WORCESTER Wolves are backing a large home crowd to will them to victory over Manchester Magic in the second round of the National Basketball Cup tonight (7pm).

Wolves are full of confidence for the match at University College Worcester after winning their first four matches of the new season.

And with new signing Rikki Prince from Birmingham Bullets poised to make his debut, the players can't wait to get going against a side who are a division higher than Wolves, in their first competitive home match of the campaign.

Wolves beat another National League Division One side -- City of Sheffield -- in the last round, and player-coach Rick Solvason said: "We are going into the match in as strong a position as possible and the guys are all up for it.

"If we play to the best of our ability with the guys we have got, we are going to be very strong opposition for anybody.

"Manchester will have to play very strong to beat us just as we will have to play well to compete with them."

Solvason is delighted to welcome highly-rated 6ft 4in shooting guard Prince to the Wolves ranks, saying: "He has had a good few training sessions, he has a lot to offer and we are looking forward to some good things from him."

He believes the UCW crowd will play a major role in a potential upset.

"It is nice to come back and play at our place. We have such good fans and it makes such a big difference.

"I am sure the fans expect good things from us, especially so after winning four games on the road."

Colin Rhooms returns for Wolves after missing last weekend's Division Two victory at Hackney through work commitments, leaving Solvason with a full-strength squad to choose from.

Wolves' greater strength in depth means that Solvason himself is no longer guaranteed a place in the starting five, but he's not too concerned.

He added: "All the other guys have stepped up their game and you can see that by the results we have had. Good competition is better for everybody."

Wolves' women are also in action at UCW today, taking on Manchester in a National Trophy match starting at 4pm.