The Oswego East Wolves will square off against the Joliet Central Steelmen at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Oswego East has eight straight wins, Joliet Central has nine straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
On Wednesday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Oswego East beat Metea Valley 58-54.
Meanwhile, Joliet Central played a tough game on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Bolingbrook, falling 72-26. While losing is never fun, the Steelmen can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 573rd, while the Raiders are ranked third).
Oswego East will have to keep a close watch on Jayden Poplawski and James Lee, a pair of players who had a big impact on Joliet Central's prior game. Poplawski posted seven points, while Lee scored ten points. Those seven points gave Poplawski a new career-high.
Oswego East is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.3 points per game. As for Joliet Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-15.
Oswego East was able to grind out a solid victory over Joliet Central in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, winning 63-50. Does Oswego East have another victory up their sleeve, or will Joliet Central turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
