Basketball Game Preview: Champaign Central Maroons vs. Urbana Tigers

The Champaign Central Maroons will face off against the Urbana Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Champaign Central will be strutting in after a victory while Urbana will be coming in after a loss.

Champaign Central took a loss when they played away from home last Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They had just enough and edged Manual out 49-46. The win was some much needed relief for the Maroons as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

Champaign Central can attribute much of their success to Chris Bush, who went 6 of 14 on his way to 23 points and five boards, and Trey Cole, who posted 11 points and six rebounds. That's the most boards Cole has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Aidyn Beck, who earned six points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, Urbana was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were outmatched by Chicago Mt. Carmel and fell 73-44. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 218th, while the Caravan are ranked 17th).

Champaign Central's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-9. As for Urbana, their loss dropped their record down to 7-10.

Champaign Central was able to grind out a solid win over Urbana in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, winning 68-55. Will Champaign Central repeat their success, or does Urbana have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.