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Oviedo are a home court oriented team that plays much more convincingly at home than away. They lost at home only to leaders Palencia, who are currently on a 12 game winning run, and they won six games, including the one against strong Palma. Castello, on the other hand had a great start of the season, they recorded great results in away games, but then their form significantly dropped, nothing unusual for last year's third league members, a team who have the best offense, but also the worst defense of the second league. They lost their last two away games at Ourense and Prat, they conceded 86 and 101 points against the worst offensive teams. Prat ended their nine game losing streak against them. Castello's defensive weaknesses are why Oviedo should dominate today. The home team have the best scorer in the league in Swing, and it is hard to find a player who could limit him within the away team. Also, the home team have one of the best center lines, led by Tris and Van Wijk, and Castello will hardly be able to dominate the paint. Oviedo are defensively at a much higher level than the away team, they are offensively capable of using Castello's weaknesses because their players never played at Pumarin, the smallest arena in the second league in which the pressure on the away teams is huge and unpleasant. With Oviedo's win with a handicap, another solid option is Oviedo's team over. Details

Tubingen got a new permanent coach on Monday, Tyron McCoy, and that is their only good news ahead of today's game against Bayern. Even though the new coach can wake up the team, I don't think that McCoy will be able to, in only two days, achieve some huge improvement in their performance which has been weak lately, especially in defense. On Sunday they even played solidly in defense, but they had no chance to win any points against Ulm. They lost by 16, the round before that they lost at home to Telekom by 13, even though the team from Bonn were on a 14 game losing streak, and before that they lost at home to Giessen by 9. And Bayern won at Giessen by 26, and then at strong Braunschweig by 19. This shows how superior Bayern are in comparison to the majority of German clubs when they are completely focused, and after they finished with the Euroleague, they are completely focused on the championship in which they defeated Wurzburg by 24 on Sunday. Improvement of their form is obvious, Djedovic clearly solved his disagreement with coach Pesic, he got the most playing time and played well, just like Taylor who will fill up the hole that was left with Rivers' departure. The Bavarians have acquired Cobbs who was excellent in Frankfurt last season. All in all, completely focused Bayern are for me a whole different level in comparison to this Tubingen who could even be without important Buford. Last year Bayer defeated Tubingen by 26 at home and 37 away. This season, Tubingen have, at home, defeated only Crailsheim (team whose away record is 0-7) and Gottingen who are on the verge of the relegation zone. Details

Ulm finally found the right shape and chemistry inside their team. They needed two months for that, to find the players on the market which fit into coach Leibenath's style. After a five-game losing run in Bundesliga, they entered a five-game winning series, and they're at the verge of the playoffs. BBL Cup also seems like a possibility now, but the condition is to continue their winning streak. The best proof of their great shape is the last win against Oldenburg when they won with +20-something points of difference. They dominated against good opponents, and recently at home they beat the strong Frankfurt. Tubingen are arriving to this away match a couple of days after coach Igor Perovic resigned. Often that is a positive shock for the players, but in this case I don't expect that since they didn't find a substitute, and they will be led by their current assistant coach who had no time to change anything in their game. Defensively Tubingen are very bad, they're run-and-gun style, and that suits Ulm. On Wednesday they lost to Telekom at home who were in a 14-game losing run, which shone light on their very weak defense game (on average they allow 90 points in the last 10 rounds), and a very weak paint game where Ulm, with Morgan and Rubit, has athletically stronger players. In the last four seasons, since Ulm have been led by coach Leibenath, at home they were always convincing, with high numbers. I expect something similar today. Tubingen didn't convince me with anything that they could take control over Ulm's attack. Details

