Basketball Game Preview: Englewood Stem Panthers vs. Perspectives-IIT/Joslin Wolves

Having just played yesterday, the Englewood Stem Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Perspectives-IIT/Joslin Wolves at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

On Thursday, Englewood Stem had to suffer through a 51-24 loss at the hands of Payton College Prep. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 650th, while the Grizzlies are ranked 251st).

Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Perspectives-IIT/Joslin's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They lost to Manley on the road by a 71-53 margin.

Perspectives-IIT/Joslin's loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 8-1 and their overall record down to 14-11. As for Englewood Stem, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost nine of their last ten games, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-17 record this season.

Englewood Stem didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Perspectives-IIT/Joslin in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 77-72 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Englewood Stem since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.