Basketball Game Preview: Southwestern Piasa Birds vs. Bunker Hill Minutemen

Southwestern is 8-2 against Bunker Hill since January of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Southwestern Piasa Birds will square off against the Bunker Hill Minutemen at 7:30 p.m. Bunker Hill took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Southwestern, who comes in off a win.

Southwestern saw some tournament action last Saturday. They walked away with a 48-36 victory over SIUE East St. Louis Charter. Given the Piasa Birds' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 311th, while the Cougars are ranked 647th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Southwestern's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ryan Lowis, who posted 15 points and eight rebounds. Lowis' afternoon made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Cason Robinson was another key player, going 5 of 7 on his way to 14 points.

Meanwhile, Bunker Hill opened the new year with a less-than-successful 59-50 defeat to Lincolnwood. The loss continues a trend for the Minutemen in their matchups with the Lancers: they've now lost nine in a row.

Southwestern will have to contain Cole Yates as he made an impact in Bunker Hill's last game. He put up 22 points. That was a full 44% of Bunker Hill's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's had more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryce Yates, who posted 11 points.

Southwestern has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 9-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.8 points per game. As for Bunker Hill, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-11.

Southwestern lost to Bunker Hill on the road by a decisive 55-37 margin when the teams last played back in January of 2022. Thankfully for Southwestern, Grant Burch (who dropped a double-double on 40 points and 12 boards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.