Basketball Game Preview: Van Buren Crusaders vs. Madawaska Owls

The Van Buren Crusaders will head out to challenge the Madawaska Owls at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Van Buren has struggled recently with 12 losses in a row, while Madawaska will arrive with nine straight wins.

On Monday, Van Buren had to suffer through a 101-17 loss at the hands of Hodgdon. While losing is never fun, the Crusaders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Maine basketball rankings (they are ranked 130th, while the Hawks are ranked 24th).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Madawaska). They blew past East Grand 91-22 on Monday. The Owls have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matchups by 23 points or more this season.

Madawaska pushed their record up to 9-0 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. As for Van Buren, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-10.

Van Buren was dealt a bruising 71-37 loss at the hands of Madawaska when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Can Van Buren avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.