Each week we are going to preview the best matchups, storylines, etc twice a week for the entirety of the boys basketball season. Monday we will preview the games played Monday-Wednesday, then on Wednesday we'll preview Thursday-Saturday's slate.
See below the best matchups for Monday, January 5 through Wednesday, January 10.
Don't forget to use the hashtag #wisbb when talking about any Wisconsin high school basketball stories, scores, and big performances this season.
Click the links for the games and see the preview of each game with a tale of the tape in terms of numbers, stat comparison, and other info on Bound.
Follow Colton on ‘X’ for more basketball content throughout the year.
Monday, January 5
A quality non-conference matchup between two squads looking to improve to 2-0 in the year of 2026 is set for the western side of the state. Altoona is led by the dynamic junior guard duo of Graysen Becker and Owen Gunderson, who have combined to score over 45 points per game. McDonell is led by a pair of seniors in Eli Stepp and Karson Galvez, and looking for an impactful win before diving back into conference play on Tuesday.
The Big East conference has a few really good matchups on Monday night, including this one between the two lone undefeated teams in the Big East-North. Howards Grove is coming off a holiday break in which they went 1-2 playing three very talented opponents. Reedsville has yet to los this season, as the Panthers have won every game by a minimum of 22 points. It will be interesting to see if the difference in schedules has any effect on the outcome of this one.
Others to Watch
Tuesday, January 6
The two top contenders in the Coulee will do battle for the first of two times this season. West Salem is coming off the lone loss of the season between these two programs. G-E-T’s defense has been impressive, holding opposing teams to 52 points. West Salem averaged 85.5 points per game on the offensive side. A clash of styles will be at play on Tuesday night.
It’s been 16 days since the Onalaska basketball team has played. The Hilltoppers players and staff alike fell to illness over the holiday break and had to cancel two games at Kettle Moraine. They come back into the swing of things with two tough MVC games this week, starting with Central on Tuesday night. Both squads are looking to compete for a conference title in a race that should be interesting to watch as March approaches.
Stevens Point (7-2) at Marshfield (8-2) POSTPONED
The winner of this game will sit alone atop the Wisconsin Valley standings. For Marshfield, it’s been over two years since they’ve fallen in league play, having won 28 straight games, with the last loss coming to Stevens Point on February 14 of 2023. The Tigers have size that have led them in 2025-26, while SPASH does have Jackson Bouressa, but is more guard dominant.
Kaukauna has been impressive early on this season under a new head coach in Ryan Bowers. The Galloping Ghosts are led by DePaul commit and one of the top seniors in the state in 6-10 Andrew Jensen. Neenah has a chance to win every night thanks in large part to Coach Lee Raba’s attention to detail and preparation he has with his squad. These are the final two undefeated teams left in the FVA early on in the league schedule, and is one of the top matchups to tune in for.
The North Shore conference is one of the best in the state, and Port Washington is a former member of that conference. The Pirates are now in the newly formed Glacier Trails while Slinger is the top contender in the North Shore. Port Washington has rattled off five straight wins with quality victories over smaller opponents in Oostburg, Winnebago Lutheran, and Kettle Moraine Lutheran. Slinger is a different level of competition however, and the bar in the league.
Columbus Catholic challenged itself over the winter break, competing at the Rick Majerus/WBY Shootout, though resulting in two losses. Those games will do more for the Dons as the season progresses than many think. Spencer is coming off a victory over Abbotsford in which it won 120-98. The Rockets are undefeated and hungry. This is a very good quality small-school matchup between two Cloverbelt-East teams that are looking for a league title.
Talent will be in excess in this one between two programs that have challenged themselves early on this season, and now doubling down with this non-con tilt. Wisco has looked the part of the best team in the state and a favorite to three-peat as a state champion come March. Nicolet has been inconsistent at times, but the talent level is off the charts.
Two teams that are looking to compete for a conference title will face off for the first of two times on Tuesday night. The Bears have been impressive this year, already securing wins over Iola-Scandinavia and most recently Roncalli. Wittenberg suffered its first loss of the season last week. The Chargers rely on their defense to keep them in games, while the Bears offense is high octane and balanced.
Others to Watch
Owen-Withee (5-2) at Loyal (7-1) POSTPONED
Turtle Lake (6-3) at Webster (7-0) POSTPONED
Wednesday, January 7
These two squads are a combined 15-2 on the year coming into this non-conference matchup. Milwaukee Lutheran has been a high octane offense, scoring over 82 points per game through its first seven contests. Memorial hangs its hat on the defensive side of things and suffocates opposing offenses. Spartans head coach Steve Collins recently surpassed 500 in his careeer.
Both of this squads have challenging league slates and have done a good job of scheduling quality non-conference opponents on the year. Zeak Jones is a lightning rod that has scored at a blistering rate for the Knights, while West has had a balanced scoring attack with Jayce Cook, Evan Kern, and Elijah Gammage all averaging double-digit points.
Colton Wilson serves a contributor and member of Bound Wisconsin. Wilson has worked in high school sports for 10 years, covering the state of Wisconsin in various sports. He has had roles in content creation, boys basketball coverage, director of events, and data management. Wilson is a graduate of Richland Center High School where he will currently serves as the Varsity Reserve boys basketball coach, entering his eleventh year coaching at the high school level. Wilson also has officiated basketball and organized youth tournaments for multiple years. You can follow him on Twitter at @ColtonWilson23 or reach him at [email protected].