Basketball: Leicester Riders bidding for eight in a row against Sharks
Recent history favours Leicester Riders ahead of their BBL Cup semi-final second-leg clash with Sheffield Sharks, at the John Sandford Centre, on Saturday.
The Jelson Homes DMU-sponsored Riders will be taking a 20-point advantage into the game, after winning 90-70 in Yorkshire last Friday.
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The BBL play-off quarter-final between Riders and Sharks at John Sandford, in April, 2009, was a real nail-biting affair, with Bradd Wierzbicki, left, scoring a basket on the buzzer to give the home side
In addition, they can take added confidence from the fact they have won the last seven fixtures between the clubs.
But that recent record is in sharp contrast to their overall history, which Sharks have dominated, winning 62 of 87 games played.
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Sharks have won the Cup no less than six times, most recently in 2010 and last year, while Riders have managed it just once, in the 2001 season.
Recent knock-out matches, though, have gone Riders' way.
They won both legs of last season's play-off quarter-finals, including a record score in their favour of 90-65 in the home leg, courtesy of a stunning performance by Cameron Rundles.
In 2009, it was Sharks who were again the victims in Riders' sensational last-second victory in the play-off quarter-final, courtesy of a Bradd Wierzbicki bomb on the buzzer.
The last time these two clubs met in a Cup semi-final, in the 2008-09 season, Sharks won both legs and went on to lift the Cup. But History will count for little, according to Riders coach Rob Paternostro.
"The history really does not matter, it is very much about what these teams bring to each game," he said.
"Yes, Sharks have a lot of experience in their team, particularly with guys like Mike Tuck, Olu Babalola and Andrew Bridge, who know how to win big games, but this Riders team is very different.
"We will be looking carefully at the tape of Friday's game, and focusing on what we can do better, and the mistakes we can cut out.
"We have a solid week of preparation to look forward to and it is very important we approach the game with the right mentality.
"We need a full house with a rocking atmosphere to set the tone right from the start."
Riders fans will not be counting their chickens too early. They only have to look back to Newcastle's match last Friday in the other semi-final.
Eagles won in Plymouth the previous week by 17 points, but Plymouth contrived to perform a miracle to finish all square in Newcastle in regulation time.
Eagles finally prevailed in over-time to make it to the final on January 13, at the National Indoor Arena, and will be looking to win the Cup for the second year in a row.
Neither Riders nor Sharks will be worrying about them until their game has been decided on Saturday night.
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