Basketball Game Preview: Amarillo Sandies vs. Palo Duro Dons

Amarillo is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Palo Duro is on a nine-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Amarillo Sandies will host the Palo Duro Dons at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Amarillo has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Amarillo is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Lubbock-Cooper: they outscored them in every quarter. Amarillo strolled past Lubbock-Cooper with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 59-41. Given the Sandies' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 38th, while the Pirates are ranked 276th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Palo Duro greeted the New Year with with a 79-62 victory over Monterey.

Amarillo has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 16 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 20-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.4 points per game. As for Palo Duro, their win bumped their record up to 21-1.

Amarillo didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Palo Duro when the teams last played back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 53-47 victory. Does Amarillo have another victory up their sleeve, or will Palo Duro turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.