Previewing the Top Boys Basketball Games from the Thanksgiving Weekend

Two teams that were in our preseason Division 3 rankings square off in the mid-afternoon matchup in Beaver Dam. The L-Cats were state tournament qualifiers a year ago and return senior sharpshooter Brady Benish and junior do-it-all forward Tyler Wollin along with a few other contributors. Seymour is loaded this season led by senior Kyler Marks and junior Isaac Feske.

Another top-10 matchup in Division 3, Freedom will be coming off a tough win over Fox Valley Lutheran on opening night. Two extremely talented big man will be the headline here as Freedom’s Donovan Davis and Lakeside Lutheran’s Wes Rahn will go toe-to-toe.

Germantown has high hopes, bringing back a lot of talent in 2025-26, led by Cahlil Jones and JJ Walters. The Warhawks get a contender in Division 2 in Waterford in their first matchup. The Wolverines are challenging themselves early this year. Coming off an opening night loss to Division 2 state runner-up Racine Park, Waterford will get another challenge on Saturday.

Both teams were ranked in our preseason top 10s in Division 1 and 2. Arrowhead has a very talented junior group led by Trey Resch and Blake Basich, and have a few freshman forwards that will make a big impact on the 2025-26 season. New Berlin West is balanced, can light it up from deep, and can score in bunches. Jayce Cook, Zach Hewitt, and Evan Kern lead the way for a talented returning Vikings’ cast.

The Lasers of Kettle Moraine got an impressive 70-64 win over Madison La Follette on opening night, while Tosa West cruised to a win over Waukesha North. A Classic Eight v Greater Metro matchup featuring two teams that are 1-0. Tosa West is the favorite in Division 2, while Kettle Moraine is a team not to sleep on in Division 1.

Homestead was ranked eighth in Division 2 and Brookfield Central tenth in our preseason rankings for easy reasons. The Highlanders have a junior guard tandem in Oliver Belot and Michael Rogers Jr. that can score in bunches and light up opposing defenses from deep. Brookfield is led by big man and Green Bay recruit Henry Gruetzmacher who looks to have a dominant senior campaign, starting Saturday.

Two very good Division 5 parochial schools will be the marquee matchup in the annual Cranberry Classic. The host Assumption has one of the top players in all of Division 5 in JT Schlaefer, a 6-0 lead guard that dominates the game in a handful of ways. Columbus Catholic is a very balanced squad that has sharpshooters Mac Konieczny and Ben Weiland at the top.

Park was the runner up in Division 2 a season ago but lost four starters to graduation. Despite that, the Panthers came out with an impressive opening night win over Waterford. Oak Creek has one of the top sophomores in the state in Ja’Quan Turner and will get to battle former Southeast Conference foe Park for the first time in a while as a non-league matchup.

Racine Lutheran is the top rated Division 3 team in our preseason rankings as the Crusaders are loaded with talent led by one of the top wings in the state, Sam Pitrof. On the other sideline, Franklin is one of the top contenders in the Southeast conference and led by Florida Tech commit Jacob Misslich.

Appleton North has a potential five next level players on its roster this year, led by Northern Michigan recruit Nathan Ramus. Bay Port was going to be good this year and got a big boost in transfers JJ and JT Meyer from Monroe. Both the Lightning and the Pirates are preseason top ten teams in our Division 1 rankings.

Both of these schools are sleeper teams in Division 1 this season. Superior is led by senior wing and Minnesota-Duluth commit Calvin Anderson. Cade Felch leads the Evergreens. Like the teams, this matchup is an underrated option for game of the weekend.