Basketball Game Preview: Princeton Tigers vs. Monticello Magic

vs

Previous Games

02/06/24 - Home	63-87 L
01/05/24 - Away	60-77 L
02/10/23 - Home	77-53 W
01/12/23 - Away	94-56 W
02/08/22 - Home	93-70 W
+ 5 more games

Princeton is 8-2 against Monticello since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Princeton Tigers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Monticello Magic at 7:00 p.m. Princeton knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 11 contests -- so hopefully Monticello likes a good challenge.

Princeton might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 80-63 to Hibbing, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.

While Monticello didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past Hermantown 72-36 on Saturday. The Magic have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 20 points or more this season.

Princeton better keep an eye on Jackson Soroko. He was instrumental in Monticello's win, dropping a double-double on 19 points and 13 boards. The dominant performance also gave Soroko a new career-high in blocks (four). Brayden Dollard was another key player, going 9 of 17 on his way to 19 points.

Monticello smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.

Monticello has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.8 points per game. As for Princeton, they now have a losing record at 5-6.

Princeton suffered a grim 87-63 defeat to Monticello in their previous matchup back in February. Can Princeton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.