After over a month, university students all over the country are beginning to return to the court. BUCS Basketball is definitely one of the most exciting sports, with fixtures drawing impressive crowds. The quality is right up there and, if you find yourself at a loose end on a Wednesday afternoon, I implore you to check it out. The first round of fixtures following the Christmas break kept up this trend, with the most exciting summarised in this article. So, let Freshered round up all this week’s action from the court.
If you need a reminder of the action so far, or a recap of how the league works, check out this handy article first.
Men’s Premier North/South
The top tier of Mens’ BUCS Basketball is split into equal North and South leagues, with these divisions starting up again this week. It can definitely be said they did not disappoint, despite only three fixtures taking place.
The sole fixture in the Premier North this week took place between Worcester 1’s and Durham 1’s. For Durham, their performance on the court made the 445 mile round trip worth every minute. They ran out 86-69 winners, which sees them close the gap on leaders Newcastle to just three points. Moreover, it continues their impressive record of only two losses all season. The table does not make for such easy reading for the team from Worcester, however. It continues their torrid season, as they have yet to pick up a point, and are six points adrift at the foot of the table.
There were two fixtures in the Premier South this week, with both games proving to be high scoring affairs. Victory for Solent 1’s in their match against UWE 1’s saw them move to 18 points. It was a dominant victory against a team who they began the day level on points with, with their 110-61 win the second time they have reached triple digits this season. It’s tight at the top in the Premier South, with East London 1’s close 89-85 victory over Essex 1’s also seeing them move to 18 points. This means the top three in this league all sit on 18 points, with UWE only three points behind with a game in hand. All to play for at the business end of the season.
Women’s Midlands Tier 2
Three games took place in the two regional divisons of the third tier of Womens’ BUCS Basketball. This tier is split equally into A and B.
In Tier 2A, wins for local rivals Coventry 1’s and Warwick 1’s in their respective games sees them retain their positions in the top two, in that order. Coventry continued their 100% record after six games with a routine 75-44 victory over Wolverhampton 1’s. For Warwick, they ensured the gap between the two teams remained at three points with a dominant 73-34 win against second-bottom Nottingham 2’s, who have only won one game all season.
In Tier 2B, the dismal start to the season for De Montfort 1’s continued, with their loss against East Anglia 1’s stretching their losing streak to five games. The dominant nature of the 78-24 scoreline would not make you think this was actually East Anglia‘s first win of the season, with both teams sitting on zero points before the game. The victory moves East Anglia up to fourth, and could be key in condemning De Montfort to relegation.
Result of the Week
The first BUCS Basketball result of the week goes to a game in the Men’s Midlands Tier 2A that could not have been any closer. Away to Lincoln 1’s, East Anglia 1’s ran out winners by just one point, making the 101 mile trip home having earned victory by the barest of margins, with the score 63-62.