Willebroek earned several solid wins this season, but the team is lacking stability in performance. After a solid game, they usually have several weaker performances. Tonight they will be playing the local derby against Antwerp whom they faced seven times so far and they never defeated them. They weren't competitive at the start of the season, even though the Giants were in poor form at the time. But since Antwerp changed the coach, it all went for the better. That team earned 10 wins in the last 11 games in all competitions, they only lost to Oostende who are a level above all Belgian teams. The Giants are complete, coach Moors found the right chemistry and it all appears good. They won't lack motivation tonight because their score is 5-6 because of the poor start of the season, they are still not in the top 5, and only top 5 teams go directly into the play-off. Additional problem for Willebroek is the fact that they will be without important guard Tucker (25 minutes on average, and 10 points) again, and their top center Mangano injured his knee in the previous game and he is questionable for this game. Considering the form and quality of the mentioned teams, Antwerp are, for me, bigger favorites than the odds might suggest. Details

Bayeruth are struggling quite a lot against teams like Frankfurt (aggressive and tough teams with a tough defense and a very good transition. Bayreuth got limited to low numbers against Crailsheim last weekend even though Crailsheim aren't really good in defense. Before that, Bayeruth hit 60 against Hagen. Overall, Bayreuth have the worst offense in the league, which has everything to do with the injury struggles they've had all season long. Frankfurt, on the other hand, have the best defense in the league and allow just over 70 points and play away games at 142 points. They beat the offense-oriented Giessen easily over the weekend even though they hit only 66 points. The round before, they slowed Ulm down and lost even though they allowed only 68. This is a traditionally tough away game for the Skyliners. All of their last four games in Bayreuth were tough and I expect this one to be the same. I believe Frankfurt will try and set p their rhythm and record average numbers away, which are well under 150 points. Details

I was hopping that the margin will be set like it is. It makes sense mathematically because Mons play championship games at 159.5 points per game, Oostende at 165. Still, the Belgian championship is a bit specific, a lot of teams don't play defense, so teams like Mons and Oostende can boost their offensive numbers a lot. Mons, Spirou and Oostende stand out with their defensive quality and their duels among each other are mostly kept at low numbers, where firm game dominates. For example, Mons beat Spirou 80-68 in the Cup recently, then lost 61-67, and they've beaten the same team 83-61 at the beginning of the season in the championship. Mons lost to Oostende 54-95 in the second round, losing 0-23 right from the beginning. I don't expect them to fall apart today, Mons are usually a lot more convincing at home than away. Oostende stayed under 160 in two of 11 league games, recently against Spirou (59-55) and in that match against Mons. They played 10 duels against Mons last season, and only once did it go over 149. The coaches are the same, as is most of the roster, and their philosophy didn't change much. Considering the last three seasons, in 24 duels against each other, they only went over 160 points once, and over 150 four times. Details

Brose showed on Thursdy what kind of a team they are under Andrea Trinchieri's leadership. In an unimportant match against Sassari they allowed 54 points, and won with 32 points of difference. Last weekend they left Alba in Berlin at -13, just like Bayern one round earlier. At home in Bundesliga they mostly had convincing wins, not one with less than 13 points of difference. Today I expect the tradition to continue. Wurzburg are arriving to Bamberg, that's a local derby which Brose never lost. They won all six head-to-head league matches, at home always very convincingly. The reason is not that hard to find, there's always special motivation in those matches. Wurzburg are a positive surprise this season, they're a team who are at the top, and now they have to confirm their position in clashes against the strongest teams. The problem today will be the fact that they have very short rotation, around only six or seven players. The important Stuckey is injured, and on Friday they lost to Ludwigsburg after two overtimes. Key player Joyce spent more than 40 minutes in game, Tuttle 48, Long 44... Brose had an easy job against Sassari on Thursday. Trinchieri decided to rest Melli who didn't even play, and the other main players played a lot less than usual. All in all, Brose are in really good shape and at this point supreme to all other German teams. We can add that in pre-season Brose, without Melli, Zisis and Strenlnieks beat Wurzburg on a tournament in Bayreuth with 91-74, and for Wurzburg the best shot was Stuckey (21 points) who won't be playing tonight. Details

