Ohio State was No. 5 on Tuesday night in the second-to-last College Football Playoff rankings, positioned to possibly take advantage if one of the top four slips up on championship weekend.

Georgia (12-0) was No. 1 again. No. 2 Michigan (12-0) and No. 3 TCU (12-0) both moved up a spot, and Southern California (11-1) climbed two spots into the fourth slot.

The Buckeyes (11-1) dropped three spots after losing 45-23 to the rival Wolverines on Saturday at home. That game was 24-20 heading into the fourth quarter and 31-23 with 7:23 to go before Michigan blew it open.

“It was talked about in the committee room that going into, really early in the fourth quarter, the game was still close,” said selection committee chairman Boo Corrigan, who is North Carolina State’s athletic director. “That being said, you can’t completely dismiss the way the fourth quarter ended with Michigan kind of taking over the game there late.”

Alabama (10-2) moved up a spot to No. 6 and was followed by Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee, which beat the Crimson Tide in October.

The final rankings and the four-team field for the College Football Playoff will be set Sunday. The semifinals will be played Dec. 31 in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.

The top four play in their conference championships game this weekend. The undefeated teams might not need to win this weekend to lock up a spot.

Georgia plays LSU (9-3), which fell nine spots to 14th, in the SEC title game. Michigan plays Purdue (8-4) for the Big Ten championship. TCU faces Kansas State, which is 10th in the latest rankings and has already lost to the surprising Horned Frogs.

USC and Heisman Trophy frontrunner Caleb Williams face Utah, No. 11 in the rankings, on Friday night in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 championship.

If the Trojans slip up, that could give Ohio State a second chance.

Since the college football playoff started in 2014, only one team has moved from outside the top four to inside and was selected to play in the semifinals without playing on championship weekend.

Alabama in 2017 was 11-1 and No. 5, but had lost to Auburn and finished second in the SEC West.

The Tigers then lost to Georgia in the SEC championship, which vaulted the Bulldogs from fifth to third.

Wisconsin was unbeaten and No. 4 heading into Big Ten championship game but was beaten by Ohio State, which had already lost twice and was No. 8.

That left the committee with an opening at No. 4 and it elevated Alabama instead of Ohio State, which finished No. 6 as the Big Ten champion with an 11-2 record.

NEW YEAR’S SIX POSSIBILITIES

Most of these scenarios involve the top four winning out and/or remaining the same after this weekend’s games.

Alabama being ahead of Tennessee would mean the Crimson Tide would go to the Sugar Bowl, which is contractually bound to get either the SEC champ or the highest-ranked SEC team available after the playoff has been filled.

That would put Tennessee in the Orange Bowl or the Cotton Bowl, depending on what the Rose Bowl does.

If Ohio State doesn’t make it into the playoff, the Buckeyes could go to the Rose Bowl for the second straight season. But with Penn State moving up to No. 8 this week, that opens up the possibility the Rose Bowl could select Penn State, leaving Ohio State to go to the Orange Bowl as the highest-ranked available Big Ten or SEC team.

If Ohio State ends up in the Rose Bowl, Penn State is a good bet for the Cotton.

The Buckeyes in the Orange Bowl against the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference title game between Clemson and North Carolina bumps Tennessee to the Cotton against the highest-ranked champion from a Group of Five conference.

The latest rankings pretty much guaranteed that will be the winner of the American Athletic Conference championship between Tulane, ranked 18th, and No. 22 UCF.

No other team from a non-Power Five conference is ranked.

Kansas State is locked into the Sugar Bowl no matter the result of its game against TCU as either the Big 12 champion or runner-up in place of the Big 12 champ making the playoff.

Washington at No. 12 behind Utah puts the Huskies in great shape to make the Rose Bowl as the Pac-12’s representative if USC beats Utah and the Trojans make the playoff.

If Utah wins a second straight Pac-12 title, the Rose Bowl would again have some leeway to take another highly ranked team (Washington) instead of having a return trip to Pasadena, California, by the Utes.

