Basketball Game Preview: Sidney Red Raiders vs. Alliance Bulldogs

The Sidney Red Raiders will venture away from home to face off against the Alliance Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Sidney's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last seven matches.

Sidney saw some tournament action on Saturday. They came out on top against Fillmore Central by a score of 64-54. Given the Red Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked tenth, while the Panthers are ranked 57th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Alliance came up short against Boone Central on Saturday and fell 55-48. The defeat continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Cardinals: they've now lost three in a row.

Sidney will have to contain Espen Lanik as he made an impact in Alliance's last game. He went 8 of 18 en route to 20 points and four steals. Lanik has been hot, having posted two or more steals the last seven times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Payton Boyer, who posted 13 points.

Sidney's win was their 18th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-0. As for Alliance, their loss dropped their record down to 6-3.

Everything went Sidney's way against Alliance in their previous meeting back in February, as Sidney made off with a 72-46 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sidney since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.