:10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Championship
Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7:30 p.m.
Bloomington High Sectional
Tuesday, Feb. 21
Game 1: Winner Joliet West Regional vs. Winner East Moline United Regional, 7:30 p.m.
Game 2: Winner Belleville West Regional vs. Winner Edwardsville Regional, 7:30 p.m. (Note: This game will be played at a site in the metro-east.)
Thursday, Feb. 23
Championship
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m.
Bloomington Super-Sectional
At Illinois Wesleyan University
Monday, Feb. 27
Winner Bloomington Sectional vs. Winner Orland Park Sandburg Sectional, 7:30 p.m.
State Final Tournament
At Redbird Arena in Normal
Friday, March 2
Game 1: Winner Elgin Super-Sectional vs. Winner Hinsdale Central Super-Sectional, 6:30 p.m.
Game 2: Winner Bloomington (Illinois Wesleyan U.) Super-Sectional vs. Winner Lincolnshire Stevenson Super-Sectional, 8:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
Third Place
Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 6:30 p.m.
Championship
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 8:15 p.m.
Class 3A
Waterloo Regional
Monday, Feb. 13
Game 1: 4) Mascoutah vs. (5) Waterloo, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 15
Game 2: (1) East St. Louis (Sr.) vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m.
Game 3: (2) Althoff vs. (3) Cahokia, 8:10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Championship
Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7:30 p.m.
Highland Regional
Monday, Feb. 13
Game 1: (4) Jerseyville vs. (5) Triad, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Game 2: (1) Mater Dei vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m.
Game 3: (2) Civic Memorial vs. (3) Highland, 8:10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Championship
Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7:30 p.m.
Salem Regional
Monday, Feb. 13
Game 1: (1) Salem vs. (4) Mattoon, 6 p.m.
Game 2 (2) Effingham vs. (3) Charleston, 8:10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Championship
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m.
Carbondale Regional
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Game 1: (1) Centralia vs. (4) Marion, 6 p.m.
Game 2: (2) Carbondale vs. (3) Mt. Vernon, 8:10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Championship
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m.
Mater Dei Sectional
Monday, Feb. 20
Game 1: Winner Salem Regional vs. Winner Highland Regional, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 21
Game 2: Winner Carbondale Regional vs. Winner Waterloo Regional, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 23
Championship
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m.
Springfield Super-Sectional
At University of Illinois Springfield
Monday, Feb. 27
Winner Mater Dei Sectional vs. Winner Taylorville Sectional, 7:30 p.m.
State Final Tournament
At Redbird Arena in Normal
Friday, March 2
Game 1: Winner Springfield (UIS) Super-Sectional vs. Winner Elgin Super-Sectional, 12:15 p.m.
Game 2 : Winner Hinsdale Central Super-Sectional vs. Winner Pontiac Super-Sectional, 2:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
Third Place
Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:15 p.m.
Championship
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 2 p.m.