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Ohio State was No. 5 on Tuesday night in the second-to-last College Football Playoff rankings, positioned to possibly take advantage if one of the top four slips up on championship weekend.

Georgia (12-0) was No. 1 again. No. 2 Michigan (12-0) and No. 3 TCU (12-0) both moved up a spot, and Southern California (11-1) climbed two spots into the fourth slot.

The Buckeyes (11-1) dropped three spots after losing 45-23 to the rival Wolverines on Saturday at home. That game was 24-20 heading into the fourth quarter and 31-23 with 7:23 to go before Michigan blew it open.

“It was talked about in the committee room that going into, really early in the fourth quarter, the game was still close,” said selection committee chairman Boo Corrigan, who is North Carolina State’s athletic director. “That being said, you can’t completely dismiss the way the fourth quarter ended with Michigan kind of taking over the game there late.”

Alabama (10-2) moved up a spot to No. 6 and was followed by Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee, which beat the Crimson Tide in October.

The final rankings and the four-team field for the College Football Playoff will be set Sunday. The semifinals will be played Dec. 31 in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.

The top four play in their conference championships game this weekend. The undefeated teams might not need to win this weekend to lock up a spot.

Georgia plays LSU (9-3), which fell nine spots to 14th, in the SEC title game. Michigan plays Purdue (8-4) for the Big Ten championship. TCU faces Kansas State, which is 10th in the latest rankings and has already lost to the surprising Horned Frogs.

USC and Heisman Trophy frontrunner Caleb Williams face Utah, No. 11 in the rankings, on Friday night in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 championship.

If the Trojans slip up, that could give Ohio State a second chance.

Since the college football playoff started in 2014, only one team has moved from outside the top four to inside and was selected to play in the semifinals without playing on championship weekend.

Alabama in 2017 was 11-1 and No. 5, but had lost to Auburn and finished second in the SEC West.

The Tigers then lost to Georgia in the SEC championship, which vaulted the Bulldogs from fifth to third.

Wisconsin was unbeaten and No. 4 heading into Big Ten championship game but was beaten by Ohio State, which had already lost twice and was No. 8.

That left the committee with an opening at No. 4 and it elevated Alabama instead of Ohio State, which finished No. 6 as the Big Ten champion with an 11-2 record.

NEW YEAR’S SIX POSSIBILITIES

Most of these scenarios involve the top four winning out and/or remaining the same after this weekend’s games.

Alabama being ahead of Tennessee would mean the Crimson Tide would go to the Sugar Bowl, which is contractually bound to get either the SEC champ or the highest-ranked SEC team available after the playoff has been filled.

That would put Tennessee in the Orange Bowl or the Cotton Bowl, depending on what the Rose Bowl does.

If Ohio State doesn’t make it into the playoff, the Buckeyes could go to the Rose Bowl for the second straight season. But with Penn State moving up to No. 8 this week, that opens up the possibility the Rose Bowl could select Penn State, leaving Ohio State to go to the Orange Bowl as the highest-ranked available Big Ten or SEC team.

If Ohio State ends up in the Rose Bowl, Penn State is a good bet for the Cotton.

The Buckeyes in the Orange Bowl against the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference title game between Clemson and North Carolina bumps Tennessee to the Cotton against the highest-ranked champion from a Group of Five conference.

The latest rankings pretty much guaranteed that will be the winner of the American Athletic Conference championship between Tulane, ranked 18th, and No. 22 UCF.

No other team from a non-Power Five conference is ranked.

Kansas State is locked into the Sugar Bowl no matter the result of its game against TCU as either the Big 12 champion or runner-up in place of the Big 12 champ making the playoff.

Washington at No. 12 behind Utah puts the Huskies in great shape to make the Rose Bowl as the Pac-12’s representative if USC beats Utah and the Trojans make the playoff.

If Utah wins a second straight Pac-12 title, the Rose Bowl would again have some leeway to take another highly ranked team (Washington) instead of having a return trip to Pasadena, California, by the Utes.

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You never want to overreact from a week’s worth of Thanksgiving tournament basketball. Nonetheless, after waiting over eight months for the action to return — and a busy slate of games played in the opening week — there is always plenty to dissect.

