Six D1M games are sprinkled across the next two days, with four contests tomorrow and a pair of match ups on Sunday.
Next weekend's NBL National Cup finalists will also be confirmed, with a pair of semi-finals also taking place on Sunday night as Newcastle face Hemel and Derby entertain Reading.
We take a look at all the weekend's action below, with links to live stats at the bottom of the page.
New signing Kyle Jimenez will face a visit from Milton Keynes in his return to D1M action with Derby Trailblazers on Sunday.
The former Loughborough and Nottingham Hoods man signed from SLB's Caledonia Gladiators to replace Chris Harris, whose short-term stay to cover injuries has ended.
With Saturday's National Cup semi-final against Reading providing Jimenez with his debut for DTB, his first league bow will come on Sunday as part of a double-header for both teams, with MK also playing twice this weekend.
Sat at 8-3 and four points off leaders Hemel, Derby picked up one of their three losses this season in Milton Keynes as the Breakers won 75-67 back in early December.
That leaves this return leg evenly poised, with the Trailblazers enjoying home court advantage plus a better league record, but MK already having a leg up on Sunday's hosts in the season series.
Derby's Leighton Elliott-Sewell (23.4PPG) is D1M's top scorer right now, though his availability will be closely monitored after he missed Derby's final game of 2024 against Nottingham Hoods.
Malcolm Smith (15.0PPG), Jonas Dieterich (15.4PPG) and Raheem May-Thompson (13.1PPG) will be poised to fill the void on offence if Elliott-Sewell can't suit up, though it would be a blow for D1M's #2 ranked offence (90.2PPG) if he can't go.
MK split their first 10 games in D1M after promotion a year ago and will look to push on in the second half of the season. Currently tied for the eighth and final playoff spot, their 87.9PPG is still good for third most per game and provides the visitors with the firepower needed to compete at this level.
K.J. Johnson (19.0PPG), Adrian Scarborough (16.6PPG, 10.8RPG) and Nate Robinson (15.9PPG) can all contribute in that department, setting the stage for what is sure to be a quality D1M match up.
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The weekend begins with a clash between Bristol Hurricanes (6-5) and Essex Rebels (6-5), two teams with identical records looking for a leg up in D1M's competitive midtable mix.
Milton Keynes begin their double-header weekend by hosting London Cavaliers (6-5), another team on 12 points in need of a boost to firm-up their playoff aspirations.
Loughborough Riders (8-3) are the latest team to try and keep bottom side Bradford Dragons (0-10) out of the win column. The Dragons suffered a torrid 2024 and will no doubt be hoping for better form now the calendar flipped, but that's far from a given against the top four Riders on their own patch.
The only other league game on Saturday sees City of Birmingham Rockets (5-7) heading to Nottingham Hoods (2-9).
Without a win in their last seven, Nottingham desperately need to pick up points if they're to pull themselves out of the relegation mix, whilst Birmingham still have playoff aspirations to fulfil.
Aside from Derby MK mentioned above, Sunday's only other game sees Reading Rockets (9-3) taking on Newcastle Knights (4-6).
With leaders Hemel out of action, Reading can draw level at the top if they can secure a positive result to close the weekend. That's sure to provide plenty of motivation against the North East outfit, who are scrapping to get into the playoff places.
Four teams remain in the National Cup and all four have featured in the last three finals - with just one emerging victorious.
Hemel Storm won the National Cup back in 2023. However, this season, they must get past Newcastle Knights, who lost in the 2022 final and will be eager to return to Manchester.
Mark Elderkin’s side reached the final four with a 103-89 success over the Bradford Dragons. The Knights needed a game-changing 27-11 fourth quarter to create breathing space, with 30 points from Hafeez Abdul leading the way.
Hemel dethroned last season’s Cup winners, Milton Keynes Breakers, 73-70 in the quarter-finals. Matt Ellis led the Storm with 22 points and the game-sealing basket with 23 seconds left to secure their passage to the semis.
The other semi will see the finalists from 2023, Derby Trailblazers, host last season’s beaten finalists Reading Rockets in the East Midlands.
It’s the second last-four match-up between these two sides this season after they served up an entertaining, feisty KitKing Trophy battle in November, which the Rockets won 85-78 at Loddon Valley.
2pm - Bristol Hurricanes vs Essex Rebels - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
5pm - Milton Keynes Breakers vs London Cavaliers - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
6pm - Loughborough Riders vs Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS / TICKETS / LIVE STREAM
7pm - Nottingham Hoods vs City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
7pm - Hemel Storm vs Newcastle Knights - LIVE STATS / TICKETS / LIVE STREAM
7:30pm - Derby Trailblazers vs Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
4pm - Reading Rockets vs Newcastle Knights - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
4pm - Derby Trailblazers vs Milton Keynes Breakers - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
Live stream details will be added as they become available
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Main image credit - Josh Nesden
