Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

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 over the Thanksgiving weekend.

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

Columbus Catholic (Preseason D5 #15) vs Assumption (Preseason D5 #13) (Cranberry Classic at Assumption)
A matchup of two top teams in Division 5, this is the best small-school matchup on Black Friday. Assumption is led by do-it-all junior JT Schlaefer while Columbus Catholic is led by junior Mac Konieczny who had 23 points in the Dons opening season win over Rib Lake.

Superior vs D.C. Everest (Eau Claire North Thanksgiving Classic)
Superior forwards Calvin Anderson and Drew Eisel are tough matchups and versatile defenders that can cause issues with their length. Everest returns plenty of talent back led by 1,000 point scorer Cohen Priebe as well as three other starters Casey Stuedemann, Cade Felch, and Xavier Edwards.

Wausau East vs Eau Claire North (Eau Claire North Thanksgiving Classic)
Wausau East is a sleeper team in Division 2 as head coach Daniel Garrett has three seniors back that form an experienced and talented trio. Jesse Napgezek (University of Mary commit), Jaydan Garret (Northland College commit) and Charlie Cayley (football prospect) are great complements to one another. Eau Claire North will be led by Elliott Bessen and Tyler Barrows, a good scoring duo in the backcourt.

Marshall (Preseason D4 #3) at Fall River
This is the first game of head coach TJ Zweifel's tenure at Marshall. One of the top teams in Division 4, the talent of the returning roster including Kenyon and Jaylen Miggins, Teseo Ruelas and Daniel Nickel mixed with the aggressive defense approach from Coach Zweifel will be a fun combo to watch in its premier game. For Fall River, long-time head coach Arnie Oelke is on the path to 500 wins this season and returns Ethan LeClair and Zack Osterhaus as his top two producers.

Port Washington vs Howards Grove (Preseason D4 #7) (Sheboygan South Turkey Classic)
Port Washington is a sleeper team in a loaded North Shore conference returning all five starters from a season ago, including four double digit scorers Josh Arnold, Cal Loose, Kyle Uselding, and Grady Karrels. Howards Grove is the seventh-ranked team in our preseason Division 4 rankings and is led by returning seniors Trent Grunewald and Connor Cruz.

Beaver Dam Slam at the Dam

Cuba City (Preseason D4 #12) vs Columbus
Cuba City plays in one of the better small school divisions in the SWAL while Columbus plays in a very tough middle-sized school division, the Capitol-North. The Cardinals return its enter roster from last season and have a very good junior group led by Peyton Powers. For Cuba City, head coach Tanner Schieve also returns nearly his entire roster including Gavin Vaassen, Tyson Richard, and Miles Hinderman.

Kettle Moraine Lutheran vs Lomira
Former Waupun coach Dan Domask takes over at Lomira this season, with this being the first game of his tenure. The Lions are led by Division 1 forward prospect Jake Broeske. For Kettle Moraine Lutheran, head coach Josh Lindner has 6-5 forward Jordan Wagner as one of the top players back in the East Central conference.

New Richmond vs Beaver Dam
Two very good Division 2 teams square off in this one as New Richmond has four starters back from last season's 18-win team, led by Jack Charbonneau. For Beaver Dam, head coach Tim Ladron has a talented group back with EJ Salettel as the top returner along with transfer sophomore Isaiah Yuenger.

West De Pere (Preseason D2 #4) vs Lake Mills (Preseason D3 #3)
Two top five teams in their respective divisions makes this one of the premier games in the state on Saturday. The talent on both sides of the ball is in abundance. For West De Pere, Northern Michigan commit Bryce Borowicz and a top 2027 prospect Tref Rademaker headline a very deep and talented Phantom roster. For Lake Mills, MSU-Mankato commit AJ Bender is the top returner for an L-Cats team that can light it up from deep.

Catholic Memorial Tournament

Milwaukee Lutheran vs Whitefish Bay
Milwaukee Lutheran will be a player in the Woodland-East conference this season with the return of four starters, including double digit scorers Makhai Jewell and Xavier Allen. For Whitefish Bay, head coach Ryan Fiet had nearly his entire roster back for a Blue Dukes squad that plays in a tough North Shore conference headlined by senior Marcus Webb.

Wauwatosa West (Preseason D2 #1) vs Mukwonago (Preseason D1 #11)
Another matchup of preseason ranked teams, this one pits the top team in D2 vs a very good team out of the Classic Eight. Tosa West is led by a trio of next-level prospects in Jalen Brown, Jake Hansen, and Matthew Kloskey. Mukwonago has its own trio of talent in Caleb Poling, Peyton Pollnow, and Evan Ploeckelman.

Sun Prairie West vs Germantown
Two very solid teams in Division 1, this matchup will have exceptional guard play on display. For West, Tyler Haney and Tavian Crawford both have interest from Division III colleges and are a solid backcourt duo. For Germantown, Cahlil Jones projects as a Division I recruit and is one of the better juniors in the state.

Kettle Moraine (Preseason D1 #9) vs Whitnall (Preseason D2 #3)
Two teams that made the state tournament in different divisions over the past few seasons will match up in the final game of the tournament on Saturday. Kettle Moraine is the preseason favorite in the Classic Eight and has a trio of wings in Ben Bestor, Zach Froemming, and Kettle Moraine that have played in plenty of high level games over the past three seasons. For Whitnall, Jack Lutz and Myles Herro are next level playmakers for a Falcons team with first-year head coach Andrew Wojcik.

Steve Randal Memorial Classic at Oshkosh West

Hortonville vs Fort Atkinson (Preseason D2 #9)
Hortonville is team to watch in Division 1 with high level junior prospect Ethan Joling and senior wing Riley Mueller. Fort Atkinson figures to have a breakout year in the Badger-Large led by a trio of senior guards Brennan Dempsey, Owen Geiger, and Lakyn Hintz.

Racine Case Thanksgiving Classic

Racine Lutheran vs Racine Case
The first matchup of the Racine Case tournament will be a banger with these two Racine schools squaring off. For Lutheran, Sam Pitrof, Jusin Jones, and Isaiah Cosey make the Crusaders a team to watch in Division 3. Case is led by Anthony Bull and Michael Farr and are our preseason pick to win the Southeast conference.

Milwaukee Academy of Science (D4 #1) vs Verona (D1 #5)
What I would peg as the marquee game of Saturday, this game features two teams ranked in the top 5 of the preseason polls of their respective division. Science just got a big boost to its already loaded roster as Devin Brown was given clearance by the WIAA to return to the team after initially transferring out of state. Verona has Drew Murphy leading the way for a team that is the preseason favorite in Big Eight conference.

Racine Park vs Racine St. Catherine's (Preseason D3 #2)
Another great matchup between a pair of really good Racine schools will finish off a great day of hoops at Case. For Park, Isaiah Robinson, Jaxson Moss, and Zare Gwinn form a very talented trio. St. Cats is 1-0 on the year and junior high level prospect LaMont Hamilton had 39 points, five days after his stellar performance in the Division 4 Football State Championship.

Non-Tournament Matchups

Slinger vs Freedom (Preseason D3 #5)
This game features a matchup of two of the top five sophomores in the entire state as Slinger's Jack Kohnen and Freedom's Donovan Davis will square off. Two teams that will be very good in their respective divisions, this game has plenty of talent on the court including one of the marquee player matchups of the entire weekend.

Edgerton (Preseason D3 #4) vs McFarland
This game will be a clash of styles as Edgerton is a guard oriented group led by senior Olin Zellmer though big man Bryce Appel does provide a threat on the interior. For McFarland has Ben Forbes (6-9) and Eli Krueger (6-7) to form one of the better front courts in the area.

Cambridge vs Oakfield
Cambridge has returning Capitol-South Player of the Year and Hillsdale commit Matthew Buckman leading the show for a team that returns four starters. Oakfield is the favorite in the Trailways-East conference that returns the top two scorers in Mitchell Moser and Davis Dercks as well as 6-7 big man Bo Bijl.

Stoughton (Preseason D2 #5) vs Oregon
In a matchup of teams in different divisions of the Badger Conference, this should be a really good early season matchup. For Stoughton Jacob Hibner has offers from Division II colleges with interest from Division I schools ramping up. On the other side for Oregon, Vaughn Karvala is one of the top players in the state and holds a number of D1 offers and is a highlight real from the wing position.

Bay Port vs Stevens Point (Preseason D1 #10)
Stevens Point is a top team in all of Division 1 in the state and it will be the first time Jaydon Awe takes the floor for the Panthers after transferring from Pacelli mid-season last year. He joins Grant Chandonais and the rest of a very talented SPASH squad. Bay Port has a full roster back from last season headlined by double-digit scorers Maddox Cornett and Sawyer Durkee.

Waunakee vs Sun Prairie East
A matchup of two very good Division 1 teams, this game will see Sun Prairie West transfer and the top scorer in the state from last season Chris Davis Jr. make his debut with the Cardinals. Waunakee is the preseason pick in the Badger-Large and is led by Kaden MacKenzie who has NCAA Division II offers for both football or basketball.

Madison West vs Sussex Hamilton
There will be a lot of talent on the court in this Big Eight vs North Shore conference matchup. For West, Mikey Wilson and Quincy Mosley form an electric backcourt for the Regents. Wilson is one of the top players in class of 2026 in the state. Sussex Hamilton is led by Asher Haas who has offers from a handful of Division III colleges.