The list of teams that Teutopolis is adding to its season-long hot streak is as varied as it is long.

The Wooden Shoes, off to a 15-0 start that coach Ken Crawford said is the best since the 1999-2000 season, have beaten teams with imposing 7-foot centers, like Olney. They've beaten solid Class AA teams like Mount Zion. And they've beaten solid Class AA teams with 7-foot centers, like Edwardsville.

Edwardsville and Mount Zion fans would be quick to point out that their respective lineups are radically different from a year ago. T-Town pundits would welcome them to the club.

Jason Runde is the only returning starter from the Shoes' Peoria-bound team of a year ago. The same players who made T-Town so deep last year -- Craig Westendorf, Rich Borries and Wade Koester, among others -- have completely redefined it.

"We didn't have a great deal of size last year. Our inside kid last year was 6-2, and my son played inside, he was 6-4," Crawford said. "Now we've got 6-6, 6-4 and 240 (pounds). Last year, I could also spread the floor and put five perimeter shooters out there. They're just two different teams."

The numbers don't lie. T-Town was a smooth 222-of-526 (42 percent) from the 3-point line in last year's state tournament run. Through the first 14 games this season, the percentage (32) and shots taken (54-of-168) are down.

That production is being replaced in part by Borries and Westendorf, the space-eaters inside. Westendorf has been good for 13.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, Borries for 9.2 and 8.5.

"They've got a much better inside game," Mount Zion coach Jay Driscoll said. "Westendorf and this beast of a kid (Borries), that's where they hurt us."

It's gotten the attention of some across the state. The Shoes picked up four first-place votes in the Associated Press poll that was released this week, and they are ranked No. 3.

"There's a lot of teams that are undefeated so far this year. There's a lot of teams that have beaten good teams, too," Koester said. "I don't know how you'd look at it, really."

The surprise, if there is any, about T-Town's hot start ends at the locker room door.

"We have five seniors. There wasn't a whole lot of experience, but we have five seniors," Runde said. "We knew Edwardsville and Mount Zion were good. There's no question they weren't as good as last year, but they're still some pretty dang good ball teams. We work hard in practice, and the results are there."

They've certainly been there for Runde, who is shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and leading the Shoes with 18.5 points per game. He's also grabbing five rebounds a game.

In fact, almost everybody in a Shoes jersey is grabbing five rebounds a game. T-Town is out-rebounding opponents by an average of 31-14.

Crawford isn't one to dwell on statistics, but he picked up a tidbit somewhere that said if a team grabs 58 percent of the rebounds, it will win 85 percent of its games. That's a team thing, too. Nobody is averaging in the double digits.

March is still a ways off, and Crawford -- even though he's retiring after the season -- will have no problem cracking the whip if the Shoes are caught gazing into the distance.

Peoria is still far away, but not so far as it once seemed.

"I think we're very much capable of repeating the same tasks," Runde said. "We've got a lot of confidence in our team and each other, and we knew we could beat anybody if we did what we have to to win."