Basketball Game Preview: Northwestern Tigers vs. Blackford Bruins

The Northwestern Tigers will face off against the Blackford Bruins at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Northwestern has insisted on making their last three contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 1-2 during that stretch of close contests.

On Saturday, Northwestern didn't have quite enough to beat Rossville and fell 57-55.

Meanwhile, Blackford had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 18.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They put the hurt on the Golden Eagles with a sharp 66-40 win.

Blackford pushed their record up to 13-7 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.7 points over those games. As for Northwestern, their loss dropped their record down to 10-7.

Northwestern didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Blackford in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 69-63 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Blackford's Gage Baker, who went 7-for-13 from beyond the arc en route to 25 points in addition to eight rebounds and six assists. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Northwestern still be able to contain Baker? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.