Basketball Game Preview: Booker Tornadoes vs. Palmetto Tigers

The Booker Tornadoes will venture away from home to face off against the Palmetto Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Booker's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last four matches.

Booker is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Port Charlotte just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell to the Pirates 60-56. While losing is never fun, the Tornadoes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 323rd, while the Pirates are ranked 98th).

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Palmetto over Lakewood Ranch in every quarter on their way to victory on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Palmetto blew Lakewood Ranch out of the water with an 83-53 final score. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 23 points or more this season.

Palmetto's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-6. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.3 points per game. As for Booker, they now have a losing record at 11-12.

Booker was able to grind out a solid win over Palmetto when the teams last played back in February of 2024, winning 52-41. The rematch might be a little tougher for Booker since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.