Basketball Game Preview: Mt. Pleasant Panthers vs. Ottumwa Bulldogs

The Mt. Pleasant Panthers will head out to face off against the Ottumwa Bulldogs at 7:45 p.m. on Monday. Mt. Pleasant has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with seven straight defeats, while Ottumwa will come in with six straight victories.

Last Friday, Mt. Pleasant took a blow against Keokuk, falling 73-22. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Iowa basketball rankings (they are ranked 283rd, while the Chiefs are ranked 60th).

Meanwhile, Ottumwa got the win against Marshalltown on Friday by a conclusive 46-26. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 20 points or more this season.

Ottumwa pushed their record up to 12-6 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 37.2 points. As for Mt. Pleasant, their loss dropped their record down to 3-15.

Mt. Pleasant took a serious blow against Ottumwa in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 50-17. Can Mt. Pleasant avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.