Regular-season matchups against top-tier talent often prepare teams for successful playoff runs. These games can give players valuable experience in the high-pressure situations they could face in the postseason.
Case in point: Eden Prairie and Lakeville North. The teams have met in the regular season in recent years. They share a long and rich history of close contests and both have been regulars at state the last eight years.
Will their regular season matchup result in another close game? We'll find out this week when the two meet in our Top Game of the Week.
The squads meet once each regular season, but last year, when both reached the Class 4A state tournament, they played again, with the Panthers picking up a 63-52 win over the Eagles in the third-place game. That 11-point win was the largest margin of victory in the last seven meetings between the two teams.
Out of those seven games, six have been single-digit wins, three were decided by one possession and two went to overtime. Lakeville North has won the past four outings.
Eden Prairie, which is at No. 6 in Class 4A rankings released by Minnesota Basketball News on Dec. 12, has used a more balanced attack to average 69.6 points per game this season. The junior trio of guard Drake Dobbs (18.4 ppg) and forwards Austin Andrews (14.2 ppg) and John Henry (13.8 ppg) have paced the Eagles (3-2, 0-0), who have won two in a row. Their two losses this season have come against No. 1-3A DeLaSalle (76-66 on Dec. 1) and to No. 1-4A Park Center (49-46 on Dec. 8)
After winning their first two games this season, the No. 5-4A Panthers have suffered back-to-back losses, a 78-72 decision to No. 4-4A Hopkins on Dec. 8 and a 67-62 loss to Chaska last Thursday.
Lakeville North (2-2, 0-0) has leaned on senior guard Tyler Wahl, a Wisconsin commit, to lead its offense. Wahl, who averages 26.2 ppg, scored 38 points in the two games against the Eagles last year.