Springfield has had a perfect start to the season and with two conference wins this week, the Tigers could be well on their way to defending their Tomahawk Conference championship and earning another trip to the Class 1A state tournament.
Junior Isaac Fink leads No 2-1A Springfield in all major categories, averaging 22.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The Tigers (13-0, 8-0) are far from a one-man show, however, with a mix of experience from senior Tanner Vogel (16.6 ppg, 4.3 apg) and youthful talent from Decker Scheffler (16.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 4 apg) giving Springfield a bounty of talent on both sides of the floor.
The Tigers were knocked into the Class 1A third-place game last season by Minneapolis North, but with the amount of talent they have retained and the departure of the Polars to Class 2A, Springfield could have an excellent shot at the Class 1A title. This game against a strong conference and Section 2 opponent will give the Tigers an excellent idea of how serious those postseason ambitions should be.
New Ulm Cathedral (11-4, 6-1) had a bit of an up-and-down opening to its season, often trading off wins and losses for most of December, including a 94-80 loss to Springfield on Dec. 8. The Greyhounds have come on strong recently, winning six straight and securing second place in the conference standings.
A mixture of youth and experience have served New Ulm Cathedral well on offense, with junior Alex Hillesheim and sophomore Jon Zinniel each averaging 13.4 ppg, followed by sophomore James Gillis at 12.5 ppg and senior Nathan Hauser at 12.2 ppg.
If the Greyhounds want to leapfrog Springfield to take home the conference title and replace the Tigers in the state tournament, winning this final matchup in the regular season between the two will be vital.