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It's always a good idea to take this margin in Oly games. Their basketball is traditionally slow, based on long attacks and tough defense this season as well. They went over this margin with Laboral only once in give games over the past two seasons. Laboral were a much faster-paced team before Peravoci took over. Defense will be in the focus today. Laboral have what it takes to stand up to Oly physically, which can make this a close game. They can limit the visitors to well under 80 points. In any case, I think this is a great opportunity. Details

This season I see Manresa at the bottom of the table. They are a team who lack quality and who will hardly earn their stay in the first league. That was seen at the opening of the championship when they were confused against Fuenlabrada. That was also seen during preparations when they were the only team who didn't score a single win. And now they're the favorites all of a sudden? I don't see it like that and if you ask me, this is an equal match, but I would even give the advantage to the away team. Stimac will annul Musli and enable the balance in the rebound, and the rest of the Estudiantes are definitely good enough to make use of that. I repeat, Estudiantes stand a very good chance to win here, but the handicap is the safest option, of course. Details

Varese are a team who scored 51 and 62 points in the first two rounds. Varese are a team who were made stronger at the play by Roko Ukic. They lost two best shots which Ukic should substitute. Kudos to the captain of Croatia, but the man is very questionable, offense-wise. If anything, it's clear that this won't be a chase and that we're talking about position basketball. Because of that the 80 points margin is not realistic, especially if we take a look at the first two matches. We have an away team who are very fast, and who pay a lot of attention to the defense, so they never conceded over 80 points, even when they were in an away match against the offensively strong Avellin and against the good Pistoia. I see this match on small numbers because of everything mentioned, and I will take the hosts' team under. Details

This seems like completely missed margin. Virtus scored 69 and 54 points in the first two rounds. Their offense was sterile in the pre-season as well. Now they are even more weakened with the absence of their best scorer Ray. In these circumstances, they have turned to slow basketball and that is how they will play today as well. This kind of suits the away team who are one of the oldest teams in the league and they can only play at a slow pace. In the first round they faced fast Cantu against whom they conceded 65, and in the second one excellent Venezia who scored 70 points against them. They are now facing a much slower team that can't count on their best player and they are supposed to concede over 75? I don't believe things will play out that way. Details

Tabak and Plaza know each other very well and today I think that is very important. Tabak knows Unicaja are a danger, especially through transition and the offensive rebound, and he will do what it takes to take that away from them. That means long attacks, pace control and building the rebound under any price. When he takes that away from Unicaja, they are no longer a top team and they will hardly reach 80 points, let alone over that number. Fuenlabrada are a team capable of playing an aggressive defense, and if they do everything Tabak tells them to, they will leave their opponents under 80 points, and pose a serious threat. Details

The quality difference between these two teams is great and these odds do not reflect the reality. Canarias are a play-off team this season and they will soon show that, especially at home because they rarely lose there. Arrival to Tenerife is complicated for many, so Andorra lost by 27 here last year. They changed their team a bit this season, but they will still have problems in away games. The team is very slow and they can only keep up with strong defense. Their problem here is the fact that Canarias are a fast team that score as much as they want at home. Andorra cannot defend that and this will be a convincing win by the home team. Details

I don't think this will be a close match. We said that Milano still need time but even so, they managed to crush Varese by 30 points in the last round, which confirmed that their game is getting better. Repesa had enough time to get his excellent players working with each other and they will only still grow as the season advances. Milano lost a vey small number of home games last season and I don't think one will be any different. Laboral are a respectable team butt hey are still too unstable and 'wild'. Their results from away games last season are bad, especially in Euroleague where they recorded two wins and ten defeats. One of those defeats is from Milano. The home team are much better quality wise. Their defense and rebound control will prevent Labora from using their strengths, which should see Laboral defeated. Details

