Basketball Game Preview: Sidney Red Raiders vs. Gothenburg Swedes

The Sidney Red Raiders will square off against the Gothenburg Swedes at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with three losses in a row, Sidney turned things around against North Platte on Saturday. They walked away with a 55-48 victory over the Bulldogs. Given the Red Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 245th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Gothenburg ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. In a tight contest that could have gone either way, they made off with a 52-51 win over Broken Bow. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Swedes.

Gothenburg is also on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.0 points per game. As for Sidney, their record is now 10-4.

Sidney came out on top in a nail-biter against Gothenburg in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, sneaking past 46-44. 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.