As was the case last time out, five D1M games fill the next two days, with a fourth-plays-fifth contest as Loughborough travel to Essex Rebels.
Three of the four NBL National Cup quarter-finals are already in the books, just leaving the clash between Reading Rockets and Team Solent Kestrels tomorrow afternoon to confirm the competition's final four.
And there's also one remaining SLB Cup match up on the cards, with Hemel Storm trying to become the only NBL side to avoid defeat as in the opening round as they host Manchester. A preview of that game is available here.
We take a look at all the weekend's action below, with links to live stats at the bottom of the page.
Two teams with a chance to make a late push towards the summit of D1M meet tomorrow as Loughborough head to Essex Rebels.
The Riders currently sit inside the top four, tied with Derby and Reading for second place on 14 points. The Rebels are right behind, trailing by just two points and safe in the knowledge that a win tomorrow would get them right into the mix behind leaders Hemel.
Equally, neither side will want to lose ground tomorrow, with just six points separating second place and dropping out of the playoffs entirely into 10th spot.
Essex were carried to a 102-86 victory over Bristol last time out by a Player of the Week performance by shooter Connor Nelson. The Essex standout dropped 34 points that included 7/9 from beyond the arc and he'd love to keep that momentum rolling right into 2025.
Loughborough weren't short of their own Player of the Week candidates in their victory over London Cavaliers, with Justin Hedley (32pts) making the Team of the Week, while Michael Joiner (22pts, 11reb) and Edward Onyia (19pts, 8reb) were both in with a shout of making the cut.
That means there's plenty of good form to be found across these two rosters and, with Essex winning five of their last six and Loughborough taking six of their last seven, these are two of the hottest teams in the league right now.
Despite their successes, both these offences sit in the bottom half of the league for points scored per game, with Loughborough's 81.2PPG narrowly pipped the Rebels' 79.6PPG.
Where these teams do excel is on the defensive end however, with Essex allowing just 77.1PPG and Loughborough shipping 77.8PPG. Both marks are top three in D1M, suggesting tomorrow's clash is unlikely to be free scoring regardless of who comes out on top.
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Saturday's action begins in Milton Keynes as the Breakers (4-4) try to claw their way back into the playoff places as they look to heap further disappointment on Worthing Thunder (2-8), who are still tied with Nottingham for the second potential relegation spot after a less than ideal first half to the season.
Bristol Hurricanes (5-5) will be hoping a home match-up with winless Bradford Dragons (0-9) is enough to lift their spirits and put an end to their brief two game losing streak.
The day's only other game is an all-Midlands affair as another struggler, Nottingham Hoods (2-8), will try to get one over on local rivals Derby Trailblazers (7-3).
With less than 30 minutes drive between the two, bragging rights will be on the line for this one as both teams try and help themselves at opposite ends of the table.
Sunday contains just the one game, with high-flying Reading Rockets (7-3) trying to end the year hot on the trail of leaders Hemel. They'll hope to do just that by knocking off City of Birmingham Rockets (5-6), who started the season 3-0 before cooling off over the last few months.
There's one last quarter-final of the NBL National Cup to settle this weekend as 2021/22 winners Team Solent Kestrels take on 2013/14 champs Reading Rockets.
The Kestrels currently reside outside of the top flight in NBL Division Two South, but with a 9-1 record, they have plenty of quality at their disposal and the momentum to back it up.
That means Reading will need to be at their best if they're to join Hemel, Newcastle and Derby in the semi-finals, with the winner of this tie earning a road trip to take on the Trailblazers in the New Year.
The game will be live on the Basketball England YouTube channel, with the action getting underway from 4pm tomorrow afternoon.
5pm - Milton Keynes Breakers vs Worthing Thunder - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
5:30pm - Bristol Hurricanes vs Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
6:30pm - Nottingham Hoods vs Derby Trailblazers - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
6:30pm - Essex Rebels vs Loughborough Riders - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
7pm - Hemel Storm vs Manchester - LIVE STATS / TICKETS
4pm - Reading Rockets vs Team Solent Kestrels - LIVE STATS / TICKETS / LIVE STREAM
4:00pm - Reading Rockets v City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STATS / TICKETS / LIVE STREAM
Live stream details will be added as they become available.
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Main image credit - Nathan Green
