First playing in 1935 and consistent rivals since 1977, the Muskies and Raiders play for the second time this season. Milwaukee School of Engineering won the teams' meeting in the regular season, pulling away late for a 100-75 victory at Lakeland on Feb. 4 as Mason Dopirak scored 34 points and added nine rebounds. MSOE has won the last three times the teams have played, while Lakeland's last win in the series came Jan. 31, 2023 at home with a 74-73 win Jan. 31, 2023. The teams have met once before in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament, with MSOE edging Lakeland 79-76 in the 2020 tourney quarterfinals. The series dates back to 1935, and Lakeland won 26 straight over the Raiders from 1939-87, a stretch that included an absence in the series from 1940-77.

Lakeland last time out: Defeated Concordia Chicago 92-78
The Muskies shot 69% in the second half and overcame a 16-point first half deficit with ease in defeating the Cougars in their regular season finale. Lakeland trailed 22-6 after the game's first 10 minutes, but then outscored Concordia 63-29 over the next 20 minutes to tie CUC in the final NACC standings, and after a tiebreaker the Muskies claimed the eighth and final spot in the NACC Tournament. Asanjai Hunter scored 29 points, Peyton Mrotek totaled 25 and Jaxson Dillon added 16 points on the Muskies' Senior Day.

MSOE last time out: Defeated Aurora 84-68 Saturday
The Raiders closed the regular season with a bang, avenging a 40-point loss to the Spartans a month earlier and winning their ninth straight game to wrap up a tie for the NACC regular season crown and the top seed in the conference tournament. One of the best shooting teams in NCAA Division III at over 50% for the season, MSOE shot 54.2% against Aurora, including 67% in the second half to win a share of the NACC regular season title for the second time, and the first time since the 2018-19 season. Mason Dopirak scored 29 points and led four Raiders scoring in double figures.

Recapping the first meeting: The Muskies never led in the teams' first meeting 20 days ago, though Lakeland did cut a 16-point deficit down to four points early in the second half. MSOE slowly pulled away over the final 12 minutes and then closed the game on a 22-7 run for the game's final margin. Dillon and Mrotek both scored 21 points each for the Muskies, who shot 37.3% and made 12 of 40 from three-point range. The Raiders shot 59.0% for the game and finished with a big 46-25 rebounding advantage.