The game between Brose and Sassari is in my book one of the typical games for the fans. Granted, this is Euroleague and every game matters but I don't see any season for them to play tough defense today, which would see them play a game less efficient than the first one. Andrea Trinhcieri always wants to win, but even he said that avoiding injuries is the most important thing here. That means he will use more players than normally today. Borse controlled the first h2h in Sardinia to win 93-70. Since they secured the third spot and cannot improve or lose that spot, which is why I think Sassari will have it easier on the offensive end today. Brose recently played CSKA at almost 190 points and went over 160 against Alba and hit 100 against Bayern. Borse's offense is much better this season than the last one, especially when they play home and especially against teams like Sassari. Sasasri are bottom table and that cannot change, I think they will play the last game and try their best, which should result in better efficiency. To sum up, both teams have offensive ends that can get this at over 160 points, especially now when there is no pressure result-wise. Details

Playing in Frankfurt couldn't have happened at worst time for Sodertalje. The Swedish champions lost their best player and scorer Bizaca on Friday, he scores 16.2 goals per game in the FIBA Cup. He played less than 10 minutes against Uppsala on Friday because he injured his Achilles tendon. His team didn't manage to beat the average Swedish first-league team whose score is 6-7 right now(7th to 11th team of the league). Not only did they not win, they lost by 41, scoring 49 themselves. A few days prior, they lost with a double-digit difference to an even worse ranked Nassje. Another problem today is that their point guard Lejasmeieres is out as well (4.5 assists per game). As the coach Bosnić says, their second best scorer Czerapowicz is sick (12.3p), but they took him to Germany to have 10 players in the roster and avoid penalties. Frankfurt have a few absences, but the only one that matters is the point guard Theodore. Klein is a very good substitute, though, (best scorer against Ulm this weekend). With Klein, they'll be less creative, but the home team will win the defense, one of the best in the FIBA Cup. Considering the problems the Swedes are dealing with, I expect Frankfurt to domiante with defense and better frontcourt. The last duels Sodertalje played in the Swedish championship show how dependent they are on Bizaca and a few other individuals. The way things are, they'll be without them tonight, and we should take advantage of that. Details

Palma, Clavijo and Castello are three teams which are most offense-orinted and play the fastest-paced game in the second Spanish division. It's a good idea to try with an over at 160 points in these kind of games. Palma play games at some 158 points home but they most played the defense-oriented teams so far and still went over this margin most of the time (Burgos 165 points, Coruna 167, Navarra 163). Clavijo are on a 4-game losing run, they allowed 92 or more points in each of the last 2 games, they have the worst defense in the league. They prefer the run and gun and should definitely sit the home team. Clavijo play games at 170 on average away. We can expect another fast-paced match today with both teams getting close to 70 shots from the floor. I don't think Clavijo will change anything in their style and Palma are the kind of a team that accepts that kind of a game and usually turn into into their own advantage (7 wins in a row). Details

Leuven recently changed their coach, but young expert Sappenberghs has clearly stated that he will need time to put things into place the right way, especially in defense since the Bears conceded 92 points on average, they have the worst defense in the league. They will probably acquire some reinforcements after several departures and injury of back Marshall, they are pretty much down to 5-6 players, and the bench doesn't contribute much. Their only win this season was against weak Pepinster at home in a suspenseful finish. They didn't stand a realistic chance against more serious teams. And Mons definitely belong to that category. They are at the top of the league, quality-wise, right behind Oostende and Spirou (whom they eliminated from the Cup). The problem for Mons is that playing in the FIBA Cup has clearly taken away a lot of heir concentration lately, they suffered four defeats in the championship, they now have negative record. It is clear that they cannot afford another slip up today. Pretty much half of the regular season has passed, they cannot afford a larger gap because only the first five teams go into the play-off directly (that is round robin from the 1st to 5th place). Above mentioned bad run means that Mons won't take the Bears lightly tonight, and with the maximum approach, especially in defense, they are a much better team than the home team. They had no European obligations during the week, they had the time to focus completely on today's game. Details

