Basketball Game Preview: Illini West Chargers vs. Abingdon/Avon Tornadoes

The Illini West Chargers will head out on the road to take on the Abingdon/Avon Tornadoes at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Last Tuesday, Illini West came up short against Quincy Notre Dame and fell 61-48. The Chargers haven't had much luck with the Raiders recently, as the team's come up short the last eight times they've met.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Wesley Robertson, who went 7 for 17 en route to 17 points and three steals. Another player making a difference was Tre Neiderman, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 13 points and five assists.

Meanwhile, Abingdon/Avon had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. Everything went their way against the Heat as they made off with a 61-38 victory.

Abingdon/Avon is also on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 12-11 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.6 points per game. As for Illini West, their defeat dropped their record down to 16-8.

Illini West beat Abingdon/Avon 40-30 when the teams last played back in November of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Illini West since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.