betprepare.com

Antwerp are under no pressure here as they have secured their sixth spot, which means playoffs for them, and they can't go any further. This game is crucial for Mons as they have a score of 24-10, i.e. one step above third-placed Spirou. The problem is that Mons have a weak H2H score and Spirou have a relatively easy list of fixtures in last 2 rounds and can count on two wins. The second place would mean a direct place in the semi-finals. As Mons are playing against Pepinster in the last round, a team that they should be able to beat without much trouble, today's game is actually the crucial one in the battle for the second spot. Mons have won last 2 head-to-heads. They have the best defense in the league and Antwerp do not like playing against defensively minded teams. They have a home score of 10-6 and Mons have the same score away. All in all, Mons are in better form, they have more quality especially in defense, and are more motivated. Details

Even before the playoffs started, a series between Hopsi and Zlatorog seemed like the most evened out match-up and I predicted this series would see three games. Simply put, the teams are pretty even in terms of quality, and the key factor is home court. They have played 5 H2H's this season and each game was one by the home team for that game. Hopsi have won their last 2 games in Polzela. Laško obviously lack confidence when playing away - the haven't beaten anyone in the playoffs but have only lost 1 game at home in last 10, the game against Union Olimpija. The last team to be defeated in Laško is Krka, and Rogaška and Helios before that. Hopsi had their last away games in Rogaška and Domžale where they won by a convincing margin. The home team have a slightly wider rotation while Hopis have only one point guard and he has been playing for the entire 40 minutes recently, while veteran Jagodnik and some other players also spend a lot of time on the court. I expect Laško to put up a better defensive performance than on Saturday. As their coach said , they played too softly. All in all, the odds on Zlatorog are still too high and it's worth going for their win for a moderate stake. Details

I doubt that Krka will leave anything to chance here, and calculate at the beginning of the playoffs. They play the best out of three in the first round, and we can expect them to play right. Their opponent, Portoroz, are a team who got to the playoffs without them doing anything, with a ratio 12-16. They were second in the relegation league, had a lot of luck, and played against Grosuplje, who didn't feel any pressure, in the last round, where they secured going through to the playoffs by scoring in the last seconds. In a weak competition, they conceded about 80 points per away game, while Krka scored almost 80 per home game. What makes this prediction important is that Portoroz play quite fast, not relying on the backcourt shots. Their coach says they already achieved their goals, so they're not bothered by the result, and they can play completely relaxed after a long time. Besides the team over by Krka, a good option is home team's win with the handicap. Details

Two days ago, these two clubs played a 160-point game but I expect a different approach. This is a playoff game and every game is more important than the previous one. In mid April, Anwil and Rosa played two matches that was dominated by defense (138 and 130 points in regular time). Anwil ar a team that put a lot of emphasis on defense and they will have to put even more today as one of their top scorers Michal Sokolowski got injured. That means they practically have 6 players in the rotation and it's hard to expect ta faster pace with such a thin roster. They will probably force 5-on-5 game which is not what the visitors like. Two days ago, Rosa scored 14 out of 29 three-pointers. It's hard to expect them to repeat that performance, especially in the playoffs. They lost Laczynski in that game and they will have to use Kardaš for that position, a player with not much playing time this season and that is bound to have an effect on their organization. The visitors cannot allow themselves to get a new defeat and will play a much more aggressive defense, which coach Kaminski requested ahead of the game. The first game was very tight and the same can be expected today. Details

This is Tubingen's most important match of the season. If they win, they're definitely staying in the first league. If they lose, they have to wait for Wurzburg to lose as well, and that will hardly happen. More things go for the home team in this match. The motivation is the biggest because Hagen lost all their chances for the playoffs thanks to the defeat in the last round, and they don't have an imperative today. Good form is the second argument for the home team. They had five wins in the last eight rounds, and they won the last three home matches. They especially improved their offensive game, so they always had 85 or more points in the last five matches. Tubingen are complete and they definitely wouldn't be fighting to stay in the league if they didn't have that many injury issues. Tubingen look like they could defeat even a better opponent in the last and deciding match. They defeated Hagen five times in the last three seasons, and only lost once against them. They crushed them this December in an away match with almost 20 points difference, scoring 95 points. Both teams had over 70 field goal then. Hagen are known as extremely home oriented team. They only had two wins in their last away rounds, against the bad Rasta and very bad Braunschweig. Details