Two weeks ago, Limburg and Okapi have played two quarter-final Cup games. Both games were dominated by offenses which is no surprise when we consider that these are two fastest teams in the Belgian league, teams that force pure run-and-gun style. Okapi won in Aalst 109-101, and two days later that same team won 93-89. I don't see a reason why the numbers wouldn't be high tonight again. Nothing will change in playing style. Limburg played four official home games and over 176 points were scored in each one, in regular time. Average of that team at home is at 187 (175,5 overall). Okapi are slightly under 170, but their games against offensively oriented teams were over today's margin. Of their 6 head-to-head games so far, only one game was under 173 points. Details

I expected lower odds on Palma's win here because they are right now, with the team from Mallorca, in the best form in the entire second league, and Prat are the weakest team in the league, and on a 7 game losing run. The Catalans are Joventut's feeder club and it is clear that they lack experience. They have only a few experienced players, most of the team are youngsters. Palma have much more experience, their roster is close to Palencia, Melila and Breogan's quality. They are more convincing in away games, so they won at Castello by 23, at Ourense by 19, at Breogan by 9... The great thing for them is that they are complete. Nichols has recovered, and Feliu has been active for 3 weeks, and he was declared their best acquisition this season. Center Guillen is 39 years old, but he is in his best form ever, he is the top scorer in the league, play Uriz is also in great form. In short, Prat can hardly handle Palma's width, especially since they will be additionally motivated because they have a chance to set a record of straight wins of any team from Mallorca. Details

The Hungarians themselves admitted their chances of passing the group are slim, so their coach said this is their goodbye to the FIBA Cup. The math confirms all that, it's not realistic to expect them to beat Oostende by 30 today, and the other match should also end with a result favorable for them in order for that to happen. Oostende beat Szombathely by 29 at home, limiting them to 62. A win would definitely push the Belgian champions to the second round, and a defeat would jeopardize that, if Varese also beat Sodertaly, which can be expected. Since Oostende's score against the Italians and the Swedes isn't as good, a triangle would eliminate them. The Hungarians' coach pointed out that they don't do well against Oostende's game style. The Belgians stopped their transition with their aggressive defense in the first match, and I believe the Belgians will be themselves defensively today because they do care about getting a good result in the FIBA Cup. They're one of the teams who came here from the Eurocup, and motivation isn't an issue. They're not playing the Belgian championship this weekend, and have a ten-days long break after this duel. Details

Oostende lost 80-87 on Friday, that means they need to win by at least 8 today to advance into the semi-final. Recently they won at Willebroek by 20 and in my opinion, we can expect a similar win today. On Friday Oostende were in the led by 15, but they completely stopped in the final quarter, the game in Sweden on Wednesday clearly drained them out and they allowed Willebroek's fast players to get into shooting rhythm, to play their basketball in the last 10 minutes. Gjerga won't allow that tonight. Oostende can realistically defeat most of the teams in the Belgian league by over 30 points, especially at home, the only key factor is motivation. They have that today. That is why I expect a much higher defensive intensity, aggressiveness that is their characteristic, and as a consequence of that, Willbroek at lower numbers. Two seasons ago, Willbroek defeated Oostende at home by 26, and then Oostende won by 45 the next game. That is the motivation factor. Details

Very high margin, but also big difference in quality. It is not an overstatement to say that Crailsheim appear like a team that doesn't really want to play defense. The away team concede 92 points on average, over 94 in away games. Bayer are at home at an average higher than 93 when it comes to the Bundesliga. At home they conceded 114 against Gottingen, they won by 41, 94 against Bayreuth and won by 29, they lost by 44 at Brose, conceded 93, and on Monday, against them, Mitteldeutscher they earned their first win this season, scored 97 and won by 21. At home against Giessen they conceded 100, lost by 44, and recently at home against Oldenburg, conceded 90, lost by 24... All in all, it is clear that the Merlins are not a better team, everything here will depend on Bayern's motivation, and they showed on Thursday that their crisis is slowly ending, they were dominant against Khimki. I believe they will want to play today because they disappointed their fans in the last three rounds which they played away. They are returning to their arena in the championship for the first time since November the first. I cannot see a way for Merlins to defend, not in paint nor in backcourt positions and I expect a similar outcome to last year's two games when Bayern defeated the Merlins 110-76 and 103-66. Bayern's next Euroleague game is on Friday. Except for the handicap, another good option is Bayern's team over. Details

