Basketball Game Preview: East Carter Raiders vs. Russell Red Devils

East Carter is 0-10 against Russell since January of 2018 but things could change on Saturday. The two teams will face off at 5:30 p.m. without much rest having both just played. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

East Carter took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They blew past Elliott County, posting a 72-20 victory. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Kentucky basketball rankings (they are ranked 108th, while the Lions are ranked 254th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Russell earned a 53-45 win over Raceland on Friday.

Russell is on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.1 points over those games. As for East Carter, their victory bumped their record up to 14-8.

Things could have been worse for East Carter, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 60-45 loss to Russell when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Will East Carter have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.