Basketball Game Preview: Merkel Badgers vs. Jim Ned Indians

Merkel hasn't had much luck against Jim Ned recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Merkel Badgers will be playing at home against the Jim Ned Indians at 7:15 p.m.

Last Friday, Merkel was beaten by Wall 61-20. The match marked the Badgers' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Jim Ned). They blew past Grape Creek, posting a 72-40 victory. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 590th, while the Eagles are ranked 1237th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Jim Ned pushed their record up to 12-6 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points per game. As for Merkel, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-12.

Merkel was taken down by Jim Ned 81-47 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Can Merkel avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.