As the Huron High School boys basketball team prepares to face Novi on Wednesday, a coach quite familiar with both teams thinks it’ll take “a huge upset” to keep the River Rats from winning their first regional title since 1989.

Bob Brugger and his Brighton team beat Novi, 55-46, in a Kensington Lakes Activities Association game on March 2. Six nights later, the Bulldogs lost to Huron, 55-37, in a first-round district game.

Huron (20-4) and Novi (18-6) play for a Class A regional championship at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hartland High School.

“In my opinion, Novi must keep Huron out of transition, limit their easy baskets after turnovers and not allow Huron to dominate the offensive glass,” Brugger replied to an email request to break down the teams.

“Everyone focuses on Huron's press, which is tremendous, but an overlooked part of Huron's dominance is their ability to rebound the basketball. They do an outstanding job of getting second-chance opportunities due to their athleticism.”

More: Class A Bracket | MLive.com's Boys Basketball Coverage

A potential complication to those challenges Novi faces against Huron is the health of its best player.

Samer Ozeir, a 6-foot-8 junior, left Monday’s regional semifinal win over Walled Lake Northern after suffering an injury in the second quarter and didn’t return. He leads the Wildcats in scoring (16.0), rebounds (9.5) and blocked shots (1.6).

Brugger said the higher-scoring the game is, the more it favors Huron.

“Novi must control the ball and the clock in order to pull a huge upset. That is what we tried to do, but there is so little margin for error when playing a team as athletic as Huron,” Brugger wrote. “I guess that's why I'm watching the games as opposed to coaching in them right now.”