There was a showdown featuring two top five teams, Kenwood and Young, to open the week, a flurry of high-profile games in Washington, Ill., and plenty of 4-0 starts to the season to grab your attention.

Here are a bevy of thoughts from the week in this Thanksgiving leftovers column.

o Oak Lawn’s quick start to the season was an ascending one. Following somewhat expected lopsided wins over Bremen and Lincoln-Way West to open the Oak Lawn/Reavis Thanksgiving Tournament, the Spartans took down a spunky St. Laurence team 65-60.

Then it was the first big test of the weekend: Mount Carmel. And coach Jason Rhodes’ team passed with flying colors, knocking off the ranked Caravan 76-68.

While Oak Lawn returned just one starter from a year ago — and a part-time one at that — it was an integral piece in senior Ayham Salah, who averaged 9.5 points and shot 40 percent from three last season. In the first four games this season, the 6-0 guard put up 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

But the addition of Marist transfer Xavier Sulaiman has proved to be the spark for what will be a potent offensive attack.

The 6-2 guard has been on the radar since he was a freshman. But Sulaiman, who has always had a penchant for scoring the basketball, may be taking his game to a new level as a senior in a new basketball home. He was named tournament MVP following a week in which he averaged 24 points in four wins.

Corey Lee, a strong, quick 5-11 junior point guard, provides more offense with 12.5 points and 4.3 assists a game while doubling as the team’s best on-the-ball defender.

There is no time to relax. Oak Lawn will face another ranked team Friday when it hosts unbeaten Hillcrest.

o With a 3-1 record over Thanksgiving, including a win over Lake Forest and Asa Thomas, Loyola showed the potential to be better than a year ago. When you consider the Ramblers will welcome three players back from a state championship football team who figure to play meaningful minutes, that becomes even more of a reality.

But the improvement starts for this team with what will be one of the better backcourts in the Catholic League: senior point guard Alex Engro and junior combo guard Miles Boland.

o There is no doubt the ranked team with the biggest early tests the first week of the season was Joliet West.

Coach Jeremy Kreiger beefed up the schedule significantly, which included an opening week in Washington where it faced Cardinal Ritter out of Missouri, highly-ranked St. Rita, Lanier in Georgia and Metamora, last year’s Class 3A state runner-up with the majority of its team back. The Tigers headed home with a 3-1 record.

o Glenbard West lost Tuesday to DeKalb. That’s newsworthy when you consider the following …

The loss 56-54 overtime loss to DeKalb was just the second defeat to an in-state opponent in 998 days. That’s pretty remarkable.

The Hilltoppers lost a regional game to Batavia on March 4, 2020. Since then the Hilltoppers have lost only to Downers Grove North during the abbreviated Covid-shortened season and to DeKalb on Tuesday.

Last season Glenbard West rolled to a state championship, finishing 37-1, losing only to California power Sierra Canyon in overtime during the regular season. The year before it was a 16-1 record, losing only to DGN.

Prior to the DeKalb loss on Tuesday, the Hilltoppers jumped out to a 3-0 start as they beat up on the other Glenbard schools over Thanksgiving week — all this after graduating five starters from the state title team.

The 2022 Player of the Year Braden Huff is off to Gonzaga. Bobby Durkin will head to Davidson after a year at IMG in Florida. Caden Pierce is starting at Princeton. But coach Jason Opoka’s team still beat Glenbard East, Glenbard North and Glenbard South by an average victory margin of 25 points.

The new name leading Glenbard West: Logan Brown. In the three wins the 6-6 senior averaged 15.7 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. The physical, Brown is a rebounding machine and is committed to play at Division III Haverford in Pennsylvania.

Benji Zander (11 ppg) and sophomore Dominic Seaney (10.7 ppg) joined Brown on the all-tournament team.

o It was expected when the season began, but the opening week just reaffirmed the Catholic League Blue is going to be an absolute grind for every team in it over the next three months.

