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Okapi have been doing much better in defense than offense this season. The stats are clear and they show they concede 73 points on average. Oostende are better in this respect. They concede 70 points on average. In terms of offense, both teams have higher figures but there are some clubs with very poor defense that most of the clubs use to "pump" their stats. Okapi usually struggle against clubs with good defense. For instance, they lost against Mons recently by 57-70, and played a 130-point game against Liege before that, and twice under 148 points against Spirou. The home team are still without very important offensive solutions Raivi and Relefrod and they will certainly not rush things against Oostende today. The Supercup game in which they limited Oostende away to 60 points should be their guideline for today. Their visitors for today had a tough game against UNICS two days ago and have some problems with absent players, and we can't expect Oostende to be as dominant as they were in the last round against Okapi, but we should see a tight game. Details

The first game between Ferro and Azovmash played earlier this season ended with Azovmash winning 81-58. Azovmash have had a solid defense all season long, but their offense is far from where it should be. As an example, vs CSKA on Sunday they scored only 40 points. They limited the mighty team form Moscow to 75, but they're obviously really struggling on offense, and their new coach could not fix things in just two days. They were limited to 71 point vs Riga, and scored the same vs the defensively weaker Čerkaski Mavpi. Ferro ZNTU beat the weak Dnjipro in the last round, limiting them to 59 points. The home team are physically a very strong team that can play very good defense. The problem is they cannot count on their best scorer today, Marshall (16 pts on average), nor their main assist provider Butski. The missing duo scored 34 points combined in the first match vs Azovmash, more than half of what their team totaled. Details

Statistically speaking, Cherkaski Mavpy have not beaten anyone at home by more than 8 points, while Dnipro-Azot have lost by a double-digit margin only against Ferro ZNTU and Politehnika (-11 and -14, respectively). Even though the away team have only 2 wins (both away) their current form does not reflect their situation on the table. For instance, they played twice against Budivelnik in the last two rounds and they lost once by 5 points and the other time by 10, while Mavpy have lost against that very same Budivelnik by 27 points at the start of 2014. Azot confirmed their solid form by a win over powerful Odesa in the cup quarter-finals on Thursday (81-78), and they beat Mavpy away in pre-season by 75-71. The home team are not at a very high level and one can expect them having problems stopping Sims, the top scorer of the league. Details

As Brad Dean said, coaching the away team, his team are doing much better in away matches this season than at home. Statistically speaking, Aalstar are the best away team in the Belgian league and the teams with one of the best defenses. Brussels, on the other hand, are a lower quality team even within the Belgian league, with especially big problems on defense, which dooms them to bottom ranking. They have tied seven losses and won only one game in their last 13 rounds, while their only victories were against team from the lower half of the ranking table. From the point of view of their concept, Aalstar have the game of a home team. The away team have one of the best defenses in the league, that allows their opponents only 69 points in away matches. Today they will be particularly motivated after losing the match vs the defensively equally strong Mons last weekend. Another defeat would further distance them from the Top 4 race and their next round match is vs the mighty Oostende. Aalstar have already shown they are better than Brussels in their first match earlier this season, where they were already 37 points ahead at halftime. Aalstar have already shown they do better in away games than at home, several times this season, they are better than Brussels and capable of scoring a double-digit victory. Details

Slask are in the right rhythm. They have two wins in a row and more importantly, their attacks are doing according to the expectations. The team from Wroclaw is renowned for their fast game with short attacks and solid perimeter shot. For instance, in the last two home games against Tarnobrzeg, they have scored 105 points and 86 against the defensive specialists Asseco. Today, they are playing against Kowtica, a team with an average game of 160 points and without defensive capacities to slow the opponents down and without any intention to do so, anyway. The club from Kolobrzeg are also prone to faster basketball. In away games against the best defenses in the league - Slupsk and Asseco - they played 152-point games, and against more offensive teams (like Slask), they went over 170. Even against Asseco. Their first head-to-head this season saw 175 points. It was a fast-paced game and you can expect something similar today. Details

