Michael O’Brien’s high school basketball notebook

There’s not a doubt in my mind that Simeon is the best basketball team in the area right now.

Which is pretty awkward since Glenbard West is undefeated and ranked No. 1. Simeon hasn’t lost to a local team and it has incredibly impressive wins against Curie and Kenwood.

So we have a problem. Simeon and Glenbard West aren’t going to play this season. Glenbard West is playing Young in a couple weeks. The Hilltoppers are also scheduled to face Kenwood in this mythical event at Wintrust on Feb. 5 that no one has any concrete information on yet.

Simeon is allegedly facing Sierra Canyon in that same event. We need the shoe company or whoever is pulling the strings behind the scenes to make a switch. It should be Kenwood vs. Sierra Canyon and Simeon against Glenbard West.

Kenwood and the Hilltoppers can play in the Class 4A state playoffs. And that is as it should be. We don’t need those two to meet up in a meaningless non-conference game a month earlier. Simeon is now in 3A so that event might be the only opportunity to see the two best teams in the state face off.

It’s unlikely anyone is going to listen to me and switch things up. But I’m putting it out there anyway.

Tuesday’s top games

Yorkville Christian 81, Orr 72: The Mustangs made 15 three-pointers in this one. Good luck to any opponent when that happens. This was probably a really fun game to watch. It was a loaded Tuesday night. Jaden Schutt scored 28 and KJ Vasser had 21.

Joliet West 70, Oswego 42: Toby Onyekonwu did it again. The senior scored 36 tonight to top the 33 he scored in his season debut on Friday. Jayden Martin did miss the game with an injury, which had been rumored. The Tigers face Curie this weekend.

Hoffman Estates 52, Barrington 45: The MSL has been a bit tough to figure out this season but it looks like the Hawks are for real. They are now 13-3.

Thornton 77, Homewood-Flossmoor 61: Two of the most difficult teams to figure out in the entire area met in this one and, well, I don’t know what to make of this score. The Vikings have clearly hit a rough patch. Ty Rodgers had 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. I’ve seen the Wildcats look really good for stretches with Rodgers but some of their scores have been puzzling this season, even when he played. Plenty of time to work it all out I guess.

Lemont 82, Richards 43: Nojus Indrusaitis scored 28 and the Castillo brothers (they are fun to watch), combined for 33. A bit surprised by the margin in this one.

Young 56, Westinghouse 34: Xavier Amos (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Marcus Overstreet (12 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles as the Dolphins cruised.

Mount Carmel 64, Marmion 56: Make it 17-0 for the Caravan. DeAndre Craig scored 24 and Edyy Lyons added 15. Mount Carmel is making people notice. There was a lot of talk about the Caravan in the stands at Kenwood tonight.

Fenger 83, Vocational 67: Lonnel Strickland scored 23 and Isaiah Hall added 19.

Providence 61, St. Laurence 52, 2 OT: Looks like this was a thriller. Owen Moran scored 19 for the Celtics and Jack Wajda added 18.

Brooks 74, Corliss 43: The perpetually underrated Eagles pick up a conference win. Anthony Vaval scored 20 and Tim Taiwo, who is a very good player, added 13 points, and eight assists.

Momence 71, Gardner 48: Jaden Walls scored 24 and James Stevenson almost dropped a triple-double. He finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Momence is 14-1.

Perspectives-Leadership 74, Dyett 63: Senior JaQuwan Payton with a massive 30 points and Matthew Neal added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Beecher 86, Illinois Lutheran 37: Duane Doss had 33 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Mitch Landis scored 20. Bobcats are 14-3 and have a huge matchup with Momence on Friday.

Hyde Park 86, Morgan Park 76: The Thunderbirds keep rolling. Simeon is up next. Malik Jenkins had 22 points and eight rebounds and Davontae Hall added 20 points and four assists. Damarion Morris also scored 20.

Oak Park 58, Hinsdale Central 57: One of the most interesting scores of the night. This is a really nice win for a Huskies squad that has been up and down this season. Sam Lewis scored 18 and Justin Mullins really filled it up with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Julian 55, Washington 15: Junior Latorius Holiday scored 13 and senior Demetrius Tulloch added 11 points and seven assists.

Marian Catholic 49, St. Patrick 44: Jeremiah Jones scored 22 to get the Spartans a big conference win. Freshman EJ Breland scored 14 for the Shamrocks.

Oswego East 63, Plainfield Central 59: Mehki Robinson had 20 and Patrick Robinson scored 19, they have become one of the best duos in the area. The Wolves are 18-1.

Ag. Science 70, UP-Bronzeville 28: A balanced scoring night for the Cyclones. Justin Sadder had 12, Chris Taylor 11 and James White 10 points.

Lindblom 66, Tilden 25: The Eagles beat Palatine last week and are now 13-3. A White team worth monitoring. Senior Reggie King had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Quentin McCoy filled up the stat sheet with 10 points, eight steals, seven assists and five rebounds.

Lake Forest 59, Mundelein 31: Asa Thomas had 20 points and Tommie Aberle added 12. It was another big night for Mundelein freshman Derek Bishop, who scored 19.

Lyons 59, York 53: Tavari Johnson led the Lions with 22 points.