St. Ignatius, which moved up from the Catholic White, is 4-0 with wins over Lake Forest and New Trier, a pair of preseason ranked teams. Brother Rice is 4-0 with a win over highly-ranked Curie. DePaul is 4-0. Loyola and Mount Carmel are both 3-1. And we haven’t even mentioned league favorite and the highest ranked team of the bunch, St. Rita.

o The big names are gone — Nick Martinelli is at Northwestern and Cooper Noard is at Cornell — but Rodell Davis, Jr., is back for Glenbrook South. The senior guard is making the most of an expanded opportunity this year. Prior to Tuesday’s loss to Rolling Meadows, Davis led the Titans to a 4-0 start and was named MVP of the Ed Molitor Thanksgiving Classic at Palatine.

o And how about that Central Suburban League South? Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Evanston and New Trier were a combined 15-1 coming out of Thanksgiving week with the lone loss coming to ranked St. Ignatius.

o St. Ignatius really is a different team than a year ago. But after getting a look at the 2022-23 version, there is no question the Wolfpack can end up back in Champaign again, which is where I picked them to be a week ago in my Fearless Forecast column.

That belief is because Richard Barron, an instrumental part of last year’s success and a George Mason recruit, has a take-over ability and mindset as a senior. Barron can be a 6-5, strong-bodied bully and a sharpshooting wing all rolled into one.

o This will likely be repeated over the course of the season because he continues to be an under-appreciated, stat-sheet-stuffing senior star, but Oswego East’s Mekhi Lowery is only getting better. He looks more confident and assertive.

Following a 33-win season a year ago, the 6-6 Lowery is now the engine of a highly-ranked Wolves team that has started the season 5-0, which includes a pair of convincing, double-digit wins over West Aurora.

Towson, which won the Colonial and 25 games a year ago, has itself a recruiting steal in the versatile Lowery.

o You have to kind of like and appreciate the fact coach Don Houston’s Hillcrest team went out and won one of the tougher Thanksgiving tournaments in the state — after losing two key players, 6-9 Matt Moore (to Joliet West) and Isaiah Green (to Kenwood).

o Benet rolled to a title at St. Charles East, even with Niko Abusara playing in just one game due to an ankle injury. But it was the play of another senior who led the way.

Brady Kunka averaged nearly a double-double — and did so in limited minutes due to blowout wins — en route to being named tournament MVP. Kunka was one of the centerpieces of last year’s 25-win team that ran the table in the East Suburban Cathoilc Conference, so he’s not completely unknown. But he’s certainly an unheralded player in the senior class who simply helps teams win.

o With a first-look at Riverside-Brookfield this past week, a loss to ranked Curie, it’s clear the Bulldogs will take a step back from what they were a year ago. Nonetheless, it’s a team that should only get better and is blessed with a game-wrecker in Arius Alijosius.

The 6-1 senior guard who is headed to Division II Winona State in Minnesota is, very simply, one of the elite three-point shooters in the state. In the loss, Alijosius buried eight three-pointers en route to a 30-point game. He gets his shot off quickly off the catch and has unlimited range. He’s capable of turning around a game in a hurry.

o Benet and Marian Catholic were the favorites in the East Suburban Catholic Conference as the season tipped off, while a young but talented St. Patrick headed up the next wave of teams in the league. But Marist was an eye-opener last week, beating Andrew, Shepard and Richards while pummeling Perspectives-Leadership.

Read More

You never want to overreact from a week’s worth of Thanksgiving tournament basketball. Nonetheless, after waiting over eight months for the action to return — and a busy slate of games played in the opening week — there is always plenty to dissect.

There was a showdown featuring two top five teams, Kenwood and Young, to open the week, a flurry of high-profile games in Washington, Ill., and plenty of 4-0 starts to the season to grab your attention.

Here are a bevy of thoughts from the week in this Thanksgiving leftovers column.

o Oak Lawn’s quick start to the season was an ascending one. Following somewhat expected lopsided wins over Bremen and Lincoln-Way West to open the Oak Lawn/Reavis Thanksgiving Tournament, the Spartans took down a spunky St. Laurence team 65-60.

