Basketball Game Preview: Zimmerman Thunder vs. Big Lake Hornets

Zimmerman is 1-9 against Big Lake since December of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Zimmerman Thunder will take on the Big Lake Hornets in a holiday battle at at 7:15 p.m. Zimmerman knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past seven matchups -- so hopefully Big Lake likes a good challenge.

While Zimmerman didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-22), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They breezed by St. Francis to the tune of 86-53 on Tuesday. The Thunder have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 24 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Big Lake hadn't done well against Princeton recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Big Lake walked away with a 90-77 win over Princeton. The Hornets' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

Zimmerman pushed their record up to 5-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 78.3 points per game. As for Big Lake, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 2-2.

Zimmerman didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Big Lake when the teams last played back in February, but they still walked away with a 64-60 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Zimmerman since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.