Ahead of last round, Artland know they can end as the 6th placed team but also on the 8th spot as well. If they win and Ulm lose against Trier, they will go into the playoffs as the 6th-placed team, but if Ulm win, they can't go above the seventh spot that they are holding at the moment and if Artland lose and Ludwigsburg win, the Dragons will take the eighth spot that will face them up against Bayern in the first round. Another possibility is a three-way between the mentioned three teams. In that situation, the Dragons have the worst position and they would end up as the eighth-placed team. In short, the home team need a win today desperately, they are playing against completely relaxed Mitteldeutschera whom they beat in the first H2H this season. These 2 teams have a similar style. No team has scored more three-points than Artland in the league (9.2 per game) while Mitteldeutscher take the second place (8.6). In the last round, the main players for the Dragons - their center King and PG Holston - had a very poor performance. A special atmosphere is being prepared for this game and it's hard to believe they can repeat the poor performances from the last few rounds. A few days ago, Artland scored 14 three-pointers out of 29 attempts and one should not expect MBC to play a hard defense, which should work in favor of the hosts. The visitors are well-renowned for their offensively oriented performance, especially now as this is their last round with no more chances to fix things. Details

Leuven and Mons are playing a match with great importance for both teams. While the home team need a win in the battle for 6th position and playoff, the away team wish to stay in their current 2nd spot that leads them straight to the semifinal, skipping the first round of playoff. After their point guard Tu Holloway left, Leuven have lost quality in offense, which they make up for with playing harder on defense, playing games 150 point games in their last 10 rounds. They went over that margin only against very offense oriented teams. Their last round game against the defensively focused Pepinster they played a 130 point match. Today they'll face the best defense of the Belgian league, Mons. The away team average only 74 pints over their last 10 rounds, but also concede only 71. Over that period they went over this margin on only one occasion, and also played overtime once. They limited the run-and-gun Willebroek team to 55 points a few days ago, and their last clash with Mons was at the end of March, when they won 74-66. They've improved their rotation with Derrick Byars, a solid defender, which allows them to keep up a high intensity defense for a longer period in the game. Details

Koszalin are currently in position 8 with a 17-14 record, just like Slask in position 9. Things are pretty clear. Who ever wins will reach the play off. It is the key game for both of the teams, it will determine the season and we should not doubt their approach. They scored 152 points in their last head to head game, 140 and 153 points the games before. That is less or around this margin. Comparing those games with this one is tough anyway. Koszalin have been playing the games at 144 points the last 10 rounds, conceding less than 70 points. Slask are a more offense oriented team, but the home team say their goal is to play defense as well as possible, and much tougher than in the previous games. Details

Turow are far more motivated in this game. The home team need the win to stay in position one ahead of the play off, while the visiting team can't go either up or down from position 6. They just need to do this last round. Turow are in fine form, have almost all the players at their disposal, a lot of them to choose from. They beat Anwil by 25 points the other day, before that Rosa and Stelmet by 12 points. Slupsk 's motivation is, on the other hand, questionable. Important players Nowakowski, Dutkiewicz, and Jarmakowicz have been out from before, which weakened the defense significantly, but also the key. They decided to give the key center and their best player Stutz a day off. He scored 25, and added 16 rebounds against Stelmet the other day. The visiting team clearly don't care about this game much. It would not be surprising if they give Trice, their top scorer, more time off today as well. Turow have won the last 8 consecutive head to head official matches against Slupsk. The home team are when it comes to shooting, one of the best teams in the league. Turow have been scoring 86 points in the last 10 rounds, the question is whether the visiting team can be at the right level all 40 minutes. Details

Everyone knows Rosa have been playing without their centers for a while, and they see their chance solely through the fast transition game and back shots. That style of game suits Stelmet perfectly, they can play fast, and they have a big advantage under the basket. Rosa don't have a player that can stop Vladimir Dragicevic without their center Kirk Archibeque (17 points and 14 jumps in the last match against Stelmet). They might use two players to guard him, which leaves a lot of space for the back shot. Home team say they want to get even for the recent defeat against Rosa, and they won't calculate. Stelmet are still in for the first place. To make it happen, they have to win today and wait for Turow's possible blunder (matches are played at the same time). Stelmet had 81, 91 and 87 points in three matches against Rosa this season. The big three Dragicevic-Zamojski-Koszarek scored 53 points total in the beginning of April. Stelmet had 73 field goal and 30 free throws. Details

