Class 3A

➜ What to watch: If Central can fare better than its first matchup this season with the Generals after MacArthur won 64-51 on Jan. 28 in Decatur. Central senior standout Chris Bush is playing some of the best basketball of his high school career — and that’s saying something — and he’ll need another big game like the one he had on Wednesday night. Bush dropped in a game-high 31 points to lead Central past Centennial 64-53.

➜ Who wins: Champaign Central, 55-52 . The Maroons play their best game of the season, especially on the defensive end, to win their first regional title since 2019. A sectional semifinal game with either Springfield Lanphier or Chatham Glenwood awaits at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Decatur Eisenhower.

➜ What to watch: How well the two Apollo Conference foes who are more than familiar with one another handle a third matchup this season. Mt. Zion, the reigning fourth-place team in Class 3A, has won the first two. The Braves beat the Bulldogs 54-42 on Dec. 7 in Mahomet and then hung on for a 63-57 win on Jan. 31 in Mt. Zion. Since that second loss to Mt. Zion, though, M-S has won eight of its last nine games and is feeling understandably confident.

➜ Who wins: Mahomet-Seymour, 51-49 . Miles Woolsey, Jackson Bohm and the rest of the Bulldogs get it done on the road to earn the program’s third regional title this decade. A trip to Decatur Eisenhower to square off against either Lincoln or Taylorville in a sectional semifinal game is next up at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Class 2A

➜ What to watch: Which team handles the emotions better. Unity and Monticello last met in a win-or-go-home situation on the football field this past November, with the Sages winning 23-20 in the closing seconds in dramatic fashion. Both basketball teams rely heavily on multiple players — Dane Eisenmenger, Coleton Langendorf, Brady Parr and Brayden Henry for Unity, among others; Ike Young, Carter Foran and Nolan Buehnerkemper for Monticello, among others — who suited up in that state semifinal football game.

➜ Who wins: Unity, 57-52 . Rockets make up for a late regular-season loss to the Sages that cost them an outright Illini Prairie Conference title, win a regional championship for the second straight season and advance to play a sectional semifinal game on their home court at the Rocket Center in Tolono at 7 p.m. Tuesday against either Teutopolis or Fairfield.

➜ What to watch: Whether St. Joseph-Ogden can beat the Cardinals for the second time this season and clinch the program’s fourth straight regional title. The Spartans handed Warrensburg-Latham one of their few losses this season with a 59-49 victory on Jan. 11 during the Christie Clinic Shootout in St. Joseph. This matchup, obviously, has a lot bigger implications.

➜ Who wins: St. Joseph-Ogden, 54-50 . The Spartans dealt with some postseason nerves in its 60-52 win against Maroa-Forsyth on Wednesday night. Those are now gone. Coy Taylor, Tanner Siems and the rest of the Spartans celebrate Friday night before turning their attention to either Lawrenceville or Paris at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in a sectional semifinal game at the Rocket Center in Tolono.

➜ What to watch: If Paxton-Buckley-Loda can pull the upset. The Panthers, paced by Tyler Cole and Robert Boyd-Meents, will have their work cut out against the area’s best team all winter after PBL topped host Hoopeston Area 56-43 on Wednesday night. BHRA, sparked by the play of dynamic guard Keison Peoples along with steady contributors like Micah Stanford, Chaz Dubois and Caden Keleminic, are vying for the program’s second consecutive regional title and third one this decade.

Class 1A

➜ What to watch: The senior trio of Kam Sweetnam, Parker James and Sawyer Woodard have carried Tuscola all season, but junior Logan Kurtz is a possible X factor to its postseason outlook. He came up big when needed to during Wednesday’s 54-33 victory against Martsinville.

➜ Who wins: Tuscola, 62-53 . Senior guards in the postseason can meet the moment, and Sweetnam does. The win sends Tuscola into a sectional semifinal game at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Bridgeport against either Dieterich or North Clay.

➜ What to watch: Arcola handling the external noise of trying to beat a state-ranked team again to win another regional title. The Purple Riders did so last season, taking down St. Anthony 57-52 in Bethany. This time in Moweaqua, Braden Phillips, Tanner Thomas and Co. are tasked with doing the same thing against another talented St. Anthony team.

➜ Who wins: Arcola, 48-43 . The Purple Riders surprise many outside of their locker room — again — and move on to play either Webber or Christ Our Rock Lutheran at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a sectional semifinal game in Bridgeport.

➜ What to watch: Salt Fork putting Wednesday night’s close 44-43 win against Unity Christian behind. The Storm, with Kam Keller and Jameson Remole as two key cogs all season, held off a late rally by the Lions to put itself in a position to win a regional championship for the second time in the last three seasons. A-O, which beat host Mt. Pulaski 73-62 on Wednesday night, has waited much longer to try and hoist a regional plaque. The Bombers, who are led by Damian Gude and M.J. Hall, haven’t done so since 1997.

➜ Who wins: Salt Fork, 45-44 . Salt Fork’s trend of winning tightly-contested games all season continues, and the Storm advance to face either LeRoy or Heyworth at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in a sectional semifinal game in Colfax.

➜ What to watch: Home-court advantage, in a charged atmosphere like a regional championship game, should matter. So does having a player like Sam Edmundson. LeRoy has both of those traits and also owns a 41-22 victory against Heyworth when the two Heart of Illinois Conference teams met on Feb. 7 at Dud Berry Gymnasium in LeRoy.

➜ Who wins: LeRoy, 47-34 . The Panthers win their first regional title since 2016 when LeRoy won a state title. LeRoy moves on to play either Salt Fork or Argenta-Oreana at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a sectional semifinal game in Colx.

➜ What to watch: If GCMS can beat Lexington for the first time this season. The Minutemen already own a 71-67 win against the Falcons on Nov. 30 in the GCMS Thanksgiving Tournament championship game and then topped the Falcons 56-42 on Jan. 14 back in Gibson City. Maybe playing on a neutral court matters, but Lexington has proven difficult for Brayden Elliott and the rest of his teammates to slow down this season.

➜ Who wins: Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, 62-60. The third time is the charm for GCMS, which wins its first regional title since 2019 and preps for a sectional semifinal game at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Colfax against either Schlarman or La Salette.

➜ What to watch: Schlarman continuing its late-season magic. The Hilltoppers, who were 4-7 entering the second ewek in January, have won 11 of their last 12 games. Including a stunning 68-63 overtime win against second-seeded Armstrong-Potomac on Wednesday night. La Salette, meanwhile, will try to make up for a 41-40 home loss against Schlarman on Feb. 17.

➜ Who wins: Schlarman, 65-55 . Peyton Kuemmerle, Jerrius Atkinson and the rest of the Hilltoppers treat the home crowd at Shebby Gymnasium to the program’s first regional title since 2003 and a date with either Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley or Lexington at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Colfax for a sectional semifinal game.