NBL1 preview: 29/30 March 2025 - live streams, stats and more

The penultimate weekend of the D1M regular season is upon us.

Hemel can claim the D1M title if they beat Newcastle and Reading lose against Essex, as those two games plus five more make up this weekend's slate.

Storm could also lock up top spot with a pair of wins on the weekend, even if the Rockets are victorious on Sunday afternoon. 

We take a look at all the weekend's match-ups below, with links to live stats at the bottom of the page. 

Milton Keynes Breakers (13-8) vs Bradford Dragons (6-15)

Two teams with their attentions at opposite ends of the standings go head-to-head on Saturday as Milton Keynes host Bradford.

With Hemel and Reading looking set for the top two, and Derby back to winning ways in third, the battle for fourth is heating up.

Providing a home playoff game to start the post-season, a top-four spot is certainly valuable, and MK, Essex Rebels (13-9) and Loughborough Riders (12-9) all fancying their chances of securing the place.

The Breakers are in pole position at the moment, having lost one game less than their rivals, but tomorrow's hosts have to entertain Loughborough early next month, with the Rebels also travelling to Milton Keynes on the final day of the regular season.

That means dropping a game against the likes of Bradford is something Coach Beddow-Patel's side can ill afford, though the Dragons are scrapping for their D1M future right now.

Few D1M campaigns in recent memory have seen quite so many teams still in the mix for the bottom two with such little time left in the regular season.

Worthing and Bradford (12pts) occupy the bottom two as things stand, with Nottingham and London Cavaliers (14pts) just ahead. You need to go back to the 2021/22 season to find a closer gap between safety and relegation, when Essex and Leicester both finished on eight points and the Rebels survived via a tiebreaker between the two.

With games against MK, Hemel and then London Cavaliers to end the season, Bradford are going to need to spring an upset or two to keep themselves alive in the relegation scrap.

Justin Williams (20.6PPG, 3.3APG) remains in fine form, and his battle with MK's Jordan Spencer (13.8PPG, 6.0RPG, 9.7APG) is sure to be a good one.

Breakers' KJ Johnson (18.5PPG, 6.1APG) and Adrian Scarborough (17.9PPG, 10.9RPG) have both shone in their debut NBL campaigns, and that could be a problem for a Bradford side that has allowed a D1M second-highest 89.9PPG this season.

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Milton Keynes' Adrian Scarborough (Josh Nesden)

Elsewhere this weekend

The weekend begins with top-four chasing Loughborough Riders (12-9) trying to make sure that Bristol Hurricanes (9-13) don't enjoy a change in fortunes after losing six a row. The former D2 North winners will be hoping they can cling onto their playoff hopes with an overdue win though, especially after running leaders Hemel close last time out.

Nottingham Hoods (7-15) can give their survival chances a massive boost if they can find a way to beat London Cavaliers (7-13), who have slowly slipped down into the relegation battle after losing six on the bounce.

Hemel Storm's (18-3) quest to claim the D1M regular season crown can be realised this weekend, but doing so will involve beating Newcastle Knights (8-13) before seeing what Sunday's action holds.

The Knights won't be an easy scalp though, as the North East side can still make the playoffs with a few late-season victories.

Like Bradford, Worthing Thunder (6-16) have a difficult road game this weekend, heading to third place Derby Trailblazers (15-7).

Derby have been less than charitable opponents of late, winning six of their last seven, and that's unlikely to change regardless of Thunder's plight at the bottom.

Essex Rebels (13-9) take D1M's best defence (78.2PPG allowed) on the road in one of Sunday's two games, going to Reading Rockets (17-5), who need to win to keep the D1M title race alive.

Even if they do, Hemel can still wrap up top spot with a win on the road against London Cavaliers in the day's other game, taking the equation out of Reading's hands entirely.

This weekend's fixtures:

Saturday 22 March

5pm - Milton Keynes Breakers vs Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS / TICKETS

6pm - Loughborough Riders vs Bristol Hurricanes - LIVE STATS / TICKETS / LIVE STREAM

6:30pm - Nottingham Hoods vs London Cavaliers - LIVE STATS / TICKETS / LIVE STREAM

7pm - Hemel Storm vs Newcastle Knights - LIVE STATS / TICKETS / LIVE STREAM

7:30pm - Derby Trailblazers vs Worthing Thunder - LIVE STATS / TICKETS

Sunday 23 March

4pm - Reading Rockets vs Essex Rebels - LIVE STATS / TICKETS

5pm - London Cavaliers vs Hemel Storm - LIVE STATS / TICKETS

Live stream details will be added as they become available

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Main image credit - Josh Nesden