Scouting the Rangers: Jesuit advanced to the UIL Area Round for the first time since the 2020-21 season with a 59-53 win over state-ranked No. 18 South Grand Prairie on Tuesday in Carrollton. The Rangers were anchored by 16 points from junior Michael Grant, 10 points apiece from seniors Hank Gramlich, Tre Mergerson and junior Caleb Steger, and eight points from senior Justin Kemp. The Rangers finished the regular season with a 22-9 record and are the fourth seed out of District 7-6A.

Scouting the Lions: McKinney punched its ticket to the area round on Monday, upending Flower Mound Marcus, 64-56, at The Colony H.S. Senior Malek Archie led the Lions in scoring with 26 points, hitting a trio of three-pointers. Fellow senior Quintel Wilson tacked on 20 points while senior guard Jean Michael Anderson added 13 points to the team total. The Lions enter Friday's game ranked 24th in the state according to the final Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll, and are aiming to advance to the UIL Regional Quarterfinal round for the second time in three seasons.

District 7-6A & District 5-6A Report: In District 5-6A, top-seeded and state-ranked No. 10 Allen advanced to the second round with a 54-32 win over Hebron, third-seeded Denton Guyer fell to Lewisville, 72-66 and Prosper Rock Hill, seeded fourth in the district, dropped an 88-51 decision to undefeated Plano East, who entered the tournament as the top-ranked team in the state. District 7-6A went 2-2 in the first round as district champion Richardson was upset by Arlington Martin, 63-61 while reigning state champion Lake Highlands was upended by Grand Prairie, 55-49. In addition to Jesuit's win over South Grand Prairie, Highland Park defeated Haltom, 54-50 and will advance to battle Plano East on Friday at Coppell H.S.

Series History: The Rangers and Lions have met five times since the 2018-19 season, with Jesuit holding onto a narrow, 3-2 advantage over McKinney in those match ups. The last showdown between the two was a UIL Area Round showdown on Feb. 25, 2021, a contest that saw the Rangers defeat the state-ranked No. 5 Lions, 64-60, on their way to a berth to the Region I-6A Championship game. Prior to the 2021 match up, McKinney captured both contests during the 2019-20 season, defeating Jesuit, 53-42 on Jan. 14, 2020 before earning a 62-60 win on Feb. 7, 2020.