After sitting at No. 2 all season long, the Kankakee boys basketball team finally claimed the top spot in the latest Associated Press Class 3A IHSA Basketball Poll that was released Wednesday.
Sitting behind East St. Louis for the entirety of the season, the Kays (25-1) received six first-place votes to the Flyers’ five, and their 112 voting points were just a point ahead.
Anchored by an all-senior starting five that boasts Kankakee all-time scoring leader and four-year starter Lincoln Williams and his 26 points per game, the Kays have won 20 straight games. They also sit at 24th in the Max Preps national rankings.
Their lone loss came to three-time defending state champion DePaul Prep at the Team Rose Shootout at Mount Carmel in December. The Kays finish the regular season at Joliet West Wednesday night and, as the top seed of the Class 3A Geneseo Regional, will face either No. 8 Morris or No. 9 Sterling in next Wednesday’s semifinal.
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The final girls poll was released Wednesday, where Cissna Park (25-2) received a first-place vote and sits at third in Class 1A. The state’s defending third-place team is also the No. 1 seed in Thursday’s Fieldcrest Regional championship against No. 5 Fieldcrest.
Manteno (25-6), which will face No. 4 Wilmington as the top seed of Thursday’s Seneca Regional championship, received a vote in Class 2A.
Watseka/Milford (25-5) received votes after its season ended with a 58-47 loss to Bismarck-Henning in Monday’s Bismarck-Henning Regional semifinal. Kankakee (19-9) received votes in Class 3A after seeing its season end to Morris 44-32 in Tuesday’s Metamora Regional semifinal.
Boys
Class 4A
| Rank | School | Total Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lisle (Benet Academy) (11) (29-1) | 118 | 1 |
| 2. | Chicago (DePaul College Prep) (25-3) | 108 | 2 |
| 3. | Chicago (Curie) (1) (24-1) | 96 | 3 |
| 4. | Gurnee (Warren) (27-2) | 84 | 4 |
| 5. | Naperville (Neuqua Valley) (28-1) | 72 | 5 |
| 6. | Palatine (Fremd) (24-2) | 42 | 6 |
| 7. | Flossmoor (Homewood-F.) (25-3) | 39 | 8 |
| 8. | Chicago (St. Ignatius College Prep) (26-4) | 38 | 7 |
| 9. | Chicago (Marist) (25-5) | 25 | 9 |
| 10. | Bolingbrook (21-7) | 10 | NR |
| (tie) | Wilmette (Loyola Academy) (23-6) | 10 | NR |
Others receiving votes: 11, Palatine (H.S.) 7. 12, Chicago (St. Patrick) 7. 13, Winnetka (New Trier) 3. 14, Lombard (Glenbard East) 1.
Class 3A
| Rank | School | Total Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kankakee (Sr.) (6) (25-1) | 112 | 2 |
| 2. | East St. Louis (Sr.) (5) (25-4) | 111 | 1 |
| 3. | Maple Park (Kaneland) (29-0) | 91 | 3 |
| 4. | Decatur (MacArthur) (28-1) | 85 | 4 |
| 5. | Centralia (H.S.) (1) (28-1) | 74 | 5 |
| 6. | Morton (24-4) | 56 | 6 |
| 7. | East Peoria (25-4) | 46 | 7 |
| 8. | Peoria (H.S.) (21-6) | 28 | 8 |
| 9. | Chicago (Hyde Park) (21-7) | 24 | 9 |
| 10. | Mt. Vernon (H.S.) (20-7) | 9 | NR |
Others receiving votes: 11, Chicago (Leo) 7. 12, Normal (University) 4. 13, Lincoln 4. 14, Cary (C.-Grove) 3. 15, Oak Forest 2. 16, Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) 2. 17, Geneva 1. 18, Marion (H.S.) 1.
Class 2A
| Rank | School | Total Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Teutopolis (10) (26-3) | 130 | 1 |
| 2. | Quincy (Notre Dame) (2) (24-1) | 120 | T2 |
| 3. | Nashville (3) (28-2) | 111 | T2 |
| 4. | Tolono (Unity) (27-2) | 105 | 4 |
| 5. | Peoria (Manual) (17-9) | 83 | 5 |
| 6. | Chicago (Crane Medical Prep) (18-10) | 56 | 6 |
| 7. | Warrensburg (W.-Latham) (26-4) | 52 | 7 |
| 8. | Staunton (26-3) | 33 | 8 |
| 9. | Westville (31-0) | 27 | NR |
| (tie) | Carterville (26-3) | 27 | NR |
Others receiving votes: 11, Yorkville (Y. Christian) 21. 12, Chicago (C. Hope Academy) 18. 13, Chicago (Clark) 13. 14, Mendota 10. 15, Alton (Marquette) 7. 16, Benton 4. 17, Columbia 3. 18, Pontiac 3. 19, Byron 1. 20, Roxana 1.
