Basketball Game Preview: Pikeville Panthers vs. Shelby Valley Wildcats

Pikeville is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Shelby Valley is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Panthers duke it out with the Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Pikeville knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past ten contests -- so hopefully Shelby Valley likes a good challenge.

Last Saturday, Pikeville didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Huntington Expression Prep, but they still walked away with a 63-57 victory. The win was all the more spectacular given the Panthers' disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 69th in Kentucky, while the Kings are ranked eighth in West Virginia).

Meanwhile, Shelby Valley beat Owsley County 67-58 on Saturday.

Shelby Valley has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a massive bump to their 13-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.5 points over those games. As for Pikeville, their victory bumped their record up to 12-8-1.

Everything went Pikeville's way against Shelby Valley in their previous meeting two weeks ago, as Pikeville made off with a 66-41 win. Does Pikeville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Shelby Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.