Series history: 17th meeting, Lakeland leads 14-2
The Muskies have won 12 straight games over Finlandia, two of them coming earlier this calendar year as the teams met twice in a span of eight days in non-conference matchups in the 2020-21 season abbreviated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lakeland rolled to a 101-66 win at home Feb. 16, then traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and routed the Lions 108-72 Feb. 23 in Hancock, Mich. The series between the Muskies and Lions dates back to Jan. 27, 2001, when Lakeland edged Finlandia 55-54 at home in the first meeting, and the teams have met almost every season-12 of the last 13 years-since 2008-09. The Lions' last win in the series was a 77-57 victory at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium on Nov. 24, 2009.

Lakeland last time out: Won at Martin Luther (Minn.) 79-73 Saturday
The Muskies pulled through late, scoring the final eight points for their first win of the season and coming one day after a four-point loss at Crown (Minn.) to open the season. Greg Barber came off the bench for career highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds, keying a 48-39 rebounding advantage that came in handy as Lakeland shot just 34.2% (26 of 76) from the field. Cam Jaeger scored 21 points and Tylan Huff added 17, and the Muskies also took advantage of 17 turnovers by the Knights in a game where neither team led by more than seven the entire way.

About the Muskies: Lakeland comes into this season with a number of the same players who were part of a 7-8 record in the team's 2020-21 spring season. The Muskies were 4-6 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play and lost in the first round of the NACC North Division Tournament to end an up-and-down campaign that included three games scoring over 100 points but also four losses by 24 points or more. Four starters return from last season, including honorable mention all-NACC selection Cam Jaeger, and head coach Sam Schroeder is in his fifth year leading the Muskies program. Lakeland was picked eighth of 13 teams in the NACC's preseason poll of league coaches and sports information directors.

Finlandia last time out: Lost to UW-River Falls 83-60 Saturday
The Lions dropped their second straight game to finish fourth of four teams at the Merrill Thompson Classic hosted by UW-Superior this past weekend. Finlandia trailed just 29-26 late in the first half of the tourney's consolation game when the Falcons scored 13 straight points to take control. B.J. Williams came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points in 18 minutes, including four three-pointers, but the Lions shot just 32.8% from the field and were outrebounded 53-38. Finlandia also lost to host UW-Superior 97-52 in its tourney opener on Friday.

About the Lions: Finlandia comes down from Copper Country in the U.P. of Michigan for the second time in eight months. The Lions finished 1-10 in the spring 2020-21 season, with their lone win over Gogebic Community College. Finlandia competes as an independent in NCAA Division III and is led by second-year coach Allen Dehority. Four starters return from last year's team, though the Lions lost their lone double-digit scorer in leading scorer Dylan Underwood, who scored 15.8 points per game this spring.