Basketball Game Preview: Niangua Cardinals vs. Crocker Lions

A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Niangua Cardinals challenge the Crocker Lions at 5:00 p.m. on Monday...

It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 57-18, which was the final score in Niangua's tilt against Billings on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 499th, while the Wildcats are ranked 213th).

Meanwhile, Crocker took their match on Friday with ease, bagging a 73-34 victory over Laquey. The Lions have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 27 points or more this season.

Crocker is also on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. As for Niangua, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-9.

Niangua didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Crocker when the teams last played back in January of 2023, but they still walked away with a 52-48 win. Does Niangua have another victory up their sleeve, or will Crocker turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.