Class 1A
| Rank | School | Total Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sterling (Newman Central Catholic) (10) (29-1) | 132 | 1 |
| 2. | Lawrenceville (2) (27-2) | 113 | 2 |
| 3. | LeRoy (26-2) | 105 | 3 |
| 4. | Waltonville (3) (27-4) | 98 | 4 |
| 5. | Goreville (25-4) | 81 | 5 |
| 6. | Woodlawn (26-3) | 80 | 6 |
| 7. | Jacksonville (Routt) (25-4) | 72 | 7 |
| 8. | Dakota (28-2) | 43 | 8 |
| 9. | Sparta (26-4) | 25 | 9 |
| 10. | Tuscola (24-6) | 19 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: 11, Chicago (Marshall) 15. 12, Bluford (Webber) 12. 13, South Holland (Unity Christian Academy) 9. 14, Abingdon (A.-Avon) 6. 15, Hardin (Calhoun) 6. 16, Lanark (Eastland) 5. 17, Altamont 2. 18, Toledo (Cumberland) 2.
Girls
Class 4A
| Rank | School | Total Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Loyola (5) (29-2) | 77 | 1 |
| 2. | Nazareth (3) (29-3) | 74 | 2 |
| 3. | Waubonsie Valley (29-3) | 55 | 3 |
| 4. | Alton (27-2) | 52 | 4 |
| 5. | Benet (25-4) | 40 | 5 |
| 6. | Kenwood (25-6) | 38 | 6 |
| 7. | Naperville Central (25-6) | 33 | 7 |
| 8. | Mother McAuley (23-6) | 25 | 8 |
| 9. | Downers North (28-2) | 22 | 9 |
| 10. | Fremd (24-6) | 12 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: 11, Richwoods 5. 12, Belleville East 3. 13, DePaul College Prep 2. 14, Bolingbrook 1. 15, Maine South 1.
Class 3A
| Rank | School | Total Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Washington (6) (29-2) | 69 | 1 |
| 2. | Providence (1) (28-4) | 53 | 3 |
| 3. | Galesburg (26-4) | 51 | 2 |
| 4. | Dixon (29-3) | 42 | 5 |
| 5. | Morton (24-6) | 37 | 6 |
| 6. | Chatham Glenwood (25-4) | 34 | 4 |
| 7. | Marion (23-4) | 30 | 7 |
| 8. | Quincy Notre Dame (24-6) | 24 | 8 |
| 9. | River Forest Trinity (21-10) | 10 | NR |
| 10. | Chicago (Butler) (20-10) | 7 | NR |
| (tie) | Metamora (22-8) | 7 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: 11, Carbondale 6. 12, Glenbard South 5. 13, Kankakee 4. 14, Peoria Notre Dame 3. 15, Sterling 3.
Class 2A
| Rank | School | Total Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nashville (10) (29-2) | 108 | 1 |
| 2. | Byron (28-2) | 84 | 3 |
| 3. | Breese Central (26-3) | 82 | 2 |
| 4. | Pleasant Plains (26-2) | 71 | 4 |
| 5. | Johnsburg (1) (32-0) | 56 | 5 |
| 6. | Teutopolis (24-6) | 48 | 7 |
| (tie) | Effingham (28-3) | 48 | 6 |
| 8. | West Hancock (26-3) | 29 | 9 |
| 9. | Downs Tri-Valley (28-2) | 25 | 8 |
| 10. | Mt. Carmel (23-7) | 21 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: 11, Paris 8. 12, Benton 7. 13, Hamilton County 6. 14, Watseka 4. 15, Riverdale 3. 16, Vienna 2. 17, Manteno 1. 18, Carmi White County 1. 19, Clinton 1.
Class 1A
| Rank | School | Total Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Deer Creek-Mackinaw (5) (28-3) | 98 | 1 |
| 2. | Brown County (1) (27-3) | 87 | 2 |
| 3. | Cissna Park (1) (25-2) | 77 | 4 |
| 4. | Mt. Pulaski (1) (28-1) | 74 | 3 |
| 5. | Illini Bluffs (26-3) | 53 | T5 |
| 6. | Abingdon (A.-Avon) (25-5) | 44 | 8 |
| 7. | Brownstown/St. Elmo (1) (28-3) | 43 | T5 |
| 8. | Catlin (Salt Fork) (25-4) | 24 | NR |
| 9. | Hope Academy (23-8) | 20 | 10 |
| 10 | Cumberland (25-4) | 19 | 9 |
Others receiving votes: 11, Sterling Bewman. 12, Albion (Edwards County) 16. 13, Liberty 12. 14, Sesser-Valier 7. 15, Woodlawn 6. 16, Heyworth 3. 17, Lanark Eastland 2. 18, Havana 2. 19, Winchester 1.
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