betprepare.com

Telekom's number of points is set correctly mathematically, but Bayreuth aren't the same team defensively as they were at the beginning of the season, just like Bonn guests aren't the same team offensively. Since the new coach Michael Koch came to Bayreuth, that team didn't concede over 77 points (against the offensively oriented Bremerhaven) in six matches at home. They kept Bayern at 75, Brose under 70 points, Hagen at 71... Koch changed the philosophy in the club that's still fighting to stay in the league, and I think the intensity will be the right kind in the defense. Besides, Koch lead Telekom last season and he knows their players full well. Telekom have 78 points per match in the last matches, but we should point out they were left without their best player and the point guard Jared Jordan who scored 18 points in the first match against Bayreuth. He's the best assistant in the league and the main reason for Telekom's good transitions. Lawrence is a decent substitute, but he's better when it comes to the defense. The main striker Veikalas has been in a bad form for a while now. Their strength is their paint players Gaffney-McLean, but Bayreuth have physically stronger Burrell and Qvale. Details

There are many reasons why I feel the odds here do not reflect the real state of things in this match. Ovideo have more Ourense, that's a fact, but I don't think that's such an important factor. The motivation is definitely working for the home team. Ourense are fighting to stay in the second division. They only have a single win more than the last-placed Navarra and next-to-last Barcelona. They have an away game against Barcelona in the next round and they will do their best to lower the importance of that match as would be the case if they lose here. In the first game against Oviedo, Ourense have suffered a minimal defeat and it's well known how convincing Oviedo are at home (11-1 score). In addition, Oviedo will be without two of their best players. Their center Kevin van Wijk, the third best scorer in the club with 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds is out due to injury and he has been in great form lately. They also lost their top scorer, shooting guard Victor Perez (13.3 points), along with Juan Garcia, their third starter who's been on the list of injuries for months. The latter should be in squad today but is expected to only get a few minutes. Details

First, I decided to do the points under here, but the latest information says that Rincon will be significantly weakened, which tipped the scales in favor of another option. Both Huesca and Rinco are in the battle for the play off. Both teams have the same record, the motivation level is quite similar, but quality-vise, the home team are much better at this point. The biggest problem here is the fact they won't be able to count on four important players, who were there for the first head to head game against Huesca. They lost another two great defenders, and the players with most assists, Diaz and Pozas. They can't count on the second best scorer Todorovic (15,4 points on average), and center and best rebounder Nguirane (6,3 rebounds) either. They stayed in Malaga to try and help Unicaja in the Euroleague game against Barcelona. Todorovic scored 16 points, and added 6 rebounds in the first head to head game against Huesca, while Hguiane recorded 9 rebounds, and Pozas scored 11 points and recorded most assists. Huesca are among the best defenses in the league, and they will definitely put pressure on the visiting team insecure defenders, who have not spent enough time in the game together. Details

Even though the points from the first stage of the competition are transferred into the second, both Slupsk and Tarnobrzeg can play this game without too much pressure. Slupsk have secured Top 6 with their win against Koszalin on Sunday, which means they have a direct play in the play-offs, while Tarnobrzeg will look for a chance to get new points and get away from the danger zone in the group of clubs which and frm the 7th to the 12th place. In the first head-to-head this season, Slupsk won in Tarnobrzeg by 88-72 and without their top scorer Rederick Trice and important power forward Taylor. Even though the home team are a defensively minded team, they have shown that Tarnobrzeg's style definitely suits them. The visitors have no real center and are trying to play as faster as possible. Slupsk will accept that as they have three great forwards (Trice-Hulls-Zimmerman) who prefer fast transitional game and should have a lot of easy points today. Apart from that, the home team are dominant in the paint and I see no way for the hosts to defend in this domain. It's hard to expect this to be a tight and unpredictable game. Details

