Michael O’Brien’s Chicago-area Super 25 basketball rankings

SHARE Michael O’Brien’s Chicago-area Super 25 basketball rankings
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DePaul Prep’s Perry Cowan (11) stops inside the paint against Morgan Park, Saturday 01-12-19. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

All the reasons Loyola began the season ranked No. 18 were evident in Saturday’s win against Marian Catholic, one of the area’s best teams. The Ramblers have size and shooters and play excellent defense.

Loyola receded from the spotlight after losing to New Trier, Leo, St. Rita and Providence-St. Mel over the first month of the season but its annual holiday trip to Florida has once again worked some magic. Tom Livatino’s squad has now won nine consecutive games.

“We’ve been playing really well,” Livatino said. “When we came here we expected to win the game. Our guys have that confidence now. We did a pretty good job of playing team defense.”

Bennett Kwiecinski, a 6-8 junior, finished with 15 points and six rebounds in the 49-35 win against the Spartans. Senior Connor Barrett added 15 points and six rebounds.

“I was just playing as fast as I could, running the floor and attacking the rim whenever I had the chance to,” Kwiecinski said.

He scored 11 consecutive points for Loyola during a key stretch at the end of the second and start of the third quarter.

“Bennett has been coming on, no doubt about it,” Livatino said. He’s really been growing up in terms of how hard he plays, wanting the ball and being aggressive. That is fun to watch. I think his brother Jordan did the same thing, he just didn’t have the stats. He’s playing much better, tougher and stronger.”

Loyola rejoins the rankings at No. 20 this week and will be tested on Tuesday at Notre Dame.

Super 25 additions

Oak Park: The Huskies are back after a dominant win against York. It’s been another up and down season, but this team is talented enough to stick in the rankings for the rest of the season.

Stevenson: Matt Ambrose is back from injury and immediately made an impact, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight boards in a win against Waukegan on Friday.

St. Laurence: The Vikings beat Leo on the road and make a quick return to the rankings.

Aurora Christian: Junior Will Wolfe can play. The Eagles knocked off Riverside-Brookfield on the road on Friday. Wolfe scored 27.

Dropping out

St. Viator: Trey Calvin, a Wright State recruit, will be out for awhile with a broken hand. It’s a devastating blow for the Lions, who lost to Notre Dame and Waukegan without him.

Oswego East: The Wolves are 13-4 this season, but just haven’t quite lived up to some lofty preseason expectations. They lost to South Elgin on Saturday. They could be back in the rankings soon.

Uplift: Markese Jacobs has done everything humanly possible to keep the Titans ranked, but losses to Farragut and Orr this week means they are gone for now.

Fremd: The Mid-Suburban League is totally up for grabs. Schaumburg took down the Vikings 50-36 on Friday.

Kenwood: Tough call. The Broncos played pretty well, but lost to Curie, Simeon and Kankakee last week.

The week ahead

-Well-traveled Bolingbrook returned to the area last week to beat Sandburg and Stagg. Now come the major tests. The Raiders will face Joliet Central on Tuesday, Homewood-Flossmoor on Friday and Evanston on Saturday.

-Martin Luther King Jr. events are all over the area this weekend. There are games basically all day and night Saturday through Monday, including tournaments at Wheaton-Warrenville South, Burlington Central and Lake Zurich.

Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 basketball rankings

With record and last week’s ranking

1. Curie (18-1) 1

Beat Bogan, Kenwood

2. Bogan (17-2) 2

Handled Farragut

3. Bloom (17-1) 3

Back on track

4. Morgan Park (15-3) 5

Karl Jones stepping up

5. Young (14-6) 6

DJ Steward a consistent star

6. Evanston (17-3) 7

Jaheim Holden still underrated

7. Marian Catholic (16-2) 4

Lost to Loyola

8. Simeon (9-9) 9

Three-win week

9. Homewood-Flossmoor (12-4) 11

Damen Trice can score

10. DePaul Prep (13-4) 12

Lost to Morgan Park

11. Bolingbrook (11-3) 14

Huge week ahead

12. Benet (14-3) 16

Favorites at WW South

13. Lincoln Park (12-6) 20

Julio Montes can score

14. New Trier (15-3) 21

Fell short at Evanston

15. Providence-St. Mel (15-4) 22

Host Mount Carmel Friday

16. Orr (13-7) 25

Three big wins last week

17. Geneva (16-1) 8

Lost to Lake Park

18. York (15-2) 15

Lost to Oak Park

19. Leo (13-5) 13

Lost two games

20. Loyola (15-4) NR

Bennett Kwiecinski stepping up

21. Stevenson (13-3) NR

Matt Ambrose is back

22. Oak Park (11-6) NR

Isaiah Barnes can play

23. Waukegan (14-4) 23

Lost to Stevenson

24. St. Laurence (17-3) NR

Beat Leo

25. Aurora Christian (16-3) NR

Took down R-B

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