Basketball Game Preview: Champaign Central Maroons vs. Peoria Notre Dame Irish

The Champaign Central Maroons will face off against the Peoria Notre Dame Irish at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Champaign Central is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 58.6 points per game this season.

Champaign Central's tournament run continued when they took on Alton last Saturday. Champaign Central fell just short of Alton by a score of 55-53. While losing is never fun, the Maroons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 123rd, while the Redbirds are ranked tenth).

Champaign Central's loss came about despite a quality game from Luke Swanson, who went 7 for 13 on his way to 15 points. Chris Bush was another key player, going 6 of 8 en route to 15 points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile, Peoria Notre Dame came up short against Limestone on Saturday and fell 58-45.

Champaign Central's defeat dropped their record down to 8-6. As for Peoria Notre Dame, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost nine of their last ten contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-11 record this season.

Champaign Central strolled past Peoria Notre Dame in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a score of 51-32. Does Champaign Central have another victory up their sleeve, or will Peoria Notre Dame turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.