Game Notes The third-year Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball coach will get that opportunity when the No. 22 Panthers travel to face Oakland City in a nonconference matchup Saturday afternoon.
KWC (18-3) can notch its fourth victory in a row and 10th win of its last 11 contests, while the Mighty Oaks (15-2) enter having won six in a row. The Panthers previously gave Oakland City its first loss of the season with a 99-66 victory in the first meeting on Jan. 6 at the Owensboro Sportscenter, but Osborne doesn't expect an exact repeat this time around.
"They had two guys that didn't play against us last time, so it'll be a different game," he said. "It's at their place, and they're 15-2. They'd be the first to say they haven't necessarily played the schedule we have, but it's a huge game.
"We've got to keep going right now. We're in the Top 25 in the country, and we can't stop."
The Panthers are coming off of an 83-63 conference win over Cedarville on Thursday, in which leading scorer Ken-Jah Bosley came off the bench to score 14 points. The 6-foot-1 junior, who averages 17.5 points per game, was cleared by doctors earlier that morning after undergoing concussion protocol for a hit he took at practice during the week.
Osborne said Bosley is expected to return to the starting lineup Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Mighty Oaks are led by 6-2 senior guard Matt Lucas, who scores 18.5 points per game.
Other Oakland City starters will include 6-5 freshman forward Addison Wagler (17.3 points, 8.8 rebounds), 6-6 senior center Byron Dulin (10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds), 5-10 sophomore guard Joe Hinton (7.7 points, 4.3 assists) and 6-4 freshman forward Mitch Frederick (0.8 points).
Osborne expects the Mighty Oaks to present a challenge, and he wants to see how his players respond.
"I just want us to live in the present," he said. "I think that's hard to do, but I want our guys — if you make a mistake, I want you to get over it quick. We're not where I want to be on that yet, but you just can't hang on to the negatives.
"I think morale means everything, attitude means everything, and toughness means everything. Part of toughness is not getting down when you make a mistake. You keep going."
Despite the recent stretch of success for the Panthers, Osborne added, his team still has areas to get better before the regular season concludes at the end of February.
"I do think if our team can improve in every spot just a little bit, we have a chance to be really good," he said. "That's what I'm hoping for. I'm all-in on that."
