Basketball Game Preview: Breese Central Cougars vs. Columbia Eagles

Breese Central has won 21 straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Columbia has won 21 straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Breese Central Cougars will host the Columbia Eagles at 7:40 p.m. One thing working in Breese Central's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last four games.

Last Monday, Breese Central was fully in charge, breezing past East Alton-Wood River 66-26. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 16 matchups by 20 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Columbia hadn't done well against Freeburg recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Columbia enjoyed a cozy 40-22 victory over Freeburg.

Breese Central's win bumped their record up to 24-2. As for Columbia, they are also on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 21-5 record this season.

Breese Central strolled past Columbia when the teams last played back in December of 2024 by a score of 54-35. Will Breese Central repeat their success, or does Columbia have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.