Basketball Game Preview: Anoka Tornadoes vs. Champlin Park Rebels

Anoka is 1-9 against Champlin Park since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Anoka Tornadoes will square off against the Champlin Park Rebels at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Anoka's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season.

While Anoka didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They came out on top against Eagan by a score of 63-53 on Saturday. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Tornadoes' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 40th, while the Wildcats are ranked eighth).

Meanwhile, Champlin Park entered their matchup against St. Michael-Albertville on Saturday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Champlin Park fell 63-50 to St. Michael-Albertville. The game marked the Rebels' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Anoka's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-1. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 81.0 points per game. As for Champlin Park, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 5-2.

Anoka couldn't quite finish off Champlin Park in their previous matchup back in February and fell 76-74. Can Anoka avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.