Basketball Game Preview: Alpena Wildcats vs. Traverse City West Titans

Alpena hasn't had much luck against Traverse City West recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Alpena Wildcats are taking a road trip to face off against the Traverse City West Titans at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Alpena is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Tawas Area 89-54 on Tuesday. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Wildcats with their most commanding win of the season.

Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Traverse City West on Monday. They strolled past Ludington with points to spare, taking the game 68-54. Given the Titans' advantage in MaxPreps' Michigan basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Orioles are ranked 251st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Traverse City West's record is now 14-2. As for Alpena, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-10.

Things could have been worse for Alpena, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 63-48 loss to Traverse City West in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. Can Alpena avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.