Even though the Geneva boys lost and the Geneva girls won, Coach Sly can't help but be much more impressed with the Vikings' boys squad on this Friday night.

That DeKalb team is tough to deal with, and Geneva had 'em where they wanted 'em, but couldn't close it out. It's a loss that hurts badly, but considering how things had been going for the Vikings, it was a heckuva effort.

If Geneva plays like this come regionals, the Vikings will be a tough out on their home floor.

As for the Geneva girls, Sly's not sure there's much to worry about, but it definitely was a much more mortal showing for the Vikings than we're used to seein'. If Geneva plays like that in a couple weeks, a rude awakening will likely be in store. Sly doesn't see that happening, though.

Speaking of rude awakenings, if Batavia doesn't get its together immediately, Saturday will be Night of Oops, We Over-scheduled. Glenbard South ain't no St. Joe, and the Raiders manhandled the Dogs. Color Sly surprised.

Sly's hoping St. Charles North gets Mikes back soon. Can't imagine coach Poulin is going to get too many great night sleeps until his star forward says his back is A-OK.

Kaneland loses twice to Yorkville?! Yuck!

And the St. Charles East girls are basically out of the UEC race after losing to Lake Park.

You know what, all things considered, a pretty crummy night for our Tri-Cities squads. You know it's going to be one of those nights when the team most worthy of a salute came home with an 'L.'

• Become a Facebook fan of Coach Sly or follow him on Twitter.

Friday, Geneva at DeKalb.

Saturday, Batavia vs. St. Joe at the Night of Hoops.

That’s a very, very nice weekend of roundball.

Sly thinks Geneva will give a better showing on Friday night than some might expect. Too bad Batavia didn’t catch St. Joe earlier this year, when St. Charles East beat ‘em back around Thanksgiving. St. Joe is playing waaaaay better now, and it might be asking a little much from the Bulldogs to take them down, but it should be a great game to watch.

What do you guys think? Geneva have a chance in Barb country? How about Batavia vs. Pingatore’s crew?

• Become a Facebook fan of Coach Sly or follow him on Twitter.

At last, some conference race drama.

While Geneva locked up the Western Sun Conference girls basketball crown on the first day of practice, the Upstate Eight may not be won until next week.

St. Charles East-Waubonsie Valley at the Saints' place next week should be huge, especially since these teams played a close one already this year. Can the Saints get back on track on their own floor? They sure have hit a slump there after a hot start.

• Become a Facebook fan of Coach Sly or follow him on Twitter.

The Geneva boys basketball team goes 0-for-St. Charles this season, losing to North and East.

Sly knows better than to read too much into the results of a couple games, especially with Geneva shorthanded on Saturday against the Saints. But ...

Geneva is a contender for the title in the WSC. St. Charles North is a middle-of-the-pack UEC team, while East is a bottom-half UEC team. Geneva couldn't beat either.

If nothing else, adds a little fuel to the fire for people who think Geneva and Batavia might struggle in hoops once making the move next year.

• Become a Facebook fan of Coach Sly or follow him on Twitter.

The Dean of Breen started up the Marmion wrestling program in the early 2000s and understandably hit a rough patch.

Dean Branstetter coached the Cadets to a 3-5 duals record in 2002-03 as wrestlers grew accustomed to the sport's style and technique, but he hasn't been below .500 since. This year's bunch – including 130-pounder Eddie Breen – is unbeaten going into today's action, a feat as impressive as any in these parts this winter.

Can the Cadets be stopped? That question might not be answered until a possible trip to Bloomington for the team portion of the IHSA state tournament.

• Become a Facebook fan of Coach Sly or follow him on Twitter.

Ain't hoops grand? Lexi Baltes of St. Charles East topped 1,000 career points earlier this week, and Jordan Maisto of Burlington Central figures to get there soon enough. The senior guards are continuing a strong season of individual scoring achievements around these parts.

Wasn't too long ago that another Jordan, Rosary's Rettig, was setting her school's all-time scoring record. Sly's anxious to see who's next.

• Became a Facebook fan of Coach Sly or follow him on Twitter.

Sly hates to say it, but the Tri-Cities’ best bet at a conference boys basketball championship might have went down the tubes on Tuesday night with a heartbreaking, OT loss for Batavia at DeKalb.

Batavia gave a great effort, and it was very nearly enough to beat the Barbs. If the Bulldogs were playing this well when the teams met in Batavia a few weeks back, the ‘Dogs might still be in prime position for a title, but now it’s a long shot.

Geneva has its shot at DeKalb next week, but the Vikings will have to raise their game quite a bit from the past few weeks if they’re going to have a chance to win in DeKalb. And the Vikings still must go to Batavia, which will also be a nasty assignment.

If Geneva can win both of those game, it would be a deserving conference champ.

It's a quirky year in the Tri-Cities area when none of the three top boys basketball players are guards.

For high school hoops, that's unusual stuff, but Sly would argue that Batavia's Ricky Clopton, St. Charles North's Josh Mikes and Kaneland's Dave Dudzinski are the area's premier ballers. If you wanna include Marmion, Mark Peters, another big fella, might belong in the discussion.

Speaking of Mikes, the kid played a whale of a game in leading North over East on Saturday night. He does a lot of things well and has a great touch around the rim. If he can keep improving that face-up game, he'll be a great college player, too.

And speaking of Peters, give it up for the Cadets, rocking ACC's world with a killer fourth quarter rally at the Sears Centre.

All heck broke loose once ACC's point guard fouled out with about 4 minutes left. ACC's point guard might not be the best player around, but after that collapse without him, you can argue he's the most valuable!

As for the North-East girls game, congrats to the North Stars. Ugly game, but when it's rivalry time, it's all about the 'W'.

• You can become a Facebook fan of Coach Sly at http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Coach-Sly/146178707596?ref=ts

• Get Coach Sly updates through Twitter at http://twitter.com/coachslysez

Sly still needs to take the plastic wrap off that shiny new 2010 calendar on his desk, but he reckons if he were a date-circler, he’d have hit up Saturday long ago.

East-North at the Saints’ place ought to come down to the end, or close to it. Both teams have experience in the frontcourt and backcourt, while the North Stars harbor a little ill will from last year.

Like last year, too, the regular season meeting could be a prelude to the playoffs. Do either of these teams have a chance to knock off Geneva and advance out of next month’s regional at North?

• You can become a Facebook fan of Coach Sly at http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Coach-Sly/146178707596?ref=ts

• Get Coach Sly updates through Twitter at http://twitter.com/coachslysez

Now that the Geneva girls got past Hillcrest, how confident are we that it's going to be another perfect regular season for the Vikings?

The way Sly sees it, which I'm sure is different than coach Nolan wants her girls seein' it, Thursday's game at Glenbard South is the last semi-realistic chance for Geneva to lose before the postseason.

It's officially time for Geneva girls hoops-backers to start daydreaming about another trip south for the winter. These girls have shown they deserve to be thought of that highly again, and the Vikings' sectional looks utterly winnable.

Sly doesn't see Geneva being touched in their Tri-Cities-heavy regional, and as for the rest of the Huntley Sectional, Cary-Grove and a couple Rockford area teams are the only squads that would pose a significant threat. Sly thinks Geneva should be considered a heavy favorite in sectionals.

Then you're talking supers, and maybe it's the Hillcrest game talkin', but these girls have shown they can win a big game. Plus, they seem to be playing their best ball late in the year ... Santos and Wicinski are really coming on!

So forget the unbeaten regular season, maybe the better question is this, people. How confident are you Geneva is heading back to state?