The brackets for the 43rd annual State Farm Holiday Classic have been released. Brackets can be viewed and downloaded at www.theclassic.org/brackets/.
Seedings were determined by a poll of participating head coaches, state-wide media and tournament committee members, with accommodations made to avoid teams playing a conference or regular season opponent through the first two rounds of the tournament.
This year’s event will be held on Dec. 27-30 at four venues across Bloomington-Normal — Illinois Wesleyan University’s Shirk Center, Bloomington High School, Normal Community High School and Normal West High School. A complete list of participating teams can be found at www.theclassic.org/team-list/.
SMALL SCHOOL BOYS bracket – https://theclassic.org/brackets/small-school-boys/
Top 4 seeds (first place votes on 21 returned ballots):
- St. Joseph-Ogden (6)
- Aurora Christian (6)
- Bloomington Central Catholic (7)
- Rockford Lutheran (2)
State ranked teams include: #5 St. Joseph-Ogden (2A), #10 Bloomington Central Catholic (2A), #13 Quincy Notre Dame (2A), #13 East Dubuque (1A), #16 Rockford Lutheran (2A), #17 Normal University (2A). #19 Aurora Christian (1A)
SMALL SCHOOL GIRLS bracket – https://theclassic.org/brackets/small-school-girls/
Top 4 seeds (first place votes on 20 returned ballots):
- Paris (14)
- Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (6)
- Brimfield
- Winnebago
State ranked teams include: #8 Paris (2A), #9 Brimfield (1A), #9 Winnebago (2A), #14 Sherrard (2A)
LARGE SCHOOL BOYS bracket – https://theclassic.org/brackets/large-school-boys/
Top 4 seeds (first place votes on 24 returned ballots):
- Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (14)
- Chicago Brother Rice (10)
- Rock Island
- Wheaton Warrenville South
State ranked teams include: #2 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (3A), #5 Chicago Brother Rice (4A), #9 Rock Island (3A), #12 Peoria (3A)
LARGE SCHOOL GIRLS bracket – https://theclassic.org/brackets/large-school-girls/
Top 4 seeds (first place votes on 19 returned ballots):
- Mundelein Carmel Catholic (8)
- Washington (4)
- Chicago Hyde Park (4)
- Normal Community (2)
State ranked teams include: #2 Mundelein Carmel Catholic (3A), #4 Washington (3A), #8 Normal Community (4A), #10 Geneseo (3A), #12 Chicago Hyde Park (3A), #12 Rochester (3A)
All-tournament, session and daily passes will be available for purchase at each venue. In addition, all 128 games will be streamed live by Clutch Sports Media – viewer subscriptions and more information are available now at www.theclassic.org/watch.
The State Farm Holiday Classic will once again be hosting the Ron Knisley Memorial Special Olympics Shootout with 16 area Special Olympics teams scheduled to participate, and their annual scholarship program will open during the tournament for eligible graduating student-athletes who play in this year’s event. For more information on both programs, go to www.theclassic.org.