If you ever have to bet against Real, the beginning of the season is the time for it. They played the preseason without half of the team, their form is bad, their defense bad. That's the conclusion of the initial matches Real played, and that definitely can't change in a single week. When Real are like that, they can't be the favorite against one of the best teams in Europe. Laso said that Khimki can win Euroleague, and I agree. The team found fantastic players for every position, and it's hard to find one position where Real are better. When these two teams would face each other in top of their form, this would still be an evened out match, in my opinion. When Real are in bad form, and Khimki look this good, you've just got to take this. Details

Barca opened the season in an impressive manner with a Supercup trophy. They seem to be the top title contender in Spain and one of the top Euroleague title contenders. However, Barcelona will be face with an atmosphere they are not really used to. A small arena, noisy fans and the opponent that can play basketball. Most importantly, Karsiyaka are not that fast since Dixon left, while their defensive end always does well. They have enough physical power to stand up to Tomic and others in the pain, which is why I think we're in for a closer game than the odds suggest. Barca will also focus on defense, which is going very well with Tomic and Lawal in the paint. Both teams like a well-organized basketball and I think this will finish with around 70 points on each side. Details

Ulm went over this margin only against Hagen, who are traditionally very fast. They stayed under 80 goals in the other three matches and I think this one will be no different since they're meeting a team with great defense. They had a great defense last season and things have not changed much since. They never conceded more than 72 points in any of the games. The back court is very aggressive and without Green, who's out with injury, there will not be a lot of running in offense. The well-experienced Recaltaci knows they cannot be dragged into the home team's pace and they will definitely try and limit this to under 70 points. Venezia have enough quality and I don't see them allowing the opponents 80 or more points. Details

Le Mans confirmed their bad form and lack of quality with two double-digit losses, so Gran Canaria can't be coming at a worse time. Gran Canaria don't have problems with their form, though. They've crushed almost all of their opponents in the pre-season and at the beginning of the season. Omić and Savane are covering fro Tavares in the paint, and Kuric was joined by Pangos to create a killer back duo. Granca played their Eurocup away matches last season convincingly, and got to the final in the end. The team hasn't been changed much, they've got plenty of experience, and their quality and form puts them far ahead of Le Mans, so they should win here easily. Details

Nancy opened the season poorly and already have three defeats in the French championship. They are now to face a team that is much better than any of Nancy's previous opponents. Valencia displayed power through preseason matches and then on Sunday with a great win in Madrid over Real. Their form is great, the game looks impressive. Acquiring Hamilon for position 5 was a particularly good move. Dubljević and him destroyed Real and should do the same to Nancy because the French side have no players who can defend the two of them in the paint. Valencia 's defense is better now that Martinez is there and the offensive end was never a problem anyway. There is no team in Eurocup that looks better than them at the moment since they got rid of the problems is away games last year. I think this will be a one-sided win. Details

The handicap is relatively high, but definitely pays off considering the circumstances. Milano opened the season with a defeat at very good Trento, and now they have to redeem themselves at home. The team has quality, but it will take time for them to start playing like a team. So far they demonstrated periods of great playing but they failed to extend that to 40 minutes. Today's game is a great chance because they are facing a team whose quality is not at the same level as the rest of the League, and they lost Galloway and Wayns, who are supposed to lead the team, to injuries. So they quickly acquired Ukic who can barely make a difference at this level, even if he has played with the team already, let alone when he just arrived to the club. The club is in panic which is proved by acquisition of Kitchen who will start playing next week. With this squad, Varese don't stand a chance against Milano and this will be a convincing win by the home team. Details

I have to admit that this margin is unclear to me. Cremona have shown in the first round game at Sassari just how strong they are in the defense and they kept Sassari below 20 points in three quarters. They showed the same thing in the pre-season and it is definite that they will look for their way towards victory through defense. The visitors from Trento don't want to run and with Wright, Lockett and the rest of the team, they are a physically powerful team capable of causing problems for everyone. Again - with defense. They went up to a higher number of points against Milano, but that was a different game in which Milano were well bellow their level. Since Cremona also played a game at a higher number of points in the first round, because of the final quarter and overtime, that is probably where this margin comes from, but in my opinion it shouldn't be higher than 150 points. Details

