Basketball Game Preview: Valparaiso Vikings vs. Munster Mustangs

Valparaiso has gone 8-0 against Munster recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Valparaiso Vikings will head out on the road to square off against the Munster Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. Valparaiso will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.

Valparaiso will bounce into Thursday's game after beating Lake Central, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Valparaiso snuck past Lake Central with a 47-43 win on Friday.

Lillian Barnes was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 25 points and 11 rebounds. Her evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Chyanne Brown was another key player, putting up six points and three steals.

Valparaiso smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in ten consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Munster's strategy against Highland on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Munster blew Highland out of the water with a 68-31 final score. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 23 points or more this season.

Munster pushed their record up to 14-8 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.6 points per game. As for Valparaiso, they have been performing well recently as they've won 12 of their last 15 games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-7 record this season.

Everything went Valparaiso's way against Munster in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, as Valparaiso made off with a 62-38 win. Will Valparaiso repeat their success, or does Munster have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.