The Leicester Riders take on the Worcester Wolves in the BBL Championship on Friday evening in front of the Sky Sports cameras in the first meeting between the two sides this season.
Season So Far – Riders
A win on the road over the Giants leaves the Riders top the BBL Championship table, sitting with a 13-1 record and six points clear. Riders are enjoying a ten-game winning streak in the BBL Championship. Suffocating defence has been the key to the Riders momentum, they currently hold the second best defensive record in the league allowing teams just 75.9 points per game.
Season so far – Wolves
The Wolves get set for the Riders looking to shrug off two tough losses to the Cheshire Phoenix and Plymouth Raiders. Currently sitting with a record of 5-8 the Wolves are still searching for consistency in the BBL Championship. Jordan Williams had an impressive performance in the Wolves’ last game, charting a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Worcester will hope this play will continue and spread throughout the team as they face the challenge of a home and away double-header.
Ones to watch
Shooting Guard Corey Johnson poured in 24 points for the Riders to take the win in their last game, beating the Giants 77-91. Shooting the 3 at a 39% clip, while attempting 6.8 per game, makes Johnson a threat to explode at any moment. He showed this in his last performance, leading the Riders on a 13-3 run after the half, putting up 7 points in only two and a half minutes. Johnson’s sniping from deep dates to his college career. He spent four years at Harvard, averaging 7.2 points per game, putting up 9.8 points per game as a freshman. Johnson’s high volume but efficient 3 ball, 38% on 5.2 attempts per game, being the weapon of choice he continues to utilise now for the Riders. Standing at 6’5” at the guard position, Johnson’s size and length make him an asset on both sides of the floor.
Worcester Wolves Guard Brandon Anderson has been a key piece to Coach Newby’s team since his arrival. Spending four years playing NCAA Division 1 basketball for Ivy League Brown University, Anderson averaged 12.9 points per game, hitting over 17 points per game in both the 2017-18 and 2019-20 season. In his final year at Harvard, he led his team in points, steals and minutes, averaging 17.7 points, 3.0 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. In the 6’1” guard’s debut season with the Wolves he is averaging 15 points per game on 24.2 minutes per game, starting three of nine times. Anderson’s is shooting the ball well to scoring at an impressive 49% rate from beyond the arc while averaging 3.9 attempts per game. Anderson will look to continue his impressive start to life in the BBL on Friday night.
Previous meeting
This Friday sees the first time the Riders and Wolves have met this season. The two sides have not taken the court together in over a year, the last time being on the 17th of January 2020. The game was a tight contest, finishing with a Riders win with a score of 91-87 as they fought off a late game Wolves resurgence.
How to watch
Although the game will be played behind closed doors, this match will be shown live on Sky Sports at 7:00pm on channels Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports Arena.
Riders fans will also be able to tune in via BBL Player by purchasing a one game pass for just £4.99. Riders Season Ticket Holders will be able to watch the game free of charge by logging into their BBL Player account.
