Basketball Game Preview: Nicolet Knights vs. Homestead Highlanders

The Nicolet Knights will head out to square off against the Homestead Highlanders at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Nicolet knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 23 contests -- so hopefully Homestead likes a good challenge.

Last Saturday, Nicolet earned a 78-66 win over Milwaukee King. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Wisconsin basketball rankings (they are ranked 16th, while the Generals are ranked 144th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Homestead waltzed into their matchup on Friday with eight straight wins... but they left with nine. They were the clear victor by an 86-66 margin over the Black Hawks.

Homestead's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 79.4 points over those games. As for Nicolet, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season.

Nicolet didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Homestead in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 76-72 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Nicolet since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.