Lakeland and Loras have played before, but it's been a long time. The teams last met 47 years ago on Jan. 28, 1976, when the Duhawks defeated the Muskies 88-75 on their home court in Dubuque, Iowa. The teams last met in Wisconsin the year before, when Lakeland earned a 98-66 victory at the Sheboygan Armory Feb. 20, 1975, earning a split of a home-and-home between the teams that season. The schools first met Dec. 14, 1962, with the Muskies outlasting Loras 98-89.

Lakeland last time out: Lost at Ripon 87-79 Saturday
The Muskies returned to the court after final exams, playing for the first time in a week but falling to the Red Hawks on the road. Ripon shot 55.4% for the game and pulled away after a close opening 10 minutes, building a 42-29 halftime lead. The Red Hawks would lead by as much as 18 in the second half, stretching the marging back out after Lakeland had closed to within 57-49 midway through the second half. Asanjai Hunter scored 21 points and Kai Buliox added 16 points and six rebounds but the Muskies dropped to 2-3 in non-conference play so far this season.

Loras last time out: Defeated UW-Stout 100-75 last Tuesday
The Duhawks stayed hot with their fifth straight win, handling the Blue Devils at home in Dubuque. Loras shot 48.7% for the game and made 15 of 36 from three-point land in hitting the 100-point mark for the fifth time in eight games. Ten of those three-pointers came in the second half as the Duhawks finished the game on a 30-13 run after Stout had closed within 70-62 with less than eight minutes left in the game. Jack Haynes set career highs with 26 points and nine rebounds, and Ali Sabet added 24 points, including 22 in the second half. Tyler Bass and Jackson Molstead also added 19 points each.

About the Duhawks: Loras comes in with a 7-1 record overall and is 2-1 in the American Rivers Conference, long known as the Iowa Conference before a name change in 2018. The Duhawks have been one of the most explosive offensive teams in NCAA Division III so far, ranking third nationally with 96.1 points per game and second in the country averaging 15.5 three-pointers made per game. Loras also is No. 1 in the nation by a mile in free throw percentage, making 88.5% from the line, nearly six percentage points better than the next closest team, and ranks 9th in D-III in three-point field goal percentage (40.8%).

The Duhawks finished 17-11 overall last year and advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament. All five starters returned from that team, and Loras has made at least nine three-pointers in every game so far in 2023-24 and at least 14 triples in five of eight games, with a high of 22 against Martin Luther (Minn.) Dec. 2.