Panther’s Toothsayer: Western Carolina Catamounts
- Tyler
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
📍 Series & Setting
High Point returns home at 6–1, fresh off a Boardwalk Battle championship where the Panthers were tested by a couple quality mid-majors but took home the title by playing some of their cleanest, most balanced basketball of the season. Awaiting them is an opponent with a familiar face on the sideline but rocking a completely different colored tie: Tim Craft’s Western Carolina Catamounts (3–3).
After taking a year off, High Point squares off again against one of their most common foes, but this is the first meeting between the programs with Craft at the helm in Cullowhee. This will be the 61st meeting between the two purple big-cat North Carolina schools. The Panthers hold a 40–20 record over the Catamounts dating all the way back to 1946.
There is also plenty of shared history with Coach Tim Craft. Craft spent 11 seasons at Gardner-Webb, building the Runnin’ Bulldogs into a Big South force. Under Craft, Gardner-Webb made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and also developed a reputation for upsetting high-major programs. In his 11 seasons, Craft recorded six wins over Power Five teams. While he went just 10–12 against High Point, his teams consistently elevated their play in games where they were roster underdogs and Saturday will be another of those situations, with HPU likely to be heavily favored at home.