Managing the matchups

Do playoff seeds matter?

Well, they matter ... but to what extent?

The seeding process recognizes the top teams in a sectional, but ever since the IHSA did away with home regional games for higher seeds the idea of seeding has taken on less importance.

Like every sport, it's all about the matchups. This week's Eyes on Five digs deeper into the importance of the seeding process.

1. Planting:

With the girls postseason in full swing and the Class 1A and 2A boys pairings set for next week's regionals, all eyes turn to the Class 3A and 4A boys pairings the IHSA will unveil on Friday.

For teams in the Class 4A East Aurora sectional, seeding won't matter much. There's no clear-cut favorite and the field is too deep for anyone to gain a significant edge with a high seed.

In order, the top seeds at East Aurora are Lyons Twp. Benet, Wheaton North, Hinsdale Central, Willowbrook and West Aurora. The next group, in order, includes York, Metea Valley, Addison Trail, Naperville Central, Naperville North and Downers Grove North.

Is there really that big a difference between the No. 1 seed playing No. 8 in a regional final compared to No. 2 playing No. 7? Same with No. 3 against No. 6 and No. 4 against 5.

Sure, there's a difference for Lyons Twp. playing Metea Valley when comparing it to Hinsdale Central having to play Willowbrook. But too many teams are too evenly matched at East Aurora. From the opening round, it's all going to come down to matchups.

It also comes down to homecourt advantage for the regional hosts, specifically West Aurora as a team capable of winning the sectional title.

Each of the top four seeds will be spread in different regionals, which becomes a huge factor with the Blackhawks falling to No. 6. If the seeds hold true, that'd mean No. 3 Wheaton North would have to win a regional title on West Aurora's home court.

Lake Park, which received the second seed at the Barrington sectional, may get a similar raw deal if the seeds hold up. The Lancers would have to play at Fremd...on the No. 7 Vikings' home court.

2. One-man gangs:

There's something else to consider when looking at the seeds. It's important for the top teams to avoid regional matchups against players who can take over a game.

Hinsdale South is seeded 13th at East Aurora, which means one of the top four seeds may need to contend with 6-foot-10 center Barret Benson. Averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds, he's regarded as one of the state's top juniors and is nationally ranked.

Wheaton Warrenville South is the 18th seed at East Aurora, but the Tigers have shown their potential with a win over Notre Dame and an overtime loss to Benet. The Tigers boast one of the state's elite shooters in Josh Ruggles, who's averaging 18.6 points and has knocked down 81 3-pointers.

And let's not forget Willowbrook, the fifth seed at East Aurora. If the pairings match the seeding, does No. 4 Hinsdale Central want to face sophomore guard Alonzo Verge Jr. in a regional final? All he's done is average 22.3 points and help the Warriors to 14 straight victories.

Again, it's not about the seeds. It's all about the matchups.

3. Sowing:

Fans would not have gotten far predicting upsets in the girls brackets. The seeds have held up well.

In Class 2A's Lisle sectional, all four No. 1 regional seeds made it to Lisle.

Two of the top regional seeds made it to the IC Catholic sectional, including the host team. The Knights won their first four playoff games by 43 points, 27 points, 48 points and 27 points.

All four of the top seeds at the Class 3A Orr sectional are on doing as expected so far. No. 2 Marshall and No. 3 North Lawndale won their regional finals Thursday.

Glenbard South, the No. 4 seed, will be reunited with No. 12 Lemont on Friday at St. Joseph. The Raiders defeated Lemont 43-20 in their season opener Nov. 17.

No. 8 Wheaton Academy had a tough enough task, trying to defeat defending Class 3A champion and top seed Montini on the Broncos' home court Friday night. But the Warriors could be weary after needing two overtime periods to eliminate No. 9 Al Raby on Wednesday.

At the Class 4A Oswego East sectional, only No. 4 seed Oswego East's loss to Plainfield North stands out through the early going. The Wolves would have had a tough time getting back to their home court anyway, with No. 5 Bolingbrook in their way.

The biggest surprise by seed so far at the Class 4A Geneva sectional is Wheaton Warrenville South (14-16) knocking off No. 7 Schaumburg on Wednesday or No. 6 Bartlett defeating No. 3 York on Thursday.

4. Put me in, coach:

Wheaton Warrenville South senior Olivia Linebarger has seen many more good times in her four seasons on the Tigers varsity than bad.

This year's 0-7 start, however, made Wednesday's regional victory against Schaumburg all the more special for the Tigers' lone returning starter from last year's sectional semifinalist.

A 5-foot-10 post player primarily her first three seasons whose role mainly was to play defense and rebound, Linebarger this season made the transition to being a point guard whose team needed her to score.

"You know in the beginning that 0-7 kind of came from because, Olivia can't get the ball down the court," Linebarger said with a laugh.

But Linebarger kept working at it, and she turned into a pretty good ballhandler. She also turned into a No. 1 scorer, putting up 25 points and grabbing 6 rebounds against Schaumburg.

"It's really helped me, honestly, as a player," she said. "Next year, I told my coach (at New York University), she said, Are you still playing point guard? I said, Yeah, coach, put me in. I'm ready to go wherever next year. I've played all of them."

She's also become more of a leader.

"A lot of that is just watching Meghan Waldron," Linebarger said of her former Tigers teammate, now a freshman playing at DePaul. "I've always had the opportunity to vocally be a leader, but I always knew the spot that I needed to play in - Meghan needed the ball. That was the deal, basically, and I was fine with that, because I wanted to win basketball games, you know what I'm saying?"

5. Stat time:

Benet's boys basketball team notched its sixth straight 20-win season with a pair of victories last weekend. For this area's boys teams that's an extremely impressive - almost unprecedented - accomplishment.

Do any other area programs compare to that consistent level of success? Look no further than Neuqua Valley.

Coach Todd Sutton's program won 20 games for the first time in 2001. Between 2001 and this season (21 wins and counting), the Wildcats have won 20 games 13 times including seven straight years from 2005 to 2011.

If not for an 18-win campaign in 2012 the Wildcats would be riding a streak of 11 straight 20-win seasons into next season.

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