The Caledonia Gladiators will be looking to make it five wins on the bounce when they visit the Leicester Riders in the British Basketball League this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Leicester Riders will be aiming to snap a three-game winless streak.
If victorious, Caledonia will cement their place in the top four, while Leicester will in the Playoff spots.
Streaks will be snapped
The Gladiators are the League’s most in-form team, having won four consecutive matches.
Last week they overcame the Manchester Giants in a close encounter at home and the previous week they managed to take down table-toppers London Lions.
The Scots know that with a win they will move up to second place, if the Cheshire Phoenix lose to the Lions.
The Riders, on the other hand, have lost three games in a row but all three were against the League’s top two teams (Lions and Phoenix).
And now they’re set to face the third-placed Gladiators, completing a tough four-game stretch for the hosts.
With just two wins separating them from the ninth-placed Giants, Leicester know the importance of this game, as they can’t afford to drop out of the Playoff spots.
Little separating them on paper
The two sides have little separating them on paper, even if the League standings depict otherwise.
This was evident in their only previous meeting this season when, in Gameweek 7, Caledonia came out victorious by the slimmest of margins, 84-83.
The two teams sit third and fifth respectively for most points on average, with Leicester averaging 88.2 and Caledonia 84.2.
Their three-point shooting percentage is nearly identical with 37.6% and 37.7% respectively.
What could prove to be the difference is the plurality in scoring that the Gladiators possess.
The Scots can find points from Patrick Whelan and Ian Dubose who average 15.1 and 14.7 points per game respectively.
On the other hand, the Riders’ top scorer so far is Jaren Holmes with 13.6 on average.
With the last game so close and little to separate them statistically, this could be another close encounter.
To watch this game of the 2023/24 British Basketball League season, tune in to Sky Sports on Friday, December 15 at 7:45pm GMT.
With the new season here, you can still get your British Basketball fix by following the League on social media or heading to our YouTube channel to relive all of the best moments from the current season.
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