Bayreuth are currently at 10-22 ratio, which means only one step ahead of Tubbingen and Wurzburg who are in relegation zone. In case of two defeats, Bayreuth could even end up in the second league, so they definitely see this match against Trier as important. In the last round, they have an away match against Wurzburg, and it won't be a simple task. There are a few reasons why today's match against Trier is an ideal one to solve their fears about staying in the league. First, the opponent don't have to fulfill any goals, they secured their staying and are now only finishing the job. Second, Trier come quite weakened. They'll miss their best scorers Trevon Hughes and Laurynas Samenas who are injured, and another back, Anthony Canty, is out from before. Their backcourt seems slim. We should mention Trier had a tough match against Alba on Friday, and we have to count on their accumulated fatigue because coach Henrik Rodl used a short rotation. Bayreuth played their last match on Monday, so they had enough time to prepare. They're playing their last home match, they're in a decent form lately, and this is a chance you shouldn't miss. Details

It's hard to predict which of these 2 teams will go into the playoff finals. Burgos should have the advantage in the first two games, especialyl today and there are several reasons. The main one is that the home team are in very good form. They have eight wins in a row, very convincing ones at that and have gone over the 80-point margin in last 7 games. They're a team with very strong defense and fast offense. They are dominant on the rebounds and that could be the biggest problem for the visitors. Breogan will almost certainly be without their top scorer and rebounder Diouf. that proved to be a problem in the first round against Huesca against whom they got a very convincing defeat. Breogan are not too impressive away as it is (7-6 score so far). Burgos are complete and do very well at home. The main point guard for the visitors Rodriguez and power forward Laso have some minor injury problems. It should be added that they played their third game against Huesca on Tuesday, which means they had relatively little time to prepare. Details

Palencia showed their characteristic performance in the first round. Against weakened Rincon, they struggled a lot but they got into the semi-finals and that's only because of their defensive performances. They have shown why their defense is the best in the 2nd division. They allow an average of only 67.6 points and 65.7 at home. They won their first game against Rincon by 62-61 and then 74-60 away. Oviedo passed the first round of playoffs due to defense as well. They limited offensively sound Coruna to 64 and 67 points. One could see much bigger offensive intensity than at the end of regular season when they struggled with injuries a lot. In the first game against Palencia this season, Oviedo won by 72-69. Palencia would have to impose their type of game and the away team say they will put the emphasis on defense. Details

Union Olimpija have tied three wins in a row, finally waking up from a very bad start earlier this month when they lost three in a row. During that time they lost against Domžale as well, so they are currently third, although even with Helios by points, which bothers them, as they are aiming at second spot which brings the ABA league without the obligation of paying 150.000 euros. The bill is rather large, and Olimpija will do whatever they can to win. The problem is their last round game is against Krka in Novo Mesto, so it would be ideal if they could beat Helios with a +14 spread. Winning is still the primary goal, as defeat would mean they certainly won't get the 2nd spot. Domžale are very good at home, but much less convincing away. They beat Hops and Rogaska away in the playoff, but only after extra time, and decisively lost to Zlatorog and Krka a few days ago. Coach Pan of Olimpija says they learned their less in the first match, meaning they will focus more on defense today. Details

Rosa are deprived of both their centers, and have for some time been playing extremely fast basketball focused on perimeter shooting. They have no qualms about firing off 40 three point shots per game, they avoid 5 on 5 attacks and try to end theirs as fast as possible. With their main center Archibeque missing, everything is in the hands of guards Lucious and Dloniak, who think only of offense. Against Turow on Saturday they played a 171 point game, and one could tell they struggle on defense. If we check the last few games Rosa played against teams that prefer fast paced games, they almost always played near to this margin. Stelmet was beaten 82-81, Trefl 84-73, and Turow lost 82-80 late in March. Apart from that game, they played two more games against Trefl this season, with today's guests wining 83-81 and 102-75. While Rosa are hoping to reach 4th place, Trefl don't have a care in the world. In the remaining two rounds they can go neither up nor down from 3rd place, and the results show it. In none of their last three matches did they go under 172 points. Recently they went to 162 in an away game against a very defensively focused Anwil. Overall, this is a clash of a team with no center and a focus on run and gun basketball, and a completely relaxed away team with the best offense in the league. Details

