Basketball Game Preview: Freeburg Midgets vs. Murphysboro Red Devils

The Freeburg Midgets and the Murphysboro Red Devils will face off at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday without much rest having both just played. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Freeburg's tournament run continued when they took on Sparta on Tuesday. Freeburg fell to Sparta 69-63. While losing is never fun, the Midgets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 403rd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 154th).

Loss or not, Freeburg got some senior leadership from Matt Pluff and Robert Fritz. Pluff went 10 of 16 on his way to 23 points and seven rebounds, while Fritz almost dropped a double-double on 12 points and nine boards. That's the most points Pluff has posted since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jase Brentlinger, who posted nine points.

Meanwhile, Murphysboro entered their tilt with Marissa/Coulterville on Tuesday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They were the clear victor by a 68-47 margin over the Meteors. The Red Devils have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matches by 21 points or more this season.

Murphysboro is also on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-2 record this season. As for Freeburg, they have also been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-12 record this season.

Freeburg didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Murphysboro in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 53-49 victory. Will Freeburg repeat their success, or does Murphysboro have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.