Basketball Game Preview: Wharton Tigers vs. Columbia Roughnecks

Wharton is 9-1 against Columbia since March of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. Having just played yesterday, the Wharton Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the Columbia Roughnecks at 6:30 p.m. Wharton is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.7 points per game this season.

It was a proper cat-fight when Wharton duked it out withLa Marque on Thursday. Wharton was dealt a 77-46 loss at the hands of La Marque. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 687th, while the Cougars are ranked 154th).

Despite the defeat, Wharton got top-tier performance from Jacoryan Dickerson, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 13 boards. Dickerson has been hot recently, having posted nine or more rebounds the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jameir Hearne-Robinson, who posted six points and three steals.

Meanwhile, Columbia was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They took a 60-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of Brazosport.

Wharton's record is now 18-11. As for Columbia, their record is now 7-21.

Wharton won a contest that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, slipping by Columbia 58-57. The rematch might be a little tougher for Wharton since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.