MISSION -- David Keith has no illusions about the Memorial Mustangs, his basketball squad’s opponent in tonight’s District 30-5A showdown.

“Every year it is a good game,” said Keith of his past battles with the Mustangs. “We have had some really close ones in the past. It is intense.”

Read more: “Big Six” Tuesday Game of the Night: Memorial Mustangs at Sharyland Rattlers

Today’s “Big Six” rankings shuffled quite a bit from last week. In boys basketball, the Palmview Lobos dropped from first to third, due entirely to their beatdown at the hands of Sharyland. Consequently, the Rattlers moved up, though from third to first, jumping over Juarez-Lincoln. Though the Huskies beat Valley View on Friday, Shary’s large wins over Donna and Palmview were good enough to justify the leap.

In the realm of girls basketball, Veterans Memorial stayed on top, Mission dropped, Sharyland rose and La Joya makes an appearance, albeit with a slight asterisk. No justification needed for the Lady Patriots continued reign after taking down Weslaco East and winning their seventh straight district game. The Lady Eagles loss to McHi naturally dropped them, though that drop was far, all the way from first to a tie for third. La Joya is the team neck-in-neck with Mission but that tie won’t last long as the two square off tomorrow in La Joya. Sharyland quietly stayed in place and will likely stay second after Tuesday’s game with pushover Memorial.

Read more: Monday’s “Big Six” Basketball Rankings

It was a great week for many of the local Big Six schools as we have seen some teams surprise us with their play and some rebound from losses. One more week and we will have a better look at how the playoffs could look.

Perhaps the biggest surprise has been the Mission Lady Eagles, who are now 3-1 in District 30-5A, tied at the top with Sharyland and McHi. La Joya has also rebounded well after losing its first two district games and are now 2-2 after stomping on Donna and Palmview.

On the boys side, no team has been more surprising than Juarez-Lincoln, who is 4-2 in District 32-4A and are coming off a double overtime win at Mercedes. Last year this team believed it was a playoff contender but fell just short. It now appears, at least for now, this could be the year the Huskies make their first bi-district appearance.

Read more: ‘Big Six’ Capsules for last Friday and Tuesday night games

MISSION – The Lady Patriots of Veterans Memorial are on a roll seven games into their District 32-4A season. Since losing to district leader Hidalgo exactly one month ago, Ralph Cantu’s team has reeled off six straight and seem to be on a collision course with the Lady Pirates in a couple of weeks. However, before those teams meet again, Veterans has three opponents standing in their way. One of those is tonight’s game with Weslaco East.

“It’s always tough with Weslaco East,” Cantu said. “They are going to raise their game and their level [of play]. They are well coached.”

Read more: Big Six Friday Game of the Night: Lady Patriots face stiff challenge from visiting Weslaco East

LA JOYA -- In their first two district games, La Joya fell to Sharyland and Nikki Rowe by a combined margin of ten points. The 0-2 start was a tough start for a veteran team. However, since those two losses, the Lady Coyotes have responded with two decisive wins, including a 72-36 thumping of rival Palmview Tuesday night.

“I am proud of the way we played,” said head coach Dan Morales following the game, “but we still have some work to do.”

Read more: Big Six Tuesday Night Recaps: Lady Coyotes take down Palmview with ease

Elva Hinojosa and her coach, Dan Morales, are sick of coming so close, just to fall short. If you have followed the Lady Coyotes of La Joya the past couple years, you may recall the program has neither been a powerhouse nor a laughing stock in District 30-5A. In fact, for the past three seasons, Morales’ team has finished district in the fifth spot, left to look through the glass as the district’s top four teams enjoyed the postseason.

This year could be different. Morales’s is in his final year with Hinojosa, his star point guard and an All-Valley and All-District performer from a year ago. Hinojosa has helped her team reach a solid overall record of 13-7, contributing by scoring and distributing the ball. Two games ago, in a close 67-64 loss to Sharyland, the senior guard dropped 34 points. On the other hand she can distribute the ball, averaging about six assists per game.

Read more: Big Six Tuesday Game of the Night: Lady Lobos at Lady Coyotes