Friday 22 March 2013 – Sheffield Sharks vs Worcester Wolves

Worcester Wolves will play the first of games on consecutive nights when they travel to the English Institute of Sport on Friday evening (tip off 7.30pm) to meet Sheffield Sharks.

The Sharks go into the match-up in the midst of a hot streak of form, having won nine of their last twelve games and having beaten Plymouth Raiders on Wednesday to move up to seventh place in the BBL Championship. Meanwhile Wolves start a run of five games in just eleven days, with a 17-9 record and looking to seal a place in the top four.

Wolves have been winners in both of the previous meetings this season, comfortably defeating their opponents 82-66 in October, before shading a tight game 71-68 the following month.

Sharks’ forward Andrew Bridge is ready for a difficult match-up on Friday evening: “I’ve not seen Wolves for a while, but they’ve been playing really well. They beat Leicester in the Trophy but lost overall in the tie, but I think they’ve pretty much won every game for a while other than that and can attack from a lot of different areas. Add the fact that they’re well coached by Paul James, so they won’t panic or feel in a bad situation. We’ve played them pretty well in both away games so hopefully we can give them a good game.”

Worcester coach Paul James expects a tough game in Sheffield: “The Sharks have a talented team and although they have been a little stop-start this season in the championship, they did a very good job in winning the BBL Trophy final against Leicester. I think they are a well-rounded team with a mixture of youth and experience. BJ Holmes has made a big difference since he arrived and Mike Tuck has had some really big games too.”

James isn’t reading anything into his side’s two wins against the Sharks earlier in the season: “The last time we played them was way back in November and they have changed considerably since then, so all I know is what I have seen recently on TV.”