Basketball Game Preview: Mandan Braves vs. Minot Magicians

The Mandan Braves will take on the Minot Magicians at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Mandan knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 24 matches -- so hopefully Minot likes a good challenge.

Mandan is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of North Dakota's top teams: Dickinson, who was ranked 23rd at the time (Mandan was ranked 16th). Mandan walked away with a 94-83 win over Dickinson on Friday. 94 seems to be a good number for the Braves as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.

Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Minot against Watford City on Thursday as the team secured a 99-31 win. The Magicians have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 15 games by 23 points or more this season.

Minot pushed their record up to 22-11 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 39.8 points. As for Mandan, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-7 record this season.

Mandan beat Minot 76-63 in their previous matchup two weeks ago. Will Mandan repeat their success, or does Minot have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.