Basketball Game Preview: Lanphier Lions vs. Normal University Pioneers

Lanphier and Normal University are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2018, but not for long. The Lanphier Lions will square off against the Normal University Pioneers at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Lanphier has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last five games.

It was a proper cat-fight when Lanphier duked it out withDecatur Eisenhower on Thursday. Lanphier came out on top against Decatur Eisenhower by a score of 50-41.

Meanwhile, Normal University came up short against Ottawa on Tuesday and fell 37-30. While losing is never fun, the Pioneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 350th, while the Pirates are ranked 71st).

Lanphier's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-14. As for Normal University, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 9-18.

Lanphier came up short against Normal University when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 40-35. Can Lanphier avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.