The North schools tip off at 12:45 p.m. in the West gym at Tonka which is the main gym.  This is a match-up of big school against small school, one of which is the defending state champion and the other is considered the most talented program at the Class A level…

The Panthers from northern Lakeville are off to a tough start losing closing games to Chaska and Wayzata to start their season.  They did crush a struggling Rochester Century program in the opener.  North will be in a tough spot this weekend because they play a heated rival Friday night (Lakeville South) and then the next afternoon they take on the Polars….

Minneapolis North is in a similar position as they take on St. Paul Central the night before.   North is 5-0 right now with three wins against out of state schools and crushing victories over Minneapolis Southwest and Fond du Lac Ojibwe…The Polars have four guys scoring in double figures each game led by Tyler Johnson (17.4 pg), Isaac Johnson (16.2), Jamil Jackson (12 pg), and JaQuan Sanders (10.6 pg)….

Connor Flack has a team high 16.7 points per game for the Panthers and four of his teammates are offering between seven and nine a game…Carter Brooks is the season leading Panther scorer….Patrick Dembley transferred to North but hasn’t played a game yet…

Connor Flack, Lakeville North vs Isaac Johnson, Mpls North 

Flack is the top Panther player, top Panther scorer, and the top Panther weapon.  Isaac Johnson is the very definition of “jack of all trades” because he can play every position on the floor plus he’s a long athlete who is a very willing defender.  If Isaac limits Flack the Panthers are in trouble.
 

Why Lakeville North will win:  This is the defending state champions who have an elite coach in John Oxton who gets the best out of his kids and they will play hard.  North is formulating a new group but there is a lot of talented guys within that group.

Why Minneapolis North will win:  They are simply more talented and more athletic.  As a group North is one of the five most talented teams in the state of Minnesota and their record reflects that.