Kian Gadsby
Following the spring break, Varsity action returns on Monday 27th April when Basketball takes centre stage at David Ross Sports Village. With the Green and Gold in a commanding position in the series, they appear poised to charge towards yet another Varsity crown.
In recent years, Varsity Basketball events have predominantly followed the same script. The points are typically split, as UoN win the Women’s match before Trent snatch the point right back in the men’s fixture.
That pattern has played out in five of the last six series. The only exception came when Trent snagged a thrilling 74-79 victory in the 2024 Women’s match to complete a double – a result that helped NTU grab a series draw for the first time since 2011.
UoN have not won both Varsity Basketball matches since 2015. But after both teams enjoyed impressive league campaigns, this could be the year that streak ends.
The evening starts with the Women’s match, and UoN will be hoping to repeat recent success by securing their ninth Varsity victory within the last decade.
UoN enjoyed a solid year, finishing in fourth place in the Premier North behind Loughborough, Newcastle and Northumbria before losing to Essex in the National Championship quarterfinals.
It was a perfect repeat of the prior campaign, and the Green and Gold will be hoping that the Varsity game ends in another convincing 85-51 victory.
Although the standings don’t show it, this is a stronger UoN team than the one that came into last year’s match. They have improved defensively, boasting the second-best record in their division, while they ended their league season with two critical victories and will be hoping to continue their momentum.
They approach this game as firm favourites, with their opponents finishing fourth in Midlands Tier 1. However, they cannot be disrespected, as two thumping wins for Trent over UoN’s 2’s showed their class. Those scores will remind the home side that they still have to be at their best to get over the line and end the night hoisting the trophy.
Turning over to the Men’s game where, having not won this fixture for a decade, the Green and Gold take to the court as massive underdogs.
But this is their best chance yet to break that streak.
After they formed a partnership with Nottingham Hoods back in the summer, UoN have been in top form. They surged up the Midlands Tier 2 table to take the title, while also claiming Midlands Conference Cup glory. With two trophies in the bag already, they are now going after city bragging rights to complete an unprecedented treble.
The most telling sign of UoN’s progress this season is their results against Trent’s 2’s and 3’s. Having lost league clashes against the 3’s the year before, this time around they ran riot in three of the four encounters against their rivals – the exception a pulsating 86-85 defeat at the 2’s.
This Green and Gold team are a stronger side than ever before and underestimating them would be a dangerous mistake.
Meanwhile, although Trent are one of the traditional powerhouses of men’s basketball, this year has been a relative downturn. They lost out to Loughborough in both the Premier North title race and the National Championship final in 2025 but came fourth and were knocked out in the first round this year.
Those results may only serve as extra motivation to fire them on to bring back the Varsity trophy, but they do also suggest that Trent are not the force that they have been in previous years.
UoN Men’s Basketball have the not been this close to their neighbours in years. Now they have to take it with both hands. If both they and the Women can deliver, then at long last we may see two UoN Varsity Basketball champions.
Match Details
When? Monday 27th April. Women’s Tip-Off is at 18:00. Men’s Tip-Off is at 20:15
Where? David Ross Sports Village
How to Watch? Tickets are available on the Notts Varsity website
Kian Gadsby
Featured image courtesy of UoN Sport. No changes were made to this image.
In article Image 1 courtesy of UoN Sport. No changes were made to this image.
In article Image 2 courtesy of UoN Sport. No changes were made to this image.
