Tipoff: 8 p.m. at Indianapolis

Coaches: Al Rhodes (Warsaw); Doug Mitchell (N. Central)

Records: North Central 17-3: Warsaw 16-3

Last game: Warsaw 58, Gary Wirt 34; Kokomo 68, North Central 66

MATCHUPS: In a very rare Thursday game, the Tigers will make the long trek to Indianapolis to face the Panthers. North Central is loaded with talent with guards Jason Gardner, Marcus May and move-in Huggy Dye, along with big man David DePrez inside. The Panthers spent a few weeks at the No. 1 spot in the state before getting beat at Marion and falling from their perch.

GAME TALK:

Rhodes: "It is a big game during the week and a long bus ride. They are as good as anybody. They have all parts of a basketball team. Their guards are quick, and they have loads of big people underneath. We are just overmatched physically. If we are not extremely physically aggressive, then we will get beat bad in the game. It is a tremendous gauge for us, maybe even too much in some ways. I think the atmosphere on the road with a big crowd will be good for us, and combine that with the fact that we had a poor showing at Plymouth in a similar situation, so we have a chance to demonstrate improvement."

Whitko at northwood

Tipoff: 8 p.m. at Nappanee

Coaches: Dave Henson (Whitko), Dan Gunn (NorthWood)

Records: Whitko 9-9; Northwood 7-10

Last game: Whitko 75, Rochester 56; NorthWood 46, Wawasee 42

MATCHUPS: Switched from a Saturday game to Thursday, Whitko will face non-conference NorthWood. Whitko has won three in a row. Zach Henson leads the Wildcats with 23 points per game, while NorthWood's big gun is Bobby Brown at 19 ppg.

GAME TALK:

Henson: "I know they liked to run up and down the floor last year. I'm sure they play about like they did last year. I haven't really seen them play this year. We had one game scouted. I personally haven't seen them. I know they like to push the ball up, and they like to get it up the sides. So, we're going to have to get back on defense, and I think, probably, we've got to take the ball up the sides to be effective. If they are scoring in the seventies, we're in big trouble. We've got to keep the score in our favor and play good, solid half-court defense. We can't let the transition game beat us. As far as their personnel, the guy that scares me most is Brown. Based on what I've seen and heard, he's the guy that could have a big night. We can't let a guy like that run it up on us." [[In-content Ad]]