On paper, this is a clash of two teams in poor form, but in my opinion it is indisputable that Telekom are a much better team than Gottingen. We had a similar situation last weekend when Ulm ended their long bad run against Gottingen, they were completely dominant on the court. Telekom suffered three straight Bundesliga defeats and that is why they won't underestimate the home team today. The away team have more width, much better solutions in key positions 1 and 5. Gottingen don't really have a true play, nor true centers and they will have a lot of problems defending against the away team's pick game. Home team have the worst defense in the league, they are at the very bottom in rebounds. They are on a six game losing run, and they never lost by a single digit difference. This is a great match-up for Telekom, centers Klimavicius and White will have a lot of room in the offense, they should open the paint. Regardless of the away team's bad run, it pays off, in my opinion, to bet on Telekom's win on this margin with a handicap. Details

After Den Bosch's defeat yesterday, Gussing have a chance today to secure the second round of the FIBA Europe Cup. If they defeat Zlatorog, they will have a 3-2 record and no one will be able to take them from the second position. In case they lose, it would all get complicated ahead of the last round. In Lasko the Austrians showed that they don't suit Zlatorog with their fast pace. Zlatorog don't have a wide rotation and they can hardly keep the right defensive intensity for a longer time. That is why Gussing almost scored 100 points, they won by 18. Last week, Gussing solidly competed against Chalon in France. Even though they were without their important power forward Watts. They are complete today and I expect they will not lack motivation. Zlatorog defeated Den Bosch last week at home, but since their score against the Dutch is negative, they don't realistically stand a chance for the second round. They are a home court oriented team that has won only one away game the entire season, against Portoroz and in tense final moments of the game. They lost, for example, against Helios and Senchur by double digit difference. They have 6-7 players in rotation, their key player Vasl played all 40 minutes on Saturday against Senchur and they will hardly be able to defensively keep up with the pace set by the Austrians. Details

A win over Unicaja was another proof of how good Brose currently are. Their offensive end might even seem more impressive than defense lately as they average 91 points in Bundesliga (amanaged to hit 86 against Frankfurt last weekend away, 98 against Tubingen away recently, 93 against Ulm...). Radosevic joiinng the team saw them fill the void in the paint. Today, Brose have a very favorable matchup with Hagen, who never really cared about defense. They allow the opponents an average of 90 points, against the offense-oriented teams even significantly more. They allowed Tubingen home 112 recently, Wurzburg 97, 95 in Ulm and 97 against Bayern. Hagen played in Bamberg 6 times in the last 4 seasons and never conceded less than 97, while mostly losing convincingly. Given Brose's game style and the fact coach Trinchieri always wants serious approach and the fact they win by almost a 30-point average home, I expect the home team to record a very convincing win. They beat Unicaja by 30 on Thursday and I don't see how Hagen could do better. Tam over at home team is quite a good option as well. Details

Torun could hardly get a better matchup than today's one. They're hosting Polpharma, a team who are quite soft in the defense, prone to running around, while rebound-wise and defensively they're very weak. Torun are a team who base a lot on the firm defense and a determined transition, but they also have excellent solutions in the paint. On paper, Torun are right behind Stelmet and Rose, they're a great team, and it's important to point out the good Polish players. Polpharma brought two more Americans, so now they have five of them in the roster, and at the same time they need to have at least two Polish players on the court which is not their cup of tea. Torun's coach Winnicki was very dissatisfied after the minimum defeatthey suffered against the solid Szczecin on Monday, and today we should expect a reaction. Torun are close to the top. For instance, they beat Slupsk at home with 24 points of difference, and Polpharma lost at home from that very Slupsk with -20. Offensively the not very convincing Kutno crushed Polpharma with over 90 points and limited them at 17 rebounds. Here the difference is obvious, Torun are a more complete team. Details