The series between Lakeland and Lawrence dates all the way back to 1934, the Muskies' second year of intercollegiate basketball. The teams met regularly in those early years but have played much more sporadically in recent years. The teams did meet in both 2018 and 2019, including the Vikings winning the most recent matchup with a 92-73 victory at home in Appleton Nov. 20, 2019. Lakeland's last win over Lawrence came the year before with an 88-81 victory at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium in the season opener Nov. 15, 2018. Among the teams' previous meetings was one in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Division III Tournament, where Lawrence coasted to an 86-51 win in the Muskies' lone D-III tourney appearance.

Lakeland last time out: Defeated Aurora 94-92 in OT Saturday
The Muskies led almost the entire game until late in regulation, but then had to fight back in overtime to win for the second time in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play. Lakeland led by as much as 12 in regulation and never trailed until Aurora took its first lead of the game with 51 seconds left in regulation. The Muskies tied to force overtime, but were down three with 2 1/2 minutes left before scoring seven straight points to go ahead. Lakeland finished the game off making seven straight free throws over the final 1:46. Cam Jaeger scored 20 points to lead Lakeland, which shot 45.6% from the field and made 25 of 31 free throws (80.6%).

Lawrence last time out: Lost to UW-Eau Claire 103-96 in OT Tuesday
The Vikings also went into overtime in their most recent game and just missed a major victory as the Blugolds of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rallied to spoil Lawrence's upset bid. Brad Sendell scored a career-high 35 points for the Vikings and hit a three-pointer with one second left in regulation to force overtime, but UWEC outscored Lawrence 18-11 in the extra session. The Vikings shot 65.5% in the first half and built a 50-37 halftime lead, but Eau Claire came back and led by nine before the Vikings went on a 14-5 run over the final 1:25 to tie the game. Lawrence finished shooting 55.9% for the game and had five score in double figures including Sendell, who made 14 of 23 shots and also added six rebounds and five assists.

About the Vikings: Lawrence is 4-5 overall and has already lost twice to Lakeland NACC rivals, falling to Marian and St. Norbert in its first two games of the season. The Vikings had won two straight before falling to UW-Eau Claire and also just missed an upset of UW-Oshkosh a month earlier, falling by six to the Titans who are currently ranked fifth in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Coaches Poll. Lawrence is coached by Casey Korn, a former UW-Oshkosh assistant in his first year with the Vikings, members of the Midwest Conference who saw their season canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawrence finished 11-14 in both of its two most recent full seasons, and though frequently competitive the Vikings haven't finished above .500 since 2013-14.

Kai coming on: After playing just sparingly for Lakeland in its spring 2020-21 season and even in the first four games this season, Kai Buliox has played his way into a much bigger role. The sophomore has started four of the last five games and averaged 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while seeing his minutes go from 6.3 minutes in the first four games to 25.6 over the last five games. Buliox played 42 minutes in all against Aurora and scored 12 points and added a career-high nine rebounds.