Then it was the first big test of the weekend: Mount Carmel. And coach Jason Rhodes’ team passed with flying colors, knocking off the ranked Caravan 76-68.

While Oak Lawn returned just one starter from a year ago — and a part-time one at that — it was an integral piece in senior Ayham Salah, who averaged 9.5 points and shot 40 percent from three last season. In the first four games this season, the 6-0 guard put up 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

But the addition of Marist transfer Xavier Sulaiman has proved to be the spark for what will be a potent offensive attack.

The 6-2 guard has been on the radar since he was a freshman. But Sulaiman, who has always had a penchant for scoring the basketball, may be taking his game to a new level as a senior in a new basketball home. He was named tournament MVP following a week in which he averaged 24 points in four wins.

Corey Lee, a strong, quick 5-11 junior point guard, provides more offense with 12.5 points and 4.3 assists a game while doubling as the team’s best on-the-ball defender.

There is no time to relax. Oak Lawn will face another ranked team Friday when it hosts unbeaten Hillcrest.

o With a 3-1 record over Thanksgiving, including a win over Lake Forest and Asa Thomas, Loyola showed the potential to be better than a year ago. When you consider the Ramblers will welcome three players back from a state championship football team who figure to play meaningful minutes, that becomes even more of a reality.

But the improvement starts for this team with what will be one of the better backcourts in the Catholic League: senior point guard Alex Engro and junior combo guard Miles Boland.

o There is no doubt the ranked team with the biggest early tests the first week of the season was Joliet West.

Coach Jeremy Kreiger beefed up the schedule significantly, which included an opening week in Washington where it faced Cardinal Ritter out of Missouri, highly-ranked St. Rita, Lanier in Georgia and Metamora, last year’s Class 3A state runner-up with the majority of its team back. The Tigers headed home with a 3-1 record.

o Glenbard West lost Tuesday to DeKalb. That’s newsworthy when you consider the following …

The loss 56-54 overtime loss to DeKalb was just the second defeat to an in-state opponent in 998 days. That’s pretty remarkable.

The Hilltoppers lost a regional game to Batavia on March 4, 2020. Since then the Hilltoppers have lost only to Downers Grove North during the abbreviated Covid-shortened season and to DeKalb on Tuesday.

Last season Glenbard West rolled to a state championship, finishing 37-1, losing only to California power Sierra Canyon in overtime during the regular season. The year before it was a 16-1 record, losing only to DGN.

Prior to the DeKalb loss on Tuesday, the Hilltoppers jumped out to a 3-0 start as they beat up on the other Glenbard schools over Thanksgiving week — all this after graduating five starters from the state title team.

The 2022 Player of the Year Braden Huff is off to Gonzaga. Bobby Durkin will head to Davidson after a year at IMG in Florida. Caden Pierce is starting at Princeton. But coach Jason Opoka’s team still beat Glenbard East, Glenbard North and Glenbard South by an average victory margin of 25 points.

The new name leading Glenbard West: Logan Brown. In the three wins the 6-6 senior averaged 15.7 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. The physical, Brown is a rebounding machine and is committed to play at Division III Haverford in Pennsylvania.

Benji Zander (11 ppg) and sophomore Dominic Seaney (10.7 ppg) joined Brown on the all-tournament team.

o It was expected when the season began, but the opening week just reaffirmed the Catholic League Blue is going to be an absolute grind for every team in it over the next three months.

St. Ignatius, which moved up from the Catholic White, is 4-0 with wins over Lake Forest and New Trier, a pair of preseason ranked teams. Brother Rice is 4-0 with a win over highly-ranked Curie. DePaul is 4-0. Loyola and Mount Carmel are both 3-1. And we haven’t even mentioned league favorite and the highest ranked team of the bunch, St. Rita.

o The big names are gone — Nick Martinelli is at Northwestern and Cooper Noard is at Cornell — but Rodell Davis, Jr., is back for Glenbrook South. The senior guard is making the most of an expanded opportunity this year. Prior to Tuesday’s loss to Rolling Meadows, Davis led the Titans to a 4-0 start and was named MVP of the Ed Molitor Thanksgiving Classic at Palatine.

o And how about that Central Suburban League South? Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Evanston and New Trier were a combined 15-1 coming out of Thanksgiving week with the lone loss coming to ranked St. Ignatius.

o St. Ignatius really is a different team than a year ago. But after getting a look at the 2022-23 version, there is no question the Wolfpack can end up back in Champaign again, which is where I picked them to be a week ago in my Fearless Forecast column.

