Basketball Game Preview: Yorkville Foxes vs. Joliet Central Steelmen

Yorkville and Joliet Central are an even 3-3 against one another since February of 2019, but not for long. The Yorkville Foxes will challenge the Joliet Central Steelmen at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Joliet Central took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Yorkville, who comes in off a win.

If Yorkville beats Joliet Central with 66 points on Tuesday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Yorkville enjoyed a cozy 66-47 win over Sycamore on Saturday. Given the Foxes' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 100th, while the Spartans are ranked 315th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Joliet Central came up short against Providence Catholic on Saturday and fell 58-45. The Steelmen have struggled against the Celtics recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive lost matchup.

Yorkville has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.0 points per game. As for Joliet Central, their loss dropped their record down to 10-15.

Everything came up roses for Yorkville against Joliet Central in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, as the squad secured a 60-16 victory. In that match, Yorkville amassed a halftime lead of 33-13, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.