Basketball Game Preview: Botkins Trojans vs. Russia Raiders

The Botkins Trojans will take on the Russia Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Botkins sitting on six straight wins and Russia on 26.

Botkins is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They enjoyed a cozy 46-30 victory over Franklin Monroe. Given the Trojans' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 104th, while the Jets are ranked 212th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Northside Christian typically has all the answers at home, but on Wednesday Russia proved too difficult a challenge. They breezed past the Lions to the tune of 55-16. The Raiders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 18 matches by 21 points or more this season.

Russia pushed their record up to 26-0 with the win, which was their 15th straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.3 points over those games. As for Botkins, their record is now 20-6.

Botkins came up short against Russia when the teams last played back in February, falling 47-36. Can Botkins avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.