Basketball Game Preview: Western Panthers vs. Tipton Blue Devils

Western is preparing for their first conference matchup of the season on Friday. They are taking a road trip to take on the Tipton Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. Western will be strutting in after a win while Tipton will be coming in after a defeat.

Western is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Frankfort: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Panthers blew the Hot Dogs out of the water with a 72-36 final score. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Panthers had established a 29-point advantage.

Carter Biggs was nothing short of spectacular: he went 9-for-17 en route to 25 points and seven rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Western's points. Another player making a difference was Brady Thompson, who shot 55% from the field to rack up 17 points.

Western smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds every time they've taken the court this season.

Meanwhile, Tipton came up short against Frankton on Saturday and fell 48-36. The loss put an end to the Blue Devils' undefeated start to the season.

Having lost for the first time this season, Tipton fell to 2-1. As for Western, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.

Western was able to grind out a solid win over Tipton in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, winning 42-32. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.