Basketball Game Preview: Mattoon Greenwave vs. Mt. Zion Braves

The Mattoon Greenwave just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Mt. Zion Braves at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Mattoon has struggled recently with seven defeats in a row, while Mt. Zion will arrive with nine straight wins.

On Thursday, Mattoon came up short against Taylorville and fell 68-56.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Mt. Zion over Normal West in every quarter on their way to victory on Tuesday. Mt. Zion took down Normal West 60-41. Given the Braves' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Wildcats are ranked 438th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Mt. Zion's victory was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-0. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.6 points per game. As for Mattoon, their loss dropped their record down to 2-9.

Mattoon was taken down by Mt. Zion 68-38 in their previous matchup back in February. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Mattoon was down 37-15.