Basketball Game Preview: Smithville Tigers vs. Caldwell Hornets

The Smithville Tigers will challenge the Caldwell Hornets at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Caldwell took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Smithville, who comes in off a win.

Smithville will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Giddings, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Smithville strolled past Giddings with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 45-27. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 531st, while the Buffaloes are ranked 1266th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Caldwell was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They were beaten by Navasota 59-19.

Smithville is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 17-8 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.6 points per game. As for Caldwell, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-13.

Smithville and Caldwell were neck-and-neck when the teams last played back in January of 2024, but Smithville came up empty-handed after a 48-47 loss. Can Smithville avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.