Basketball Game Preview: Nazareth Academy Roadrunners vs. Providence Catholic Celtics

Nazareth Academy and Providence Catholic are an even 3-3 against one another since January of 2016, but not for long. The Nazareth Academy Roadrunners will head out to square off against the Providence Catholic Celtics at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Nazareth Academy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.1 points per game this season.

Nazareth Academy is headed into the matchup having just posted their biggest victory since November 21, 2023 on Saturday. They blew past Aurora Central Catholic 65-42. Given the Roadrunners' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 287th, while the Chargers are ranked 667th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

It was another big night for Matthew Callahan, who went 8 of 15 on his way to 18 points and six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Danny Wrzensinski, who posted 11 points.

Nazareth Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in February of 2024.

Meanwhile, Providence Catholic didn't have quite enough to beat Lincoln-Way Central on Saturday and fell 60-57.

The win made it two in a row for Nazareth Academy and bumps their season record up to 6-7. As for Providence Catholic, their loss dropped their record down to 4-10.

Nazareth Academy beat Providence Catholic 44-31 when the teams last played back in January of 2020. The rematch might be a little tougher for Nazareth Academy since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.