Basketball Game Preview: Syracuse Rockets vs. Johnson County Central Thunderbirds

The Syracuse Rockets will square off against the Johnson County Central Thunderbirds at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.

Syracuse will bounce into Thursday's matchup after beating Fort Calhoun, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Rockets blew past the Pioneers 67-44 on Saturday. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Rockets just coasted through the last quarter.

Nate Wemhoff was nothing short of spectacular: he went 7-for-9 on his way to 17 points and seven boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jake Janssen, who posted 11 points.

Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for Johnson County Central on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Southern out of the water with a 62-35 final score. The Thunderbirds have beaten the Raiders the last six times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Raiders has come to flipping the script.

The victory got Johnson County Central back to even at 1-1. As for Syracuse, their win bumped their record up to 2-0.

Syracuse skirted past Johnson County Central 62-60 in their previous meeting back in December of 2024. Will the Rockets repeat their success, or do the Thunderbirds have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.