Koszalin is the team that had the most changes in their roster of all the teams in the Polish league. Someone is coming and leaving every few rounds, which resulted with them unable to enter the Top 6, and losing direct entry to the playoff. After losing to Slupska on Sunday, point guard Oded Brandwein criticized the management for that, and said that there is no chemistry in the team, especially on offense. The management responded by suspending the player, who averages over 11 points, for this game. They recently lost their best scorer Sek Henry, who was suspended for doping, and one of their best scorers, Dunn, is also in question for today, as he injured his Achilles tendon on Sunday. He will probably play, but it remains to be seen how. One should also keep in mind that Koszalin are the worst away team of the league, who won only one of their ten away games last season, against bottom ranked Kotwica. Slask, on the other hand, are a home oriented team, who managed to beat a team like Turow at home, as well as Trefl by 13 points. Their team is well put together, and the injured point guard Danny Gibson is old news as Skibniewski, once a member of national team, is in best form he ever had. Slask lost the first time they met Koszalin this season, but Henry with 18 and Brandwein with 16 were by far the most efficient back then. Details

Cherkaski Mavpy have won last three games, but they came against opponents that have lost many foreign players and are in a difficult situation. They crushed Donetsk who fell apart and were not even focused on basketball, only to barely beat bottom-table clubs Dnjipro Azot ad Krvibas, currently the worst team in Ukraine's top division. Today, they will have a problem as they lost their last foreign player Jamal Boykin. This player was their most experienced one and was the main reason for their last three wins, not only in terms of points but his physical strength and great rebound performances. Without him, Mavpi only have five players with professional contracts. The remaining seven spots are filled with junior level player, born in 1996 or later. Polytechnica's situation is much different. They have 10 professionals and a great foreigner Anthony Miles, who has been showing great offensive capabilities lately, but has also been a good all-round players (rebounds, assists). But, Polytechnica's biggest advantage lies in the paint. Apart from Budivelnik and Himik, no team in the Superliga have such a good duo of centers (Lemik-Ivshin). Polytechnica are a home-oriented team, a win today woudld practically secure the play-offs and they are better organized than the hosts as they have lost only 1 foreign player (Dykes). Details

This margin usually isn't worth playing, but in this case, it all points to the guest team having a really tough afternoon. Krivbas lost all their important players, without all the Americans that carried them, now they're reduced to a few professional players and a big number of juniors. Himik are still in a full lineup, all the foreigners are still there. They defeated the decent Nikolajev with +28 last weekend, and on Friday, they defeated Dnjipro-Azot with +32, and realistically speaking, Azot are better than Krivbas. Those +32 mean even more when you know Jamal Shuler and Paul Delaney didn't play in that match, and Matt Gatens and Romeo Travis were in the first five, but they only played 6 minutes each. It was probably so they could rest because Himik had a tough match in the Eurocup on Wednesday, against Kolejliler in Ankara. Krivbas recently lost to the weakened Azovmas with over 40 difference. Coach Karlis Muiznieks said this before today's match: We allowed our key players to rest in the last match, but today, we'll be playing in full lineup. No way we're going to underestimate our opponent because we still remember the defeat against Krivbas in the first match... I had a meeting with the players, and they were told that regardless of the opponents' quality, we have to play full strength. We have to get even for the defeat, and give our loyal fans the chance to see real basketball being played. Details

Leuven have 4-8 ratio at home this season, and Liege have 8-4 in away matches. More than numbers, what's important is the form, and that's pretty much on the guests' side. Liege only lost once in the last 10 championship matches, in the away match against the strong Mons. The last time they played away against Leuven, they celebrated with 23 points of advantage. Compared to that match, the home team lost their main point guard Holloway, and that's influenced their last matches. Leuven mostly played matches with a low number of points in the last few rounds. That's a problem because Liege own one of the best defenses in the league who concede about 70 points per match. Liege play with a lot of self-confidence. They defeated clubs like Spirou, Oostende and Aalster in the last few weeks, and being about ten points ahead. If they show the same level of defensive game like in the last few matches, and manage to limit home team's main strikers Burgess and Westrol, they can make a huge step towards a new win. It seems they're able to do it. Details

The fact that Mitteldeutscher (MBC) celebrated in the first match against Oldenburg in the overtime this season is a plus for this prediction in my eyes. No doubt the guests will be extra motivated because of that. They learned their lesson in that defeat. They let the MBC's point guard Hatten to be too free, and he punished them throughout the all 40 minutes. Today, I expect coach Machowski to do a better job there. He has two great defensive backs - Joyce and Kramer who'll know how to stop the home team's point guard. MBC's main goal was to make sure they stay in the first league, and they already did that. Oldenburg want to confirm their win in the last round against Alba when they were 29 points ahead in one moment. It shows their good form. They took the third place, and I'm sure they'll do anything to keep it. Details

