Basketball Game Preview: Johnson County Central Thunderbirds vs. Fairbury Jeffs

The Johnson County Central Thunderbirds will take on the Fairbury Jeffs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Johnson County Central has four straight wins, Fairbury has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Johnson County Central will bounce into Thursday's matchup after beating Falls City, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Johnson County Central blew past Falls City, posting a 51-22 victory. The Thunderbirds have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 27 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Fairbury was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 50-44 to Sandy Creek.

Johnson County Central has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 27.7 points per game. As for Fairbury, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-11.

Johnson County Central was able to grind out a solid win over Fairbury when the teams last played back in January of 2024, winning 48-39. Does Johnson County Central have another victory up their sleeve, or will Fairbury turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.