Basketball Game Preview: Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars vs. Royalton Royals

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa has won three straight games at home, while Royalton has won three straight on the road dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars will welcome the Royalton Royals at 7:00 p.m. After both made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Thursday.

Last Tuesday, everything went Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa's way against Maple Lake as Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa made off with a 69-48 win. Given the Jaguars' advantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 116th, while the Irish are ranked 348th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Royalton won against Paynesville on Thursday with 71 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Monday. Royalton took their game with ease, bagging a 71-36 victory over Rocori. The Royals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matches by 22 points or more this season.

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa is also on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.6 points per game. As for Royalton, their win bumped their record up to 11-0.

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa couldn't quite finish off Royalton in their previous matchup back in January of 2024 and fell 64-62. Can Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.