Basketball Game Preview: Mankato East Cougars vs. Mayo Spartans

Mankato East has won 14 straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Mayo has won 14 straight on the road also dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Mankato East Cougars will welcome the Mayo Spartans at 7:30 p.m. One thing working in Mankato East's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season.

It was a proper cat-fight when Mankato East duked it out withDelano on Saturday. Mankato East took their matchup with ease, bagging an 84-37 win over Delano. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 24 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Mayo earned a 56-45 victory over Eagan on Saturday. The win was all the more spectacular given the Spartans' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 123rd, while the Wildcats are ranked 13th).

Mayo has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.7 points per game. As for Mankato East, their victory bumped their record up to 9-1.

Mankato East took their win against Mayo in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 83-63. Will Mankato East repeat their success, or does Mayo have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.