MK Lions and Worcester Wolves meet for the second time this season at MK Basketball Centre, with BBL Championship points on offer.
The Lions handed out a 99-82 drubbing to the Wolves in front of the Sky TV cameras in late November, in what was one of only two Championship losses for the Worcester side prior to the Christmas break.
The teams go into the game on the back of contrasting weekends prior to Christmas. While Lions were suffering an 85-66 loss at One Health Sharks Sheffield, Worcester defeated Newcastle Eagles 94-86 on the road and also defeated Glasgow Rocks 87-65 at home.
Point guard Stefan Gill has a good idea what Lions need to do to seal their second win of the season against the Wolves.
He said: “We need to make sure we’re all on the same page because when we play well together we’re tough to beat, we’re back home again and it’s the best kind of game we could have had after a loss like Sheffield – we’re familiar with the opposition and at home.
“[Sherrad] Prezzie-Blue basically has to play all 40 minutes for them, he’s an important for them to get into their sets. We have to focus on Tommy Freeman and Richie Gordon as they put up big numbers against us.”
After ending Newcastle Eagles’ unbeaten start to the Championship campaign, Wolves went into the festive period in second place in the table with an 8-2 while Lions continue to struggle for consistency and are seventh in the table with a 4-5 record.
Wolves coach Paul James expects another tough test at the Lions’ den: “MK are a high energy team and Mike has done a good job with them this season. Demarius Bolds is their heartbeat and scores for fun. We need to be disciplined and try and play our game.”
It will be Wolves’ second game in three days, but James is happy to have two games over the Christmas break: “I’m ok with having these two games over Christmas. These are our last two games before a short break so we will be giving it everything we have.”