There is no doubt that Rincon have left a much better impression in the league so far and that they are currently in better form, but considering the circumstance, I am not sure that Ourense will lose by a double-digit difference. The visitors do have six consecutive defeats, but for example, they were in the game until the very end in their last away game against strong Palencia. Against a team with similar quality as Rincon, they also held their ground in the the mentioned negative run of games. Since the first game against Ourense, Rincon have lost two main point guards - Diaz and Pozas - and will certainly use some inexperienced players as their play makers. Two of their important players, Todorović and Nguirane, did not train for this game as they were in Unicaja's roster against Fener in Istanbul last night. We should also bear in mind Ourense's high motivation, and their solid team, which is complete after many injuries. They are only one win away from the last place and one can definitely expect maximum approach from them. Details

Spirou showed in the last round against Oostende away that they are slowly getting into form when they scored more than 90 points and dominated most of the game, but the poor 15 minutes in the second half pushed their club int a new defeat. Today, they will face a much easier task. Spirou are a team who base a lot of their game on good offensive performances and the stats show that. They score an average of 82 points in the league and they allow 78. In last 10 rounds, they have played games with 166 points. They won against Brussels at home at the start of this year by 93-77 and we can expect another high-scoring affair. They have the second worst defense in the league but their offense is not bad. On average, their games see 163 points while their away games see 170 on average. They will not have anything to lose today. Spirou could impose their rhythm without much trouble as Brussels are missing their main center Ubel (practically the only center in the team)so it's clear that they will rely on fast transition and perimeter shots. Spirour have went over this margin against some very defensive teams lately, such as Liege, Mons or Pepinster. Details

This text will be published soon. Details

Even though this is a big Belgian derby, I think Oostende are a big favorite and the odds are set like this mostly because of the fact that this is a derby. Oostende haven't been defeated at home in the championship. They won all 10 matches, but even more importantly, Dario Gjergje's team are arranged better than the guests. Spirou keeps making some changes. In the last ten days, they brought two new players after two of theirs got out because of the injuries. You could see it in a match against a really bad Willebroek, when, in the second half time, they scored only 14 points against the weakest defense of the league, and conceded 37. They lost, but because of a win in the first match, they got through to the Final Four. Oostende defeated the strong Mons in the Cup recently, with almost 40 points difference. When they're motivated, and they'll definitely be motivated today, the home team are a level above their competition. Oostende defeated Spirou in the beginning of the year with 20 difference. Details

When it comes to tactics, there two teams are very similar. They both depend on fast transition. It's a meeting between the two top Bundesliga scorers as well. Darius Adams is the most efficient BUndesliga player (18,3 points on average), and Isaiah Shawn is the second most efficient with 18,2 points. They're both mostly playing the position two, neither is very good in defense and the good offensive performances are to be expected. Bremerhaven won four home games, scoring 85 or more points in each of them. Their average home is some 156 points, but we need to take it into consideration that they opened the season on a 0-7 record and spent a lot of time trying to make things work, especially in offense. 150 points were scored in their first head to head game. But, that was very early in the season, when Bremerhaven were in very bad form. I would therefore not pay that game too much attention. Details

Pepinster have been struggling with offense throughout the season. Their average is some 70 points and that makes them the worst team in the Belgian league. Leuven have much better offensive figures but the problems for the away team is that they have recently lost their point guard Tu Holloway. The problems with organizing the play are visible. They had only 5 assists against Okapi. They didn't look for a player to replace Holloway and the point guard position will be a huge problem in the remaining games. Westrol can play as a point guard but he is a classic shooting guard who can't be utilized to his full extent as a PG. In the last round against Antwerp, they scored only 64 points, 64 against Spirou as well, and 64 (again) against Liege in the Cup. One can expect Pepinster to be very strong and feisty as it is clear they lack offensive quality and I don't think we will see an attractive game. Details

