Previewing the Best Boys Basketball Games for December 11-13

King is 2-0 but will have by far the toughest challenge as Juneau comes to town. The Pioneers have scored at an extremely high rate and are led by Gonzaga commit, and one of the top juniors in the country, Dooney Johnson, as well as underrated senior Takis Tyler.

Both teams have one loss on the year, coming to solid opponents, by ten points or less. These are the two contending teams in the Rock Valley-Valley conference. Monroe’s defense has done a good job of limiting opponents in the scoring column and will have to do so once again against a team led by Cameron Polvi, Jaylen Hoffman, and Brayden Golabowski.

Oak Creek is 3-0 on the year and 2-0 as the newest member in the Classic Eight. Oconomowoc has two close losses and is 2-2 with a 2-1 league record. Noah Daniel leads the Knights in scoring and is coming off a game where he hit two free throws to win it against Muskego.

Two teams that will be in contention for the Mississippi Valley Conference league title will square off in the first conference game for both. The Riverhawks have relied heavily on their defense through the first two games, allowing just 47.0 points per game. Holmen hasn’t scored less than 63 in any of its three games early on.

An early season Badger-Large matchup between two teams that match up evenly in terms of numbers this season. The Golden Beavers are coming off a win over ranked Kettle Moraine Lutheran, while Waunakee is 2-0 with wins over Fond du Lac and Watertown.

Both the Tigers and Comets figure to be in the race for the Heart O’North conference title come seasons end. Northwestern won its solo game and did so without one of its top players in Tysen Teal. Cameron has five different players that have averaged double-digit scoring through the first two games.

These two teams got to scout each other in person over the Thanksgiving break as they both competed at the Cranbery Classic in Assumption. The Dons haven’t played since then (15 days) while Neillsville has had matchups with Aquinas and Pacelli in between. Neillsville’s Andrew Hoeser recently surpassed the 1,000 point mark in his career as well.

The Cloverbelt-West conference race is going to be one that is likely cluttered all season, and these two teams will likely be in the picture up until the end. Satnley-Boyd has had two fairly easy wins while Fall Creek is 4-0 behind the stellar play of juniors Mile Schmidgall and Jackson Tangley.

We’ve touched on the fact that the Greater Metro is one of the top conferences in the state and these two teams figure to be contenders. Central is led by seniors Henry Gruetzmacher and Evan Prusko and are coming off a 20-point win over Hamilton. Germantown is looking to get back into the win column following a loss to Wauwatosa West.

Likely the marquee matchup of the night pits two North Shore conference foes against one another in a ranked Friday night throw down. Homestead has two wins on the year including a one-point victory over Brookfield Central, and are led by their junior guard duo of Oliver Belot and Michael Rogers Jr. Nicolet is just 1-2 but has played three very good teams to begin its season. Deuce McDuffie and Rashaad Davis are an all-star backcourt duo for the Knights.

Both teams come into this one looking for a leg up in the Southeast conference standings. Jacob Misslich has been phenomenal for Franklin, averaging 34.0 points per game and shooting over 45% from the field through two games. He’s also added 13 rebounds per game. On the other side, Zare Gwinn continues to come into his own for Park, as he’s averaging 26.0 points. 8.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, all leading the Panthers.

Wisco is a well-oiled machine that appears to be in mid-season form and has Division 1 recruits leading the way. New Berlin West is looking to get an impact win early in the season and prove they can hang with the top team in the Woodland-West. The Vikings of Wisconsin Lutheran are coming off a pretty secure victory over Slinger, where they flexed their muscles as one of, if not the, best team in the state once again.

Over three weeks into the season and Mineral Point will finally play its first game. It’s a new look pointers after the graduation of a good 2025 group. Long-time coach Dan Burreson retired after last year as well, after spending 30 years in the profession and winning over 470 games. Long-time assistant Bret McGraw takes over and welcomes in SWAL foe Southwestern.

Sauk Prairie is going to surprise a lot of people this year, evidenced by a very tight loss to Lake Mills earlier in the week. Sean McGann’s group plays physical and fast. Mount Horeb has had smooth sailing for the most part, but welcome in the stiffest test of the early 2025-26 season in the Eagles.

Two state teams from a season ago will do battle in a top-ten matchup on a neutral court. Both are undefeated coming into this one and looking to get back to the Kohl Center. Junior sensation Donovan Davis leads the Irish and is one of the best players in the nation. Tyler Wollin does a lot of everything

Another good one in Kaukauna between two teams in the northeast part of the state. Kimberly of the FVA will be playing the second game in consecutive days while Seymour will have a four day break. The Papermakers will have to turn it around quick as they face off with a Thunder team that is very talented and a favorite in Division 3.

Holmen will play a second challenging game in three days as they welcome in Caledonia, a team that advanced to the state semifinals in the Class AA in Minnesota last season. The Vikings will have a day turnaround after a conference clash with La Crosse Central on Thursday.

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