The Eldorado Eagles will head out on the road to square off against the Pope County Pirates at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Eldorado is no doubt hoping to put an end to a five-game streak of away losses.
Last Saturday, Eldorado lost to Mt. Carmel on the road by a decisive 64-48 margin. While losing is never fun, Eldorado can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 485th, while Mt. Carmel is ranked 93rd).
Meanwhile, Pope County came tearing into Monday's contest with eight straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 36.9 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against Anna-Jonesboro by a score of 57-47. That's two games straight that Pope County has won by exactly ten points.
Eldorado's defeat dropped their record down to 8-18. As for Pope County, their win bumped their record up to 26-2.
Everything came up roses for Eldorado against Pope County in their previous meeting back in February of 2021 as the squad secured a 59-23 victory. Will Eldorado repeat their success, or does Pope County have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.