That belief is because Richard Barron, an instrumental part of last year’s success and a George Mason recruit, has a take-over ability and mindset as a senior. Barron can be a 6-5, strong-bodied bully and a sharpshooting wing all rolled into one.

o This will likely be repeated over the course of the season because he continues to be an under-appreciated, stat-sheet-stuffing senior star, but Oswego East’s Mekhi Lowery is only getting better. He looks more confident and assertive.

Following a 33-win season a year ago, the 6-6 Lowery is now the engine of a highly-ranked Wolves team that has started the season 5-0, which includes a pair of convincing, double-digit wins over West Aurora.

Towson, which won the Colonial and 25 games a year ago, has itself a recruiting steal in the versatile Lowery.

o You have to kind of like and appreciate the fact coach Don Houston’s Hillcrest team went out and won one of the tougher Thanksgiving tournaments in the state — after losing two key players, 6-9 Matt Moore (to Joliet West) and Isaiah Green (to Kenwood).

o Benet rolled to a title at St. Charles East, even with Niko Abusara playing in just one game due to an ankle injury. But it was the play of another senior who led the way.

Brady Kunka averaged nearly a double-double — and did so in limited minutes due to blowout wins — en route to being named tournament MVP. Kunka was one of the centerpieces of last year’s 25-win team that ran the table in the East Suburban Cathoilc Conference, so he’s not completely unknown. But he’s certainly an unheralded player in the senior class who simply helps teams win.

o With a first-look at Riverside-Brookfield this past week, a loss to ranked Curie, it’s clear the Bulldogs will take a step back from what they were a year ago. Nonetheless, it’s a team that should only get better and is blessed with a game-wrecker in Arius Alijosius.

The 6-1 senior guard who is headed to Division II Winona State in Minnesota is, very simply, one of the elite three-point shooters in the state. In the loss, Alijosius buried eight three-pointers en route to a 30-point game. He gets his shot off quickly off the catch and has unlimited range. He’s capable of turning around a game in a hurry.

o Benet and Marian Catholic were the favorites in the East Suburban Catholic Conference as the season tipped off, while a young but talented St. Patrick headed up the next wave of teams in the league. But Marist was an eye-opener last week, beating Andrew, Shepard and Richards while pummeling Perspectives-Leadership.

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Skylar Jones has had Dec. 4 circled on the calendar for a while now.

On Sunday, Jones and her Young teammates will return to UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena, where they beat Kenwood in last season’s Public League final. This time, they’ll be headlining the final day of the Chicago Elite Classic.

Though the CEC has showcased girls teams in the past, this is the first time the event has devoted an entire day to them.

Jones is thrilled by the development.

“I’m so excited that the girls get their own day to showcase all the talent around the Midwest,” she said.

Here’s a look at the matchups:

Simeon vs. Oak Forest, noon

Simeon is a traditional Public League power that won its first state title in 2020, beating downstate Morton in Class 3A just before the pandemic lockdown. The Wolverines were young last season and finished 14-10, but look to rebound this year. Janae Kent, whose parents and brother all have played Division I basketball, leads Oak Forest. A 6-1 wing, she’s the consensus No. 73 senior nationally and is committed to LSU.

Phillips vs. Homewood-Flossmoor, 1:30 p.m.

Phillips, an upper-echelon Public League team, is in Class 2A but routinely stacks its schedule with Class 4A powers including reigning state champ Stevenson. The Wildcats get more of the same here with H-F, whose top player is 6-1 forward Alyssa Latham. She’s ranked 72nd nationally among seniors and is committed to Syracuse.

