Basketball Game Preview: Thornton Wildcats vs. Thornwood Thunderbirds

vs

Previous Games

01/10/25 - Home	48-44 W
02/09/24 - Away	71-47 W
01/17/24 - Home	68-42 W
02/10/23 - Home	46-51 L
01/10/23 - Away	53-63 L
+ 5 more games

Thornton has gone 8-2 against Thornwood recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The Thornton Wildcats will challenge the Thornwood Thunderbirds at 6:30 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

Thornton lost 67-46 to Warren Township on Sunday. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 263rd, while the Blue Devils are ranked 33rd).

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Greg Fourte, who went 5 for 7 en route to 10 points and six boards. Another player making a difference was Malik Holton, who posted seven points.

Meanwhile, Thornwood was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They took a 57-47 hit to the loss column at the hands of Kankakee.

Thornton will have to contain Jordan Jones as he made an impact in Thornwood's last game. He went 9 of 17 on his way to 23 points and five rebounds. That's the most points Jones has posted since back in November of 2024. Dorian Pope was another key player, putting up six points in addition to 13 boards and three steals.

Thornwood's loss dropped their record down to 10-15. As for Thornton, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-14.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Thornton has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Thornwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Thornton didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Thornwood when the teams last played back in January, but they still walked away with a 48-44 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Thornton since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.