Basketball Game Preview: Janesville Craig Cougars vs. Madison East Purgolders

The Janesville Craig Cougars will face off against the Madison East Purgolders at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Janesville Craig has five straight wins, Madison East has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Janesville Craig beat Madison West 70-64. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' Wisconsin basketball rankings (they are ranked 125th, while the Regents are ranked 262nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Madison East was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 70-66 to Verona. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Wednesday (63), the Purgolders still had to take the loss.

Janesville Craig pushed their record up to 11-6 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.5 points per game. As for Madison East, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-13.

Everything came up roses for Janesville Craig against Madison East in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, as the team secured an 86-43 win. Does Janesville Craig have another victory up their sleeve, or will Madison East turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.