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The boys basketball season is finally here! It's been 254 days since the WIAA Division 1 State Championship game signaled the end of the 2023-24 season. Tuesday, November 26th will mark the 256th day and finally meaningful basketball will be played once again.

This season, we are going to preview the best basketball matchups, storylines, etc twice a week for the entirety of the season. Sunday we will preview the games played Monday-Wednesday, then on Wednesday we'll preview Thursday-Saturday's slate.

See below the best matchups for the opening night of hoops as well as a handful from Wednesday.

Don't forget to use the hashtag #wisbb when talking about any Wisconsin high school basketball stories, scores, and big performances this season.

Shawano vs Ashwaubenon (Preseason D2 #13)
This a battle of the Bay vs the FRCC conference. It will also be the debut of Amari Allen at Ashwaubenon. He's a senior transfer from IMG Prep and instantly one of the best players in the state. He's also an Alabama commit. For Shawano, senior Logan Sipple recently committed to Division II Bemidji State, so this matchup has plenty of top end talent in it.

Golda Meir (Preseason D2 #6) v Brown Deer
Golda Meir is one of the top Division 2 teams in the state and oozing with talent at the wing position. Ahmir Woods and Kaleb Colbert are a very solid senior guard duo while Ameer Anderson is an underrated big man in the state. Brown Deer is a dark horse candidate in the Woodland-East with Jayden Raglund, Codie Jones, and Jaiden Reed as a good trio of wings.

Piasa Southwestern (IL) vs Cumberland
It's the first game for senior big man Gavin Gores of Cumberland since committing to NCAA Division I Wyoming over the offseason. The 6-10 post averaged 28.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game a season ago. The Cumberland team returns four starters and is a team to watch in the Heart O'North conference and Division 4 as a whole.

Milwaukee Lutheran vs Kettle Moraine Lutheran 
Two teams that will be respective challengers for their conference titles in 2024-25, this matchup has two deep teams with top production back. For KML Jordan Wagner and Henry Bednar are both big forwards that can score the ball while ML has Makhai Jewell and Xavier Allen in the backcourt.

Almond-Bancroft (preseason D5 #9) vs Loyal
Almond-Bancroft is coming off a state tournament appearance and returns one of the more dominant players in Division 5 in 6-7 forward Ayden Phillips, who enters his senior year with 1,728 career points. Loyal will have a contrasting style with a trio of junior guards Bryce Deegan, Reed Stieglitz, and Cain Toufar back to lead a Greyhound team that looks to be a surprise contender in Division 5 this season.

Milwaukee Juneau (preasason D4 #1) vs Madison Memorial
This is probably the marquee matchup for the opening night in the state as the preseason top-ranked Juneau squad squares off with a D1 team out of the Big Eight. Dooney Johnson is the best sophomore in the state and a blue-chip Division I prospect. For Madison Memorial, head coach Steve Collins enters the season 27 wins short of 500 in his career and has four starters and much more back highlighted by Ezra and Caleb Liggon, and Abe Dykstra.

Saint Thomas More vs Messmer
Saint Thomas More is coming off a Division 3 state championship but will have an all-new look having graduated four starters, including three, next-level players. They square off with Messmer team that has some talent on the perimeter in Amarre Johnson, Vito Velazquez and Breon Bennett.

Wabeno/Laona (preseason D5 #10) vs Oconto
This game will be the first game of the 2024-25 season, tipping off at 11:30 am on Tuesday. Wabeno/Laona is a young team with a trio of guards in Walker Winkelman, Canton Chrisman, and Cooper Albrecht that make the Rebels a team to keep an eye on in Division 5. Oconto will be a good team in Division 4, being led by 23-point scorer and senior wing Carter Koch.

Laconia vs Oostburg
This non-conference matchup pits two very good Division 4 teams against one another on opening night. Laconia is one of the favorites in the Flyway  with Cash Farrell and Ethan Pinno at the guard positions. Oostburg is led by a dynamic junior duo in JJ Zavatchin and Cade Dirkse, both who averaged around 20 points per game as sophomores.

Ithaca (preseason D5 #8) vs Royall (preseason D5 #2)
Two Division 5 top ten teams square off in this one as Ithaca and new head coach Aaaron Huebsch travel to Royall to take on Scott Uppena's Panthers. Channing Brown, Sammy Clary, and Devin Ihm are a strong returning trio for the Bulldogs and the Panthers will be led by one of the better wings in Division 5, Carter Uppena.

Neenah vs Brookfield East
Neenah is coming off of three straight WIAA State Tournament appearances though does have some holes to fill for head coach Lee Rabas. For Brookfield East, four starters are back for Joe Rux, as well as a few players who missed significant time due to injuires the past few years. This is a very good matchup between two Division 1 teams that figure to be competitive in their conferences.

Milwaukee Academy of Science (preseason D3 #1) vs West Allis Central (preseason D1 #3)

There might not be a game this season that will feature more college prospects in the state than this matchup, and we get it on the second day of the season. Science has Jamarion Batemon, Agape Keys Jr., Amare Jackson, and Deuce Burks, to name a few. For West Allis, Max Jones and Yusef Gray Jr. are two of the better players in the state on a team full of young talent. If you're a hoops fan, this is the game you want don't want to miss.