Santa Fe is 1-9 against the Tigers since December of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. Both teams will face off at 7:00 p.m. on February 6th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. The timing isn't great for Santa Fe: they have been struggling with four straight losses at home, while the Tigers have snatched up five consecutive wins on the road.
Last Friday, Santa Fe had to suffer through a rough 71-43 loss at the hands of the Cougars. While losing is never fun, Santa Fe can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 543rd, while the Cougars are ranked 127th).
Meanwhile, Wellington-Napoleon was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 46-40 to the Saints.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Haden Terrill, who scored 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucas Waterworth, who scored seven points along with six rebounds.
Wellington-Napoleon struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Santa Fe has not been sharp recently as the team's lost ten of their last 11 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-16 record this season. As for Wellington-Napoleon, they now have a losing record at 10-11.
Santa Fe barely slipped by the Tigers in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, winning 32-31. Will Santa Fe repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
