Basketball Game Preview: Bishop O'Connell Knights vs. Paul VI Panthers

Bishop O'Connell is 2-8 against Paul VI since December of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Bishop O'Connell Knights will host the Paul VI Panthers at 6:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Bishop O'Connell's upcoming game probably won't be as stressful as their last, when they took on another nationally ranked opponent: DeMatha, who was ranked 20th at the time (Bishop O'Connell was ranked 34th). Bishop O'Connell fell 67-58 to DeMatha on Tuesday.

Shane Lincoln

Field Goal Percentage

02/04/25 @ DeMatha	73%
02/02/25 @ Bishop Ireton	67%
01/28/25 @ St. John's	60%
01/25/25 @ Quincy	55%
01/24/25 vs Booker T. Washington	69%
+ 6 more games

Bishop O'Connell's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Shane Lincoln, who went 8 of 11 on his way to 17 points, and Makel Minor, who went 5 for 8 en route to 13 points. Lincoln is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 45% in the last 11 games he's played. Darius Bivins was another key player, putting up seven points in addition to six boards and five assists.

Meanwhile, Paul VI waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. Everything went their way against the Cardinals as they made off with a 78-56 win.

Paul VI pushed their record up to 19-5 with the victory, which was their 23rd straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 80.9 points over those games. As for Bishop O'Connell, their loss dropped their record down to 18-6.

Bishop O'Connell suffered a grim 65-44 defeat to Paul VI when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Will Bishop O'Connell have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.