The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball coach expects nothing less when his team closes out the home portion of its regular season on Saturday against G-MAC rival Alderson Broaddus.
Tipoff is set for 3:15 p.m.
A victory for the No. 15 Panthers (22-3, 8-1 in G-MAC) would extend their league lead to two games over second-place Alderson Broaddus (18-7, 8-2) and further help KWC's chances to host the conference tournament for the first time since joining the G-MAC three years ago.
"It's a chance for our seniors to go undefeated at home," Osborne said. "A chance to have everybody in the league with three losses and us with one going into our last two games. A chance for us to play a little better and do what we have to do."
The third-year Panthers coach also stressed the importance for a large home crowd Saturday.
"We've got a war to go to," Osborne said. "We need this town. We need our students. We have a chance to win the league. Nobody other than Alderson Broaddus has won the league since I've been here. Here we go, and it's going to be an all-out war.
"It's February. Everyone has caught up, and every team knows what everybody else is doing. The only difference would be a rowdy Sportscenter. I'm not asking our people to come, I'm begging. Our kids deserve that."
KWC enters Saturday's game on a seven-game winning streak -- its longest of the season -- following an 84-78 victory over Davis & Elkins on Thursday.
Ken-Jah Bosley, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, leads the Panthers with 17.3 points per game. Other expected starters are 6-5 junior guard Jordan Jacks (14.1 points, 9.0 rebounds), 6-7 senior forward Devin Langford (13.5 points, 4.9 rebounds), 6-5 senior forward C.J. Blackwell (13.1 points) and 6-1 senior point guard Marcus Fillyaw (6.7 points, 3.8 assists).
Meanwhile, the Battlers are coming off of a narrow 72-71 road victory over Trevecca Nazarene on Thursday, and they'll look to even the season series after suffering a 66-52 defeat to KWC on Jan. 14.
Alderson Broaddus starters are expected to be 6-4 guard Thylas Perkins (15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds), 6-5 forward Richard Lemon (13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists), 6-1 guard Jordan Haywood (6.9 points), 6-6 forward Dorrell Foster (6.7 points) and 6-7 center Imanol Artinano (3.7 points).
The Battlers are likely to be without leading scorer Malcolm Tatum, a dynamic 6-2 guard who scored 17 points against KWC in the previous meeting but hasn't played since Jan. 21.
"It's part of basketball, and we've got to go," Osborne said. "They're just as good, they may be better. They're a gutty, tough, well-coached team, and we've got to get to work."
The Panthers still have road contests against conference opponents Ohio Valley and Salem International, but Osborne likes KWC's chances to host the conference tournament if they can close out strong.
"This is what it's about," he said. "It's why you do it. Why do you coach? For these opportunities. We've worked for three years to get here. Now, the beauty of it is no matter what happens, we'll have to play them again, but I'd like to play it here.
"Win or lose, it's not over until it's over. Do you think Ohio Valley and Salem International on the road is going to be easy? A chance to knock us down. It's on, it's February, it's March -- it's where champions are made."