Considering all the problems Kotwica have lately, Tarnobrzeg are in a great position to get even further away from the bottom if the league table. The home team shouldn't have problems imposing their run and gun game. Tarnobrzeg scored 95 points in the first match. Today, the guests will be a lot more weakened. They lost an important wing center Karron Johnson a few days ago, who's a good defensive player, and the backs Callahan and Sapp left the club even before that, alongside another decent defensive player, Wichniarz. Home team made their lines stronger and played well lately. They scored 83 points against Stelmet in the Cup, and 90 points against the defensively great Anwil. Tarnobrzeg have about 79 points per game at home, but with this context, Kotwica will hardly be able to slow the home team down. Kotwica brought some new players, like Montgomery, but they're good strikers and aren't that good in the defense. In the last two seasons, these two clubs never stayed under the given margin. Details

I'm going against the numbers here, a bit, but the context makes it hard to expect an easy match with lots of points. A few days ago, Bayreuth conceded 111 against Oldenburg. They couldn't defend anything. The opponent scored 17 three-pointers. It was all decided by the half-time, and Bayreuth played those 20 minutes that were left only because they had to. Still, that match was an exception to the rule that the home team play good defense since coach Michael Koch came. They score 69 and concede 77,6 per match, and if not for the debacle against Oldenburg, this latter number would be a lot lower. Bayreuth won in three out of four matches where they limited the opponents to 67, 49, 53 points. In the last home match against the offensively oriented Bremerhaven, they lost 67-77, and before that at home against Bayern 51-75, and against Brose 68-69. I expect them to be intense defensively against Rasta today, so they could redeem for the defeat against Oldenburg. Bayreuth are next to the last right now, with 4 wins, Rasta are only one level higher with 5 wins, and it's obvious how much this match means for both of these clubs. They both have a series of 6 defeats. The alarm went off in Vechta, too. Details

This game could prove to be crucial in the battle to avoid the last place. Navarra are currently one place above the bottom and have a 4-16 score, while Barcelona B are the last-placed team with 3-17. A win for Navarra would secure them a place i the relegation play-offs, while Barca would be two steps behind and practically in the third division if they lose. If Navarra lose, they will take the last spot due to worse head-to-head score with the Catalans. Because of this, it is logical to assume this will be a feisty game until the very end. Navarra may not be impressive in defense but no team has such poor offense as the Catalans. In last 10 rounds their average is 134.5 points per game and they score 62.9. In the same period, Navara have an average of 143.8 points per game and less then 64 points scored. One can expect a tight game and not too many points. Details

Coach John Patrick did a great job at Ludwigsburg this season. That team are playing very aggressively in defense and quite good in transition. Alba's tough defense will be their problem today. Alba allowed them to score only 52 points in the first game, which was Ludwigsburg's worst defeat in this championship. Alba are the best defense team in the league, conceding less that 68 points on average away, and scoring around 75. Hammonds is injured and might not play today, which could turn out to be a problem. If he can't play, that means Logan will play the position one. But, Logan is a great shooter who will thus not record his usual offensive efficiency. Obradovic said he wants the same level of devotion as in the Mittelduetscher game last weekend. They limited that team to 61 point. Details

Not so long ago, coach Jurgen Van Meerbeeck said he doesn't even want to think about what would happen if one of his three important players (Westrik-Burgess-Holloway) would get injured. Nobody is, but he lost a crucial part of his team. Leuven unexpectedly announced they ended the contract with their point guard Holloway who went back to the United States. The real reason why their best player went wasn't revealed, and there's definitely a huge gap now. Holloway was their best striker with 17.3 points per game, and the best assistant (3.5). He played 32 minutes per game, and it's a real question who'll make up for his absence. Earlier this season, the important wing player Jonathan Dubas got out for the rest of the season. The club will probably won't be looking for new reinforcements, but give chance to the young Belgian players. Leuven aren't convincing in the defense, and base a lot of of their game on the offense, while the Aalstar guests are a completely different team who play one of the best defenses of the league. They concede less than 70 points per away game. They had two defeats in a row, from the strong Liege and Spirou, so they'll try to fix things today. Okapi are the best guest of the Belgian league. They have 7-3 ratio of away games (Leuven at home 3-7). Besides, the guests will probably be stronger because of their best player Derek Raivi, who's been practicing by himself for some time, but it seems he's completely ready, and that's a big plus for Okapi. Details