Butler vs. Lincoln-Way Central, 3 p.m.

No Noble Network team in any sport has a higher profile than Butler, a 2A school that plays one of the state’s most challenging schedules. The Lynx’s Camille Jackson, now playing at Illinois, was the first Power Five recruit in Noble history. The next one will be dynamic point guard Xamiya Walton, the No. 55 junior nationally. IUPUI recruit Azyah Newson-Cole and Gracen Gehrke are players to watch for Lincoln-Way Central.

Kenwood vs. Vashon, 4:30 p.m.

Kenwood has two players committed to play in Division I — Jazelle Young (Loyola) and Natasha Barnes (Missouri State) — and several others who could wind up doing so. Ariella Henigan and Diann Jackson are both among the state’s top sophomores, and senior Jazlynn Givens is back after missing much of last season with a torn ACL. St. Louis power Vashon is back in the CEC after losing to Simeon last year.

Young vs. Stevenson, 6 p.m.

The event’s marquee game pits two returning members of last season’s Class 4A Elite Eight. Barrington finished second, losing to Stevenson in the final. Purdue recruit Sophie Swanson and Gwen Adler, who is headed to Seton Hall for volleyball, lead the Fillies. Young has several key returners from the team that fell to Benet in the supersectional, including Jones, a top-100 senior nationally who is heading to Missouri; sophomore Destiny Jackson; and senior Olivia Vick.

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Skylar Jones has had Dec. 4 circled on the calendar for a while now.

On Sunday, Jones and her Young teammates will return to UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena, where they beat Kenwood in last season’s Public League final. This time, they’ll be headlining the final day of the Chicago Elite Classic.

Though the CEC has showcased girls teams in the past, this is the first time the event has devoted an entire day to them.

Jones is thrilled by the development.

“I’m so excited that the girls get their own day to showcase all the talent around the Midwest,” she said.

Here’s a look at the matchups:

Simeon vs. Oak Forest, noon

Simeon is a traditional Public League power that won its first state title in 2020, beating downstate Morton in Class 3A just before the pandemic lockdown. The Wolverines were young last season and finished 14-10, but look to rebound this year. Janae Kent, whose parents and brother all have played Division I basketball, leads Oak Forest. A 6-1 wing, she’s the consensus No. 73 senior nationally and is committed to LSU.

Phillips vs. Homewood-Flossmoor, 1:30 p.m.

Phillips, an upper-echelon Public League team, is in Class 2A but routinely stacks its schedule with Class 4A powers including reigning state champ Stevenson. The Wildcats get more of the same here with H-F, whose top player is 6-1 forward Alyssa Latham. She’s ranked 72nd nationally among seniors and is committed to Syracuse.

Butler vs. Lincoln-Way Central, 3 p.m.

No Noble Network team in any sport has a higher profile than Butler, a 2A school that plays one of the state’s most challenging schedules. The Lynx’s Camille Jackson, now playing at Illinois, was the first Power Five recruit in Noble history. The next one will be dynamic point guard Xamiya Walton, the No. 55 junior nationally. IUPUI recruit Azyah Newson-Cole and Gracen Gehrke are players to watch for Lincoln-Way Central.

Kenwood vs. Vashon, 4:30 p.m.

Kenwood has two players committed to play in Division I — Jazelle Young (Loyola) and Natasha Barnes (Missouri State) — and several others who could wind up doing so. Ariella Henigan and Diann Jackson are both among the state’s top sophomores, and senior Jazlynn Givens is back after missing much of last season with a torn ACL. St. Louis power Vashon is back in the CEC after losing to Simeon last year.

Young vs. Stevenson, 6 p.m.

The event’s marquee game pits two returning members of last season’s Class 4A Elite Eight. Barrington finished second, losing to Stevenson in the final. Purdue recruit Sophie Swanson and Gwen Adler, who is headed to Seton Hall for volleyball, lead the Fillies. Young has several key returners from the team that fell to Benet in the supersectional, including Jones, a top-100 senior nationally who is heading to Missouri; sophomore Destiny Jackson; and senior Olivia Vick.

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