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If the IHSA wanted a District 203 regional final, No. 7 Naperville Central did its part, advancing with Wednesday's 14-5 victory over No. 10 Hinsdale Central.

Now it shifts to No. 2 Naperville North (24-7), which will play No. 18 Lincoln-Way Central (16-15-1) Thursday afternoon at Naperville Central.

No matter the opponent on Saturday, the Redhawks plan to throw sophomore Dan Ludwig (5-1, 2.20 ERA), who last week allowed three runs in six-plus innings and received a no-decision in a 4-3 comeback win against North.

On Wednesday the Redhawks (21-14) fell behind 4-1 early but Ben Lucas answered with a three-run homer that tied the game in the third inning. They finished Hinsdale Central (17-14) with a seven-run fifth inning that saw only two hits as 10 Redhawks marched to the plate.

That inning was prolonged by two errors - Pat Kaminska's sacrifice bunt scored two runs and Nick Linne's simple groundball to third later added three more.

"All year long, we've played pretty solid defense for the most part and today we let it slip from us," Hinsdale Central coach Tom Dorrance said. "We gave them too many runs. You can't give a good team like that that many opportunities. Too many balls between our legs, too many bad decisions, too many guys (not) in the right spot."

Today we look at the brutal Lockport Sectional, which could produce the eventual Class 4A champion. Naperville North and host Naperville Central are stuck in the same regional. Benet might have to go through top-seed Lincoln-Way East. Once Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley decide the Upstate Eight Conference race, neither team will have an easy draw in the postseason.

The pairings can be found here. What are your predictions?

LOCKPORT SECTIONAL SEEDS
1. Lincoln-Way East
2. Naperville North
3. Lockport*
4. Plainfield North
5. Neuqua Valley*
6. Downers Grove South
7. Naperville Central*
8. Benet
9. Joliet
10. Hinsdale Central
11. Waubonsie Valley
12. Romeoville
13. Lyons
14. Plainfield Central
15. Plainfield South
16. Providence Catholic
17. Downers Grove North
18. Lincoln-Way Central
19. Oswego East
20. Bolingbrook
21. Hinsdale South
22. East Aurora

*Before the IHSA went to a four-class system last season, the final three Class AA state champions were: Neuqua (2007), Central (2006) and Lockport (2005).

In this Sunday column we looked at March Madness and the four-class tournament. It's difficult to find someone who has embraced the concept and is enthusiastic about what it has done to the brackets and the downstate experience.

"I think most coaches do not like it," Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. "It really doesn't affect us (because) we're gonna be 4A regardless but the multiplier kind of skews everything. ... If we didn't have the multiplier, it might be different. With the multiplier, all the big private schools are gonna be 4A."

To be sure, the IHSA has a difficult and thankless job, and there are several geographic and economic issues to consider. But teams that are on a state level - in any sport - want to compete against the best. It's hard to see how that happens with talent diluted across four classes.

In the second year of this format, what are your thoughts? How would you fix March Madness?

To get an idea of where Waubonsie Valley was - and where it could be going - compare last week's column off the Conference Challenge Classic and Thursday's Focus piece.

The Warriors (12-11, 4-3) are back above the .500 level with three Upstate Eight Conference games remaining: vs. Elgin (10-14, 2-6) on Friday; at South Elgin (15-6, 4-2) on Feb. 25; and vs. St. Charles East (8-15, 3-5).

That 18-point loss to York could have been a nice showcase game. There weren't many other distractions the first Sunday after the Super Bowl, and Waubonsie was playing on the big floor at Loyola University. Instead, it fell to what Waubonsie coach Steve Weemer described as "an ultimate low."

Weemer asked the same question he's presented to previous teams: "I just old our guys - (the seniors) - 'What kind of mark are you going to leave at Waubonsie?'"

We'll find out over the next few weeks. Waubonsie is seeded No. 12 seed in the Oswego East Sectional and will face No. 21 Wheaton North (7-15) in the opening round. A win there at the East Aurora Regional and it advances to face fifth-seeded Plainfield North.

"(We're) right at the .500 mark. (We're) right in the middle of everything," said Waubonsie senior forward Jelani Johnson (pictured). "Hopefully, we'll get that win and then we'll (play) Plainfield North and show everybody else what we got."

Joaquin Phoenix wowed us all with his Andy Kaufman act, hip-hop dreams and ability to mumble and chew gum at the same time while crushing it on "Late Show with David Letterman." That's a good run, but which one of these area teams had the Best Week Ever?

-Neuqua Valley (25-1) wins its 17th consecutive game, blows out Geneva and Lake Park by a combined 36 points, earns the No. 1 seed in the Oswego East Sectional and finds out East Aurora is unraveling. The Wildcats, who are ranked 10th by the Chicago Sun-Times, are now atop the Upstate Eight Conference alongside St. Charles North. Both teams have one loss, while East Aurora has two after weekend losses to Bartlett and Waubonsie Valley.

