Basketball Game Preview: Shelby Whippets vs. River Valley Vikings

The Shelby Whippets are taking a road trip to take on the River Valley Vikings at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Shelby sitting on three straight wins and River Valley on six.

If Shelby beats River Valley with 65 points on Thursday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Shelby took down Madison Comprehensive 65-48 on Saturday. Given the Whippets' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 267th, while the Rams are ranked 605th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, River Valley made easy work of Buckeye Valley on Tuesday and carried off a 67-43 victory. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 24 points or more this season.

River Valley pushed their record up to 13-2 with the win, which was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.7 points per game. As for Shelby, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-6 record this season.

Shelby took a serious blow against River Valley when the teams last played back in December of 2024, falling 94-64. Can Shelby avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.