Basketball Game Preview: Poplar Bluff Mules vs. Jackson Fighting Indians

Poplar Bluff hasn't had much luck against Jackson recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Poplar Bluff Mules will head out on the road to square off against the Jackson Fighting Indians at 7:30 p.m. Poplar Bluff has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Poplar Bluff is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took their game on Monday with ease, bagging a 69-34 victory over New Madrid County Central. Given the Mules' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 176th, while the Eagles are ranked 414th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Doniphan typically has all the answers at home, but on Monday Jackson proved too difficult a challenge. They secured a 58-54 W over the Dons. The win was nothing new for the Fighting Indians as they're now sitting on seven straight.

Poplar Bluff is also on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.4 points per game. As for Jackson, their victory was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-1.

Poplar Bluff was taken down by Jackson 65-27 in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. Can Poplar Bluff avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.