Looking at the games between Real and Bayern, it's not hard to conclude that the style the Germans have really suits Real. Fast-paced basketball with speedy offense and attractive moves is a trait of Real's game but is something the Bavarians have to a certain degree. The home team are going for their 30th win this season and it's hard to believe Bayern will stand in their way and that their defense can stop the Spanish nuclear assault. I don't see this as a close game. The Bavarians said they are coming to play a game without any pressure and that they have nothing to lose. These games are the easiest ones to play and they will not give up on their run'n'gun style. Real's average in Euroleague games at home is 160 points, they didn't play too many games against offensively-minded teams like Bayern, who have gone over 170 against Olympiacos twice. Details

An over bet on Bayern's home games at the margin of about 160 points is always paying off. The numbers say that the German team are playing the games at an average of 168 points at Audi Dome. They were under 160 points only against Brose and Ulm (158 and 157), and always over against weaker teams. They played an extremely important game against Partizan on Thursday, used up a lot of energy and expecting them to be at the same level today is not realistic. Bayern should not have problems in offense, Braunschweig are not Partizan. It's quite clear that Braunschweig are not able to stand up to Bayern defense vise. As they said, they've got nothing to lose, and Bayern's extremely fast pace will suit equally fast defenders Swann and Florence, who will take responsibility. Putting up a real fight is hard to expect from them, they'll just wait for the game to end at some point. For example, they played a game with almost 180 points scored in Berlin against Alba, who are great in defense. Point count in Brose away was 156, and the Bavarians are a much faster team than both Alba and Brose. Details

Frankfurt have six injured players, or some that are not completely ready. Marius Nolte, Stefan Ilzhofer and Quantez Robertson have been out for a while, and after Rautins and Burtschi, the point guard Konstantin Klein also got injured. He didn't train last week because of an ankle injury. It's a difficult situation because losing Burtschi and Rautins means losing the team leaders. Rautins is basically 50% of the Frankfurt's offense, and Burtschi is very efficient in the defense. Without those players, they lost in Bamberg last weekend with 30 points difference. They only scored 43 points then. There was a chance that Rautins might play, but he didn't, and they don't want to take any chances today. It means that Frankfurt will play with what is basically a junior team, enforced with three foreign players none of which is older than 23. Alba had 9 consecutive wins in all the competitions. The Berliners own the best defense of the league. They're complete, and you can definitely expect a win with a double-digit difference against the decimated home team. Details

Asseco haven't got an away win this season, but there are several reasons why I believe they will end their negative run today. The main reason is that their team has more quality than Tarnobrzeg. In their last game, Asseco beat Anwil who had a run f six wins and they scored 78 points against the best defense in the league. In the round before that, they almost beat Koszalin away. They had practically won the game when they gambled their lead away in the dying moments and lost the game in the overtime. They have recently lost an away game at Stelmet by a single point and they outplayed strong Turow on other occasion. They have beaten Tarnobrzeg at home by 16 points this season. It turned out that the today's home team doesn't like hard defense that Asseco have. Tarnobrzeg are a team with the weakest defense in the league and they don't know how to play when the opponents impose their rhythm. I believe Asseco could certainly do so. The away team have probably the best point guard in the league in Walton and he is in great form which is why I believe the hosts will have a tough task covering him and his fast penetrations and Asseco will definitely use this fact. After all, the home team have recently lost their important shooter Weeden who had an average of 14 points. Details

The Oostende camp reports that they look at Valencia as an Euroleague level team, which they surely deserve, judging from their form and quality. The Spaniards managed to beat Bilbao in an away game, the same Bilbao who recently defeated Barcelona. They did well vs the mighty Real too. When they took the game seriously, they also demolished all their Eurocup opponents at home. They beat ASVEL +27, Paris +46, Varese +34, Ulm +14 points… I expect them to perform well today, as this is the second stage of the Eurocup where even the ratio of points scored vs conceