Basketball Game Preview: Mount Michael Benedictine Knights vs. Bennington Badgers

Mount Michael Benedictine hasn't had much luck against Bennington recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Mount Michael Benedictine Knights will challenge the Bennington Badgers.

Mount Michael Benedictine came into their game on Friday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They came up short against Gretna East, falling 69-48.

Meanwhile, Bennington entered their tilt with Gross Catholic on Thursday with two consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with three. Everything went their way against the Cougars as they made off with a 68-46 victory. Given the Badgers' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Cougars are ranked 167th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Mount Michael Benedictine better keep an eye on Austin Kaiser. He was instrumental in Bennington's win, going 10-for-19 to rack up 23 points in addition to six rebounds and four blocks. Those four blocks gave Kaiser a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jace Fitzgerald, who posted 12 points along with five assists and five boards.

Bennington's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-8. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.8 points over those games. As for Mount Michael Benedictine, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-8.

Mount Michael Benedictine couldn't quite finish off Bennington in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 and fell 62-60. Can Mount Michael Benedictine avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.