The Shelley Russets will be playing in front of their home fans against the Idaho Falls Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Shelley has 17 straight victories, Idaho Falls has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Wednesday, Shelley faced Blackfoot in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Shelley slipped by Blackfoot 58-57. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Meanwhile, Idaho Falls ended up a good deal behind Skyline on Wednesday and lost 65-48. While losing is never fun, Idaho Falls can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Idaho basketball rankings (they are ranked 88th, while Skyline is ranked 24th).
Shelley's victory was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-0. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 35.67 points. As for Idaho Falls, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-12.
Shelley took their win against Idaho Falls in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 by a conclusive 77-52. Will Shelley repeat their success, or does Idaho Falls have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
