Preview: Udall Eagles vs. Oxford Wildcats
The Udall Eagles will be staying on the road on Tuesday to face off against the Oxford Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on February 13th. Udall will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Kansas Rankings (they are ranked 342nd, while Oxford is ranked 111th).
Last Friday, Udall suffered a rough 57-35 defeat at the hands of Central. Udall has struggled against Central recently, as their contest on Friday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite their defeat, Udall saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Jenson Harness, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Duane Ault, who scored nine points.
Meanwhile, Oxford had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Argonia and snuck past 68-66. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Kellen Green continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 34 points and ten rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. Cordell Jordan was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with ten rebounds and six assists.
Udall dropped their record down to 3-14 with that defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Oxford, their victory bumped their record up to 13-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Udall have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Oxford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Udall ended up a good deal behind Oxford in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, losing 77-58. Can Udall avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
