Some interesting numbers to snack on while you await the feast of basketball at the Grand Slam tonight. But first, the matchups: Coldwater (34-0) vs. H.W. Byers (35-4) in the 1A/2A girls game at 6 p.m.; East Webster (24-9) vs. Newton (34-4) in the 1A/2A boys game at 7:30.
6 – Single-digit wins by Coldwater’s girls. The team that came closest to beating the Lady Wildcats was Oxford, a 4A team, which lost 58-54 in the regular season finale. Coldwater also opened its season by beating Oxford (56-48).
55-48 – The final score when H.W. Byers and Coldwater met on Dec. 29. Byers lost three of four games in that stretch, the other two setbacks coming to Pontotoc and Oxford, the Daily Journal’s top two teams.
82.7 – Percentage of East Webster’s points scored by Johnthan Banks (24 ppg) and Mitchell McCurry (22 ppg) this season. No other starter averages more than 7 ppg.
26 – Newton’s winning streak. The Tigers have lost to only one team below the 4A level: Forest, which they have beaten twice since.
Now for predictions. I’m afraid I’m going to have to pick against the NeMiss teams, which means I’m predicting victories for Coldwater and Newton. Nothing personal, just an objective, semi-educated guess. Like East Webster coach Cliff Little said, “Anything can happen.”
Don’t forget, I’ll be blogging live from both games tonight. Tickets are $10 for the whole session – but watch out for the surcharge – and I wanna see a big crowd out there.
