v Worthing - 19 February, 7.30pm tip off at Coventry Sports Centre

v Plymouth - 20 February, 4pm tip off at Plymouth Pavilion

The Bupa Crusaders will have their hands full this weekend as they face Worthing and Plymouth in back to back games.

Both teams are in the top four of the league standings, and the Crusaders could push themselves into that position if they were to win both games. Each game result really is crucial from now until the end of the season, and Crusaders would like to have four more points by Sunday night.

Worthing come to Coventry with what one National Division One coach has described as "the best starting five (players) in the league".

Paul Mundy-Castle is a point guard with lightning speed and is known as the fastest point guard in Division One. He steals the ball on average twice a game, has 52% shooting accuracy and leads the league in assists.

Jamal Palmer, who is a 6’9" forward / centre is listed in the National League statistics as leading all players in rebounds and blocked shots, and with a high level of assists and steals each game and with 60.6% shooting accuracy from the field.

The player everyone is talking about, however is Sean Hampton. Hampton is a first year player in Division One, and has the capability of playing in the Premier League. He leads the league in scoring with an average of 36 points scored each game, is 2^nd in the league in three point shooting accuracy with 53.3%, and has an average of 56.5% from the field with 10 rebounds per game. He is said to be the best all-round player in the league.

Crusaders managed to hold Cardiff Clippers main scoring threat to 18 points last week with the great defensive work of Matt Donaldson, and they plan to use Pierre Bonneau’s defending skills to hold Hampton to a containable number. There is no stopping a player of his capability, but with good defence, you can certainly slow him down.

Crusaders aim is to control the pace of the game, to get the ball into Derrick Pope and Matt Donaldson, because that is where their main offensive threat comes from. With Worthing having such a great starting five, Crusaders hope is to wear them down by bringing fresh players in continually from their very talented bench. It is much like the pit bulls vs the greyhounds, and the Crusaders want to make sure they keep the pace of the game the way they like it. Home court will definitely give the home team an advantage and should aid to their confidence. Winning breeds confidence and the Crusaders won here last week.

On Sunday, the Bupa Crusaders will be travelling south to face Plymouth Raiders who have struggled in the past couple of weeks to win a game. Plymouth play to capacity packed crowds of 1,500 people in the Pavilion, a mini-arena and the atmosphere there is always electric. Crusaders' recent history with the Raiders has gone all the Raiders way, with them winning each game over the past two seasons.

Two of the Raiders key players are Michael Schantz and Ray Blackwell. Both of these players are top scorers in the league with an average of 27 points and 19 points respectively. Schantz’s shooting accuracy is 60.6% and he averages 10 rebounds per game. Blackwell, on the other hand, is 4^th in the league for assists, and he shoots 39.5% from the three point line. It will be important to contain the two of them in order for the Bupa Crusaders to come home with another two points.

Plymouth have won the league championship and the cup final in the past, so they are a hard-nosed, blue collar team who are tough to beat. Their style of play is more suited to the Crusaders than other teams they come up against, and a win would be a big motivation for the Crusaders facing the rest of the season. A win against the Raiders would help them turn the corner and be just what is needed into the run up to the play offs.