Joliet West better than its record might indicate: The Herald-News boys basketball notebook

Look at how the Joliet West boys basketball team started the season and what its record is now, and one might doubt the Tigers as the postseason approaches. That’s only when looking at the raw numbers.

Yes, the Tigers (19-9) started 10-2 before going 4-7 their next 11 games. With losses to Minooka and Romeoville (both in the middle of the Southwest Prairie Conference pack), one might wonder just how good they are.

What those raw numbers don’t show is that Joliet West has won five games in a row by a combined 98 points. Only a two-point win over Oswego East was within single digits.

What those raw numbers don’t show is that the Tigers avenged that Romeoville loss with a 20-point win over the Spartans. The raw numbers don’t show they lost to Bolingbrook and Homewood-Flossmoor, perhaps the two best teams in the state, by a combined five points.

Most recently, Joliet West claimed the SPC East Division title with a senior night win over Plainfield East. The Tigers appear primed and ready to make a run in the regional tournament, but ask coach Jeremy Kreiger, and he’ll say that his team isn’t even thinking about regionals yet.

That’s because the Tigers have one last game Tuesday night against Plainfield Central on the road. The Wildcats have won only two games this season, so they could be easily overlooked.

Joliet West won’t do that, however, and that mindset is why one would be wise to remain invested in the Tigers entering the postseason.

“We don’t think about regionals because we still have another game left,” Kreiger said. “We have to play Plainfield Central at their place on Tuesday, so for us it’s about never looking forward or back. We’re present where our feet are. So we’re going to come in, we’re going to practice, and we’re going to play our last regular-season game on Tuesday. After that, we’ll focus on regionals.”

The other Tigers

Plainfield North has been about as up and down this season as any team could be. Entering the week, the Tigers were locked in a three-way tie for fourth place in the SPC at 9-6 in conference play and were 16-12 overall.

Like the other Tigers, one shouldn’t bet against the ones from Plainfield North.

While consistency has been an issue throughout the season, Plainfield North has some impressive victories on its resume. A 31-point win over third-place Plainfield South and a 27-point win over second place Oswego East certainly stand out. Heck, even some of their losses were impressive as they kept up with Bolingbrook their first go around and only fell to Oswego East by one the first time they played.

Of course, there’s been some bad runs too. A loss to 12-18 Plainfield East by nine and dropping their last three games, including to 10-16 Nazareth, will likely turn some sectional poll voters away.

Still, Pierre Pointer and Quintin Wiencek are two of the best shooters in Illinois. This team is capable of beating just about anyone when they’re on. If they get hot come regional time, don’t be shocked when they get rolling.

Dark (horse) Knights?

Homewood-Flossmoor (15-0) ran away with the SouthWest Suburban Conference title as expected. Bradley-Bourbonnais (11-4) and Lockport (10-5) were just behind them, but it’s crowded at the top with a pair of 9-6 teams just behind that, leaving just a two-game margin between second and fourth.

One of those teams was Lincoln-Way East, a team to keep an eye on.

The other? That would be Lincoln-Way Central, which has flown under the radar this season.

The Knights are 21-9 overall and have won three in a row and 10 of their past 13. In that stretch, all three of those losses came to the teams ahead of them in the standings.

It’ll be tough to make it out of the regional tournament with those three ahead of them, especially Homewood-Flossmoor, but the Knights could be a tough out.