Basketball Game Preview: Edwardsville Tigers vs. Alton Redbirds

The Edwardsville Tigers will venture away from home to face off against the Alton Redbirds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Edwardsville sitting on 12 straight victories and Alton on five.

Edwardsville is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Granite City as Edwardsville made off with a 61-37 win. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 contests by 21 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Alton hadn't done well against Collinsville recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Alton snuck past Collinsville with a 52-46 victory. Given the Redbirds' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 18th in Illinois, while the Kahoks are ranked 131st in Illinois), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Alton pushed their record up to 25-6 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.3 points over those games. As for Edwardsville, their victory bumped their record up to 28-2.

Edwardsville barely slipped by Alton in their previous matchup back in January, winning 53-52. The rematch might be a little tougher for Edwardsville since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.