Basketball Game Preview: Providence Catholic Celtics vs. Thornton Fractional North Meteors

The Providence Catholic Celtics will challenge the Thornton Fractional North Meteors at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Thornton Fractional North will be up against a hot Providence Catholic team: the squad just extended their winning streak to four. Providence Catholic claimed a resounding 64-32 victory over Oak Forest. Given the Celtics' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while the Bengals are ranked 319th), the result on Thursday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Thornton Fractional North rose to the challenge on Thursday. They blew past the Lemont HS, posting a 74-42 win. Winning may never get old, but the Meteors sure are getting used to it with their eighth in a row.

Thornton Fractional North pushed their record up to 23-8 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.6 points over those games. As for Providence Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 22-11.

Providence Catholic was able to grind out a solid victory over Thornton Fractional North in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, winning 60-47. The rematch might be a little tougher for Providence Catholic since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.