Basketball Game Preview: McKinney Lions vs. Plano East Panthers

A feisty cat fight is on tap when the McKinney Lions challenge the Plano East Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday... The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Last Tuesday, McKinney got the win against McKinney Boyd by a conclusive 67-46. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Lions have posted against the Broncos since February 5, 2022.

Meanwhile, Plano East came tearing into Tuesday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Wildcats as they made off with a 66-44 victory. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 14th, while the Wildcats are ranked 448th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Plano East is also on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 22-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.9 points per game. As for McKinney, their win bumped their record up to 16-14.

McKinney came up short against Plano East when the teams last played back in December of 2024, falling 48-39. Will McKinney have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.