Basketball Game Preview: Southwest Eagles vs. Varela Vipers

The Southwest Eagles will head out to face off against the Varela Vipers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Southwest came up short against Westwood Christian and fell 57-45. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 540th, while the Warriors are ranked 208th).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Varela). They blew past Killian 73-47 on Tuesday. The Vipers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 25 points or more this season.

Varela pushed their record up to 10-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.8 points per game. As for Southwest, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost eight of their last ten matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-13 record this season.

Southwest barely slipped by Varela in their previous matchup two weeks ago, winning 52-51. The rematch might be a little tougher for Southwest since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.