Basketball Game Preview: Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars vs. Osmond Tigers

Having just played yesterday, the Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars will jump right back in to play the Osmond Tigers at 6:15 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Niobrara/Verdigre has four straight wins, Osmond has five straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Niobrara/Verdigre saw some tournament action on Thursday. They came out on top against Wausa by a score of 43-31. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 84th, while the Vikings are ranked 231st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Osmond came up short against Winnebago on Tuesday and fell 46-38.

Niobrara/Verdigre will need focus on slowing down Kaleigh Miller, one of several Osmond players who made an impact when they last played. She posted nine points and eight rebounds. Miller has been hot recently, having posted eight or more boards the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Erin Wagner, who earned nine points and five rebounds.

Osmond's defeat dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Niobrara/Verdigre, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season.

Niobrara/Verdigre strolled past Osmond in their previous matchup back in January of 2022 by a score of 58-44. The rematch might be a little tougher for Niobrara/Verdigre since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.