-Naperville Central (21-2, 11-0) clinched at least a share of its second-straight DuPage Valley Conference championship with a with a 69-55 victory over Glenbard North on Friday night in Carol Stream. The Redhawks also learned they will be a No. 2 seed in the Oswego East Sectional and moved up to No. 20 in the Sun-Times poll.

-Waubonsie Valley (12-11) may have turned its entire season around with weekend victories over Dundee-Crown and East Aurora. The Warriors climbed above the .500 mark and Beacon News hoops guru Rick Armstrong thinks a regional title is a possibility.

-Benet beats Nazareth - the program first-year Redwings coach Gene Heidkamp used to run - by 23 points on Friday night and then follows it up a day later with a 61-47 rivalry game win over St. Francis at Benedictine. Now the Redwings are 10-12 - 5-6 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference - with another winnable game coming up Tuesday night at Wheaton North (6-15).

Neuqua Valley, the top seed in the Oswego East Sectional, was assigned to the Batavia Regional and will face the winner of the Naperville North-Benet opening round game, the IHSA announced Friday. In order to win a regional championship, the Wildcats may have to defeat No. 9 Batavia on its own floor.

As a regional host, No. 2 Naperville Central will enjoy home-court advantage. But in order to advance, it could have to beat seventh-seeded West Aurora for a third time this season.

In the East Aurora Regional, No. 12 Waubonsie Valley will take on No. 21 Wheaton North for the right to face fifth-seeded Plainfield North.

If the brackets unfold true to form and all top-four seeds survive the regionals, Neuqua would meet East Aurora in one sectional semifinal, and Naperville Central would play Bolingbrook in the other. Regional play begins March 2.

As expected, the Neuqua Valley (24-1) and Naperville Central (20-2) boys basketball teams were awarded the first and second seeds, respectively, for the upcoming Class 4A Oswego East Sectional. The IHSA released the seeds Thursday afternoon, in the first year for online voting by area coaches.

In the 22-team grouping, Waubonsie Valley (10-11) was slotted 12th, followed by Naperville North (8-14) at No. 16 and Benet (8-12) at No. 17.

Regional sites were predetermined: Central, East Aurora, Batavia and Glenbard West will be hosts. The IHSA will announce the pairings on Friday. Regional quarterfinals are scheduled to begin March 2.

Oswego East Sectional
1. Neuqua Valley
2. Naperville Central
3. Bolingbrook
4. East Aurora
5. Plainfield North
6. Glenbard East
7. West Aurora
8. Geneva
9. Batavia
10. Wheaton Warrenville South
11. Bartlett
12. Waubonsie Valley
13. Oswego East
14. Willowbrook
15. Glenbard West
16. Naperville North
17. Benet
18. Marmion
19. Glenbard North
20. West Chicago
21. Wheaton North
22. Lake Park

In this week's Focus we looked at Benet and competing in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. The Redwings hope their schedule will prepare them for the playoffs and perhaps position themselves for an upset victory.

"We're playing better," said first-year Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "January was a tough month from the standpoint we played very good competition." The schedule included Notre Dame, St. Joseph, Marist and Oswego, though the team isn't looking for moral victories, as Heidkamp pointed out: "Not that it matters, you got to beat these teams."

At 8-12, Benet now faces three games in five days beginning Friday at Nazareth. That's followed by a rivalry game against St. Francis on Saturday at Benedictine, and a Tuesday trip to Wheaton North. No matter what happens, his players will expect Heidkamp to remain steady.

"He gets mad when he should," Benet sophomore guard Dave Sobolewski said of his coach. "He's pretty laid-back, which all of us like. He's not that big of a yeller, but he is one when he has to be. ... He thinks (that) we're mature enough to get through it ourselves."

The stretch could push the Redwings close to .500 - or leave them very disappointed - but it won't impact their seeding. The online voting closed this morning, and the seeds will be released by the IHSA later today. Be sure to check back throughout the afternoon for the latest.

A January swoon didn't hurt Waubonsie Valley in the eyes of the sectional coaches. The Warriors earned the No. 3 seed in the Waubonsie sectional, behind only Bolingbrook and Hinsdale Central.

Benet grabbed the No. 5 slot, one ahead of Naperville Central. Neuqua Valley was eighth, and Naperville North 17th.

The IHSA announced the seeds Thursday. Stay tuned to the Heat Index later today for first-round regional pairings. Keep reading for the entire Waubonsie sectional field:

The IHSA expanded the state tournament to four classes last season. That addition received mixed reviews. The NCAA has moved the 3-point line from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches, but the IHSA hasn't followed that precedent. The only significant rule change this season involves the free-throw lane. To minimize rough play, the bottom block will be unoccupied and players will move up one space. This is a small detail you may not even notice - until it swings an important game late in the fourth quarter.

"It kind of gives the advantage back to the defensive team," said first-year Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "If you watch any level - if you watch college games, if you watch high school games - you'll see missed free throw block-outs at crunch time when teams are trying to foul or if there's (a) big possession. Somebody misses a free throw and they come up with an offensive rebound. (Those) are absolute backbreakers."