Basketball Game Preview: Norland Vikings vs. Northwestern Bulls

Norland has gone 9-1 against Northwestern recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Norland Vikings will head out on the road to face off against the Northwestern Bulls at 7:00 p.m. Norland is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 56.4 points per game this season.

Norland took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They skirted past Reagan 46-43.

Norland's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Marquis Siggers, who posted ten points. The dominant performance gave Siggers a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Michael Watson, who scored seven points and five boards.

Meanwhile, Northwestern entered their tilt with Archbishop McCarthy on Saturday with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. They blew past the Mavericks, posting an 82-51 victory. The Bulls have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 24 points or more this season.

Northwestern's win came from a few key players Norland will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Calvin Russell Jr., who went 6 for 11 en route to 12 points along with six rebounds and five assists. He has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last seven times he's played. Zacuras Dawson was another key player, going 8 of 14 on his way to 18 points.

Northwestern has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 78.3 points per game. As for Norland, their win bumped their record up to 13-8.

Norland beat Northwestern 73-62 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Norland since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.