Basketball Game Preview: East Peoria Raiders vs. Normal West Wildcats

The East Peoria Raiders will face off against the Normal West Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. East Peoria is coming into the contest hot, having won their last three games.

East Peoria will bounce into Tuesday's game after beating Morton, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. East Peoria had just enough and edged Morton out 72-69. The win was all the more spectacular given the Raiders' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 87th, while the Potters are ranked 14th).

Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Normal West beat El Paso-Gridley 53-49 last Saturday.

Normal West's win came from a few key players East Peoria will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Maliq Givens-Smith, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds. That's the most boards he has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Michael Zaleski, who had 15 points and five rebounds.

Normal West was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

East Peoria's victory bumped their record up to 19-7. As for Normal West, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-16 record this season.

East Peoria suffered a grim 57-34 defeat to Normal West in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will East Peoria have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.