Basketball Game Preview: Taylorville Tornadoes vs. Springfield Southeast Spartans

The Taylorville Tornadoes will square off against the Springfield Southeast Spartans at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

On Friday, Taylorville was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 38-37 to O'Fallon. While losing is never fun, the Tornadoes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 101st, while the Panthers are ranked 27th).

Meanwhile, Springfield Southeast was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They lost 65-42 to MacArthur. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Spartans have suffered against the Generals since February 8, 2020.

Taylorville's defeat ended a nine-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 18-10. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.1 points over those games. As for Springfield Southeast, their loss dropped their record down to 14-14.

Everything came up roses for Taylorville against Springfield Southeast when the teams last played back in February of 2024, as the team secured a 74-39 win. Does Taylorville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Springfield Southeast turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.