By Sean Duncan

No one enjoys the state tournament more than I do. I dig the one-and-done, unpredictable nature of the tournament, the pressure and strategy and everything in between.

With that said, I am not vibing this Class 4A state tournament, which begins Monday with play-in games, followed by regional semifinals Wednesday and Thursday. I am almost embarrassed to unveil our Class 4A tournament predictions because, at first glance, you may think we have lost our minds. You actually may be correct about that, but for reasons other than our predictions.

The inequality of sectionals is particularly stark this year, which unfortunately leaves several highly qualified teams as roadkill in the St. Ignatius and Andrew Sectionals, which both funnel into the Crestwood Supersectional. I know it’s like this every year, but there is a much wider divide between the sectionals this year, I believe, chiefly because the Mid-Suburban League, the Fox Valley Conference and the Upstate 8 were all down this year. All three of those conferences feed into the McHenry Sectional and Schaumburg Sectional.

Whatever, teams will need to beat other teams. That’s how tournaments work, I think.

The Guru and I are aligned on several picks, though we are way off in our picks in the Rockford Supersectional 2. The Guru is picking Rockford Boylan to defeat York in the supersectional – which, given Boylan’s recent winning streak, is the more pragmatic pick. I, however, am picking Geneva to advance to the state semifinals after defeating Boylan in the super. Geneva, which never broke the Top 25 rankings this season, is my dark-horse pick because I like its starting pitching, and my wife digs the shopping in Geneva’s “adorable” downtown area. Adorable is her word. Don’t judge, bro. Could happen to you, too.

The Guru and I also differ in the Rockford Supersectional 1 bracket, though we both like teams from the Central Suburban South. The Guru likes Maine South to advance, while I am picking Glenbrook South. Maine South steamrolled through the Central Suburban South, which became one of the toughest conferences in the state this year.

The Crestwood Supersectional is clearly the most difficult. I know everyone outside the Chicago Catholic Blue Conference is sick of hearing about the Chicago Catholic Blue Conference. But this year, at least, there really is no comparison. In addition to all the Catholic League teams, you have Lincoln-Way North, Sandburg, Andrew and Marist. The Guru and I are aligned here: we’re both picking Providence, our preseason No. 1 team, to advance to Joliet for the second straight year.

In the Champaign Supersectional, Plainfield North, O’Fallon, Edwardsville, Hinsdale South and Neuqua Valley are the strongest teams. We both like Plainfield North and O’Fallon to win their respective sectional, with Plainfield North advancing to the semifinals.

So who’s going to hoist the big trophy at Silver Cross Field on June 9? Last year, Providence was the heavy favorite but fell to Lyons Township in the title game. I don’t think there is a prohibitive favorite this year.

Flip a coin. Throw a dart. Break out the Ouija Board. We did all three. A look at our Class 4A state tournament predictions:

Drake "The Guru" Skleba	Sean Duncan
Rockford Supersectional 2	Rockford Supersectional 2
McHenry Sectional	McHenry Sectional
Rockford Boylan d. Barrington	Rockford Boylan d. Barrington
Crystal Lake South d. Cary-Grove	Crystal Lake South d. Cary-Grove
Rockford Boylan d. Crystal Lake South	Rockford Boylan d. Crystal Lake South
Schaumburg Sectional	Schaumburg Sectional
Geneva d. Wheaton North	Geneva d. Wheaton North
York d. St. Charles East	York d. St. Charles East
York d. Geneva	Geneva d. York
Supersectional:	Supersectional:
Rockford Boylan d. York	Geneva d. Rockford Boylan
Rockford Boylan advances to Joliet	Geneva advances to Joliet
Rockford Supersectional 1	Rockford Supersectional 1
Evanston Sectional	Evanston Sectional
Maine South d. Niles West	Maine South d. Niles West
New Trier d. Oak Park	Oak Park d. New Trier
Maine South d. New Trier	Oak Park d. Maine South
Glenbrook South Sectional	Glenbrook South Sectional
Mundelein d. Libertyville	Mundelein d. Hersey
Glenbrook South d. Glenbrook North	Glenbrook South d. Glenbrook North
Glenbrook South d. Mundelein	Glenbrook South d. Mundelein
Supersectional:	Supersectional:
Maine South d. Glenbrook South	Glenbrook South d. Oak Park
Maine South advances to Joliet	Glenbrook South advances to Joliet
Crestwood Supersectional	Crestwood Supersectional
St. Ignatius Sectional	St. Ignatius Sectional
St. Laurence d. De La Salle	St. Laurence d. De La Salle
Mount Carmel d. St. Rita	Mount Carmel d. St. Rita
St. Laurence d. Mount Carmel	St. Laurence d. Mount Carmel
Andrew Sectional	Andrew Sectional
Providence d. Marist	Providence d. Marist
Lincoln-Way North d. Sandburg	Lincoln-Way North d. Sandburg
Providence d. Lincoln-Way North	Providence d. Lincoln-Way North
Supersectional:	Supersectional:
Providence d. St. Laurence	Providence d. St. Laurence
Providence advances to Joliet	Providence advances to Joliet
Champaign Supersectional	Champaign Supersectional
Illinois Wesleyan Sectional	Illinois Wesleyan Sectional
Minooka d. Moline	Joliet West d. Normal
O'Fallon d. Edwardsville	O'Fallon d. Edwardsville
O'Fallon d. Minooka	O'Fallon d. Joliet West
Romeoville Sectional	Romeoville Sectional
Plainfield North d. Downers Grove S.	Plainfield North d. Downers Grove S.
Hinsdale South d. Neuqua Valley	Neuqua Valley d. Hinsdale South
Plainfield North d. Hinsdale South	Plainfield North d. Neuqua Valley
Supersectional:	Supersectional:
Plainfield North d. O'Fallon	Plainfield North d. O'Fallon
Plainfield North advances to Joliet	Plainfield North advances to Joliet
Class 4A State Semifinals	Class 4A State Semifinals
Maine South d. Rockford Boylan	Glenbrook South d. Geneva
Providence d. Plainfield North	Providence d. Plainfield North
Third-Place Game	Third-Place Game
Plainfield North d. Rockford Boylan	Plainfield North d. Geneva
Class 4A Championship Game	Class 4A Championship Game
Providence d. Maine South	Providence d. Glenbrook South
Providence wins it all	Providence wins it all