Basketball Game Preview: Loyola Crusaders vs. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Thunderbirds

The Loyola Crusaders will venture away from home to challenge the Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Thunderbirds at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Loyola has four straight wins, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Loyola is headed into the match having just posted their biggest victory since December 7, 2024 on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat New Ulm Cathedral 62-27.

Meanwhile, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop had to suffer through a 78-46 loss at the hands of Lester Prairie. While losing is never fun, the Thunderbirds can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 341st, while the Bulldogs are ranked 145th).

Loyola's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-7. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.3 points per game. As for Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, their loss dropped their record down to 4-13.

Things could have been worse for Loyola, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 50-33 loss to Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Can Loyola avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.