The Warriors, seeded Fifth with their 20-10 record, will take on Fourth-seeded Olney Central, also 20-10, at 3 p.m. Thursday.
Southwestern Illinois, with the top seed at 28-2, will open tournament play against Eighth-seeded Kaskaskia, 11-19, a 1 p.m. That evening, Second-seeded Southeastern Illinois, 24-4, will play Seventh-seeded Lincoln Trail, 6-22, at 5 p.m. At 7 p.m., Third-seeded John A. Logan will take on Sixth-seeded Lake Land, 16-13.
The semifinals will be at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday with the Championship Game at 8 p.m. Sunday.
Southwestern, riding a 14-game winning streak, is the tournament favorite. The Blue Storm posted a 17-0 record at home and a 2-0 record on neutral courts. Their last loss was Jan. 17, 82-74, at Southeastern Illinois.
The Blue Storm has been in some close games this season in Great Rivers Athletic Conference play.
The other hot team at present is Olney Central. The Blue Knights are riding a five-game winning streak after suffering an 83-59 loss to Logan on the Knights home floor. The Blue Knights defeated WVC twice this season, 77-71 in Olney and 82-68 in Mt. Carmel.
The question is: Can Olney Central defeat Wabash Valley three times in one season?
That is something difficult to do if the teams are evenly matched. Since Olney defeated the Warriors they have gone 3-1 with that lone loss at Logan where the Knights played a terrible game.
Meanwhile, the Lady Warriors begin their tournament play by traveling to Lincoln Trail tonight (Tuesday). They will take on the Lady Statesmen, a team that has beaten them twice in close games.
