Basketball Game Preview: Madison-Ridgeland Academy Patriots vs. Jackson Academy Raiders

Madison-Ridgeland Academy and Jackson Academy are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2021, but not for long. The Madison-Ridgeland Academy Patriots will take on the Jackson Academy Raiders at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday. Madison-Ridgeland Academy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 59 points per game this season.

Madison-Ridgeland Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Mississippi's top teams: St. Joseph Catholic, who was ranked 19th at the time (Madison-Ridgeland Academy was ranked 21st). Madison-Ridgeland Academy enjoyed a cozy 64-45 victory over St. Joseph Catholic on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Patriots.

Will Bizot and Erick Dampier, Jr. were among the main playmakers for Madison-Ridgeland Academy as the former dropped a double-double on 32 points and ten rebounds and the latter dropped a double-double on 24 points and 21 boards. The dominant performance also gave Bizot a new career-high in assists (four). Another player making a difference was Joshua Smith, who posted six points.

Meanwhile, Jackson Academy entered their tilt with Jackson Prep on Tuesday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They came out on top against the Patriots by a score of 61-54.

Jackson Academy pushed their record up to 18-4 with the win, which was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.5 points per game. As for Madison-Ridgeland Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 16-10 record this season.

Madison-Ridgeland Academy came up short against Jackson Academy in their previous matchup on January 14th, falling 45-41. Can Madison-Ridgeland Academy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.