Zlatorog and Rogaška have played 5 games in last 2 seasons and the home team for each match won the game in question. I expect this run to continue and there are several reason. The first reason is that Laško's form is improving after their slower start of the playoffs. They sufered a heavy defeat against Union Olimpija but coach Milović had said before the game that he would have to make some compromises as today's game against Rogaška and the following home game are much more important. Zlatorog have won last 7 out of 8 games at home, including the first part of the season, while Rogaška have lost last 4 away games. This intense rhythm of on game ever 3-4 days is starting to take its toll among the visitors. They had no chance against Krka on Saturday. What's worse is that their important defensive player Nikolić got injured and he is very likely to miss today's game. In comparison to the start of April when they beat Zlatorog at home, Laško will have one of their best players Goran Jurak who was suspended then. Zlatorog are a solid home team and have only lost against Olimpija at home, while they managed to beat the strong Helios team and tricky Hopsi at home. Details

Munchen will see two teams who play similarly face each other today. Quality is definitely on Bayern's side, and we can expect them to easily impose their rhythm. Actually, they won't have to impose it because the guests play in a similar way. The Bavarians got rid of their commitments in the Euroleague, and now they only have to secure their first place before the Bundesliga playoffs. Bayern usually go over the set margin in home matches against offensively oriented teams. They lost 86-91 against Artland, defeated Telekom 96-84, Wurzburg 98-84, and recently lost to Maccabi 92-92. Both teams were close to 70 field goal. Bremerhaven's problem was that they didn't play on their court, but in Bremen. They scored 3/19 (16%) three pointers then, and Bayern 4/18 (22%). Today's guest had 20 lost balls and 58% shots from the free throws line then. Today, we definitely can't expect numbers that low. The guests are without a burden. They can't get to the playoffs, but they're far enough from the relegation zone, and they can't try and outplay Bayern. Details

Zlatorog coach Milovic's statement reveals a lot:
- We'll try to face them best way possible, but we have to calculate with more important matches in mind, especially those at home. If we see we don't have a chance to win, I'll give some players from the bench a chance to play more than they used to.
Lasko guests come to Ljubljana with two consecutive wins. They've got nothing to lose today, while Union Olimpija continue the fight for the important second place. They luckily passed through Rogaska Slatina on Wednesday, took a huge burden off their backs, but today they have to go for both points again. They defeated Zlatorog 90-60 in the away match in the end of March. While this match isn't that significant for Zlatorog, because all of the clubs from the League for the champion (+2 from the league to stay in the league) are coming to the playoffs, Ljubljana team really want these points because they're only a step away from the second-placed Helios, and the third place leads them to ABA league with a big financial cost, and they want to avoid that in the Olimpija. Details

The title of the preview says a lot. Vechta will see a battle for survival tonight. These are teams in the relegation zone, without much room to maneuver, as there are only 5 rounds left int he regular season. The home team are in a very difficult position. Rasta are at 5-24, two steps behind the away team, and three behind the safe zone. They have lined up 12 losses, and losing today would mean goodbye to any realistic chance of staying in the first league. The away team are in a better mood entering this match, as they've won three of their last four, and had an especially impressive performance in their last one against Artland. You could say that was the best performance the Tigers had all season long. In their first clash with Rasta, they lost at home 62-71. These are teams with the worst shooting potential in the league. Although the home team have not been great on defense lately, today their survival is on the line and I have no doubt they will go all in. Their last round match against Hagen was a 142 points game. Since they are in full strength Tübingen have significantly improved their defense, and if we add the tension over the importance of the game, it's hard to expect some attractive basketball here. Details

With five rounds to go until the end, Würzburg have still not avoided relegation. They currently hold the 16th spot with a score of 9-20, while Tübingen hold the penultimate spot with 7-22 and are in danger zone. SO in theory, it seems Würzburg are two steps ahead but the real situation is not like that. The reason for that are the two points that were deducted from the tally of the hosts here, which means they are only one win ahead, and Tübingen have a better H2H score. That is why every game is very important for the home team. Würzburg have four wins in a row at home and they will face Mitteldeutscher (MBC), a team fighting for the play-offs. The visitors have their ambitions and motivation but I think the hosts will be better motivated as MBC have already achieved their goals. MBC wanted to stay in the league and they succeeded in doing so. If they don't go into the play-offs, no one will hold it against them, while god knows what might happen if Würzburg fail to avoid relegation. The schedule is such that they have only 2 home games left to play, the one against MBC today and the one against Bayreuth in the last round. Between those games, they have very difficult away games in Ludwigsburg and Berlin so one can see how important these home games really are. Details