Basketball Game Preview: McLeod Longhorns vs. Harleton Wildcats

McLeod and Harleton are an even 3-3 against one another since January of 2015, but not for long. Both will compete for holiday cheer at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. McLeod has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with three straight defeats, while Harleton will come in with three straight wins.

Last Friday, McLeod took a blow against Hawkins, falling 51-7. While losing is never fun, the Longhorns can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 1197th, while the Hawks are ranked 227th).

Meanwhile, Harleton posted their biggest victory since January 9th on Friday. They breezed by Ore City to the tune of 38-7. The Wildcats pushed the score to 32-7 by the end of the third, a deficit the Rebels had little chance of recovering from.

Harleton has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.8 points per game. As for McLeod, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-11.

McLeod was able to grind out a solid win over Harleton in their previous meeting back in January, winning 49-37. The rematch might be a little tougher for McLeod since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.