Basketball Game Preview: Dinuba Emperors vs. Tulare Western Mustangs

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Previous Games

01/30/24 - Home	57-40 W
01/12/24 - Away	67-59 W
02/01/23 - Away	68-52 W
01/12/23 - Home	76-65 W
12/29/22 - Neutral	48-45 W
+ 5 more games

Dinuba is 8-2 against Tulare Western since December of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Dinuba Emperors will be playing at home against the Tulare Western Mustangs at 7:15 p.m.

Last Thursday, Dinuba came up short against Hanford and fell 62-50. While losing is never fun, the Emperors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 602nd, while the Bullpups are ranked 292nd).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Tulare Western). They breezed by Mission Oak to the tune of 102-66 on Thursday. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 21 points or more this season.

Dinuba better keep an eye on Malachi Ficher. He was instrumental in Tulare Western's win, dropping a double-double on 46 points and 11 boards. That makes it three consecutive games in which Ficher has scored at least a third of Tulare Western's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Leonardo Lemus, who went 6 of 7 on his way to 14 points and six rebounds.

Tulare Western smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since back in December of 2023.

The win was the third in a row for Tulare Western, bringing their record for this year to 12-7. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.7 points per game. As for Dinuba, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-8 record this season.

Dinuba strolled past Tulare Western when the teams last played back in January of 2024 by a score of 57-40. Will Dinuba repeat their success, or does Tulare Western have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.