The title of the preview says it all. Valencia will hardly get a better chance to surprise Real Madrid than today. Real were in a very fast pace this summer. They had the European Championship, the Intercontinental Cup and in the end, the Supercup. The team are not in full shape yet and that's logical, and Valencia seem like an ideal team to take advantage of that. With Martinez's arrival as the new coach, the defense became more important and it looked great in the preparations. The team are much stronger than last season and they can now stand up to the best. Even though the counter-handicap is a good choice here, because of the very high margin and a good defense by the away team, I have decided for Real's team under which I don't see here over 80 points. Details

Murcia will be a very respectable and good team this season with Fotis Katsikaris on the bench. They showed last year that it's hard to defeat them at home, and their roster is even better this season. I don't see them as underdogs today for many reasons. Unicaja had a lot of problems in away games last season, and I don't see why the situation would change this season. They will have an additional problem at Murcia because the home team is one of the rare teams in the league that can parry them physically, so Unicaja won't have a lot of chances for offensive rebounds with Lima and Lischuk. Their offense will suffer without that, and Murcia have more than enough weapons to punish that. I wouldn't be surprised if Murcia won, but handicap is a safer option. Details

Even though the whole preview and the home team coach's words are pulling towards the over, I will pass on that. The margin is very high, and why bet on that when there are more solutions. Joventut were quite inert during the transfer window and they haven't done the best job acquiring players. The team is still solid, but thin in positions where Canarias are very good. If anyone remembers last season, we said that, at one point, Joventut had a series ten games in which they either lost or won within 8 point difference. They haven't demolished anyone, but no one demolished them either. The same happened against Canarias when against whom they play two completely even games. Since their squads are pretty much the same as last year, I think that we should pay attention to that. The away team have strengthened their team and they are coming here with greater ambition, and still enough experience to play away games. In my opinion, this is a game that will be solved in the last attack and that is why I have to bet on handicap which is definitely set too high. Details

The difference in the quality of this two teams is currently very big. Tabak built a team to his taste - using last season's Real time as the role model. He acquired players he knows very well which makes the home team great. They will rely on fast and aggressive defense and good offense. On the other hand, there is a team where Dejan Musli is the key player. That is a clear sign of the lack of quality. He also has a foot injury and will not have a lot of room against the aggressive home team. Point guard Thomas is injured at the home team as well and might not play. Manresa do not stand much chance here, with or without him. I would be surprised by anything but a double-digit point-difference for the home team. Details

This margin probably made sense last season, but I think these two teams will be among the most efficient ones of the league this season. Avellino created a run-and-gun team with a fast point guard Green, great backs and Leunen and Buva who are playing as centers. That should guarantee fast basketball. On the other hand, Pesaro's team have been completely renewed, with five Americans playing in Europe for the first time, and they don't how any other way to play than fast. Also, the coach decided to use two back players, so his captain Basile would play full time. Considering the pre-season matches, both teams will try to play fast basketball, and with an average shot percentage, this should end in an over. Details

I think the hosts are given here a lot more respect than they deserve. They are a team who quality-wise belong at the bottom of the table, and in today's meeting they could easily be without their best player Ray. For comparison's sake, Ray would in Venezia enter the match from the bench at best, and even that's questionable. The away team are in a very good shape. They did great pre-season matches, they're played in because unlike the hosts, they practically didn't change their team, and they're shooting for the top of the table. They took the lead for 39 minutes against the strong Milan in Supercup, and they fell only in the end, probably because they feared success. That won't be the case here because Venezia showed they play great away games last year too. Their only shortcoming is on paper, the one in the paint Bologna can't use this and this is a match in which they won't stand a chance. Details