Basketball Game Preview: Clearwater Fightin' Tigers vs. Neelyville Tigers

Clearwater is 0-7 against Neelyville since December of 2014 but things could change on Thursday. The Clearwater Fightin' Tigers will square off against the Neelyville Tigers at 5:00 p.m.

Clearwater might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 64-47 to East Carter, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior. While losing is never fun, the Fightin' Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 479th, while the Redbirds are ranked 213th).

Meanwhile, Neelyville waltzed into their game on Saturday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Indians, posting a 76-12 victory. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 24 points or more this season.

Neelyville's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-4. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 76.3 points over those games. As for Clearwater, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-14.

Clearwater took a serious blow against Neelyville when the teams last played back in January of 2024, falling 63-25. Can Clearwater avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.