Basketball Game Preview: St. Ignatius College Preparatory Wildcats vs. Archbishop Riordan Crusaders

St. Ignatius College Preparatory hasn't had much luck against Archbishop Riordan recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The St. Ignatius College Preparatory Wildcats will head out to square off against the Archbishop Riordan Crusaders at 7:30 p.m.

St. Ignatius College Preparatory easily dispatched Saint Francis on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. St. Ignatius College Preparatory fell just short of Bellarmine College Prep by a score of 56-54 on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Wildcats have suffered since February 29, 2024.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Riordan came tearing into Friday's match with 12 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 38.3 points), and they left with even more momentum. They breezed past the Warriors to the tune of 83-36. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Warriors are ranked 47th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Archbishop Riordan's victory was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 22-1. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.3 points over those games. As for St. Ignatius College Preparatory, their loss dropped their record down to 17-6.

St. Ignatius College Preparatory took a serious blow against Archbishop Riordan in their previous matchup back in January, falling 73-30. Can St. Ignatius College Preparatory avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.