Basketball Game Preview: Upperman Bees vs. Hume-Fogg Blue Knights

Upperman is on a 12-game streak of home wins, while Hume-Fogg is on an 11-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Upperman Bees will host the Hume-Fogg Blue Knights at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Monday, Upperman strolled past Heritage with points to spare, taking the game 51-33.

Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Hume-Fogg had no problem doing just that on Monday. They enjoyed a cozy 57-38 victory over the Tigers. Given the Blue Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Tigers are ranked 224th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Hume-Fogg's win came from a few key players Upperman will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Michael Nwoye, who almost dropped a double-double with 22 points and nine rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to boards, as he's now pulled down eight or more in each of the last seven games he's played. Alonzo Rhodes was another key player, dropping a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Hume-Fogg smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in January.

Hume-Fogg's win bumped their record up to 28-3. As for Upperman, they are on a roll lately: they've won 16 of their last 18 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 26-4 record this season.

Everything went Upperman's way against Hume-Fogg in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, as Upperman made off with a 61-41 victory. Will Upperman repeat their success, or does Hume-Fogg have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.