Friday Night Predictions
What are tonight’s biggest games? Who does NHR think will win those games? Find out in Friday Night Predictions!
Minnehaha Academy at Caledonia. The prelude to the Midwest Players Classic brings a game that is likely the highlight of the night and maybe weekend. The Redhawks have been inconsistent without JaVonni Bickham inside but they beat Hopkins so anything could happen. The Jalen Suggs vs Owen King match-up will be awesome. Considering the Redhawks are so hard to predict, this is hard to predict. Motivation will be there, the Redhawks have more talent but the Warriors are more experienced and at home. Anything could happen in this game. Caledonia wins by a basket.
Tartan at Mahtomedi. The Titans and Zephyrs step out of Greek Mythology and on to the court for one of the biggest games of the weekend. This is for control in the Metro East and it’s for the Titans to show the state that they are a legit top ten team (same can be said for the Zephyrs). Shayne Frost and Jordan Horn is a good backcourt battle. Titans should have a bit too many weapons and win by five.
Goodhue at Kasson-Mantorville. The second ranked undefeated Goodhue team is on the road at 10-2 Zumbrota-Mazeppa. This could be the game of the night with Goodhue defending their undefeated mark on the road in front of a wild crowd. These are both balanced teams that win with strong defensive effort and excellent halfcourt offensive execution. This will be a chess match without a doubt and Goodhue wins by one as they will make less mistakes.
DeLaSalle at Columbia Heights. The number one ranked Class AAA Islanders give the Hylanders a chance at knocking off the defending champs. The Hylanders are coming off losses to Cooper and Brooklyn Center but just a week ago they beat Mahtomedi. Can they bounce back and give the Islanders a run? We say Islanders by 18.
New Prague at Chaska. Chaska wants to show they are a contender again and would likely appreciate being known as a top ten team. New Prague is top ten in Class AAAA, they are top ten all metro (that’s about as far as the metro stretches I would assume), and of course the Trojans are undefeated. The Zach Hanson vs Cole Nicholson/Myles Hanson combo will be interesting. Chaska wins.
Litchfield at Glencoe-Silver Lake. Litchfield is having a better year than last season despite what the record of 6-5 says (they went 1-2 in the very tough Cathedral holiday event). GSL is having one of their better seasons in recent memory at 9-3 so far and would like to get to double figure wins halfway through the regular season.
Hopkins at Wayzata. The Royals have suffered a couple losses, the Trojans are ranked number two and undefeated. Do the Trojans deserve that spot? Tonight will give us an indication. Will Ryan Lindberg get shots over Anthony Davis? Will Ishmael El-Amin and Gavin Baumgartner go at it as the viewers hope they will? It should be an excellent game. This is the type of game that Coach Novak gets his team up for, they win by three.
Lanesboro at Spring Grove. The Lions have picked up a couple losses which has deviated them from the run they wanted but has likely re-focused the team on the goal of a state title. Burros guard Cole Schwichtenberg is a great shooter and a strong PG and tonight is his chance to show what type of player he is. The Burros are 5-1, but we think Spring Grove wins by nine.
Dawson-Boyd at Canby. Both have six wins, but have minimal losses. They aren’t quite as talented as past year but both are very good programs. Whomever gets tonight’s win will likely feel stronger about their chance to dethrone Central MN Christian this year. We like Canby with seniors Adam Durfee and Sawyer Hanson leading the way.