Franklin is 8-2 against the Aztecs since December of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Franklin Cougars will head out on the road to take on the El Dorado Aztecs at 6:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Franklin has four straight wins, the Aztecs have nine straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Tuesday, it was close, but Franklin sidestepped the Spartans for a 47-44 win. Given Franklin's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 169th, while the Spartans are ranked 372nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Franklin's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ethan Martinez, who scored 16 points along with five assists and five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Noah Hall, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, El Dorado lost to the Rams on the road by a decisive 54-38 margin on Friday. El Dorado has struggled against the Rams recently, as their match on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Despite their loss, El Dorado saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Daniel Well, who scored eight points, was perhaps the best of all.
Franklin has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 20-6 record this season. As for El Dorado, they dropped their record down to 6-20 with that defeat, which was their fifth straight on the road.
Tuesday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Franklin have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for El Dorado, though, as they've been averaging only 14.1 rebounds per game. Given Franklin's sizable advantage in that area, the Aztecs will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything went Franklin's way against the Aztecs in their previous matchup back in January as the Cougars made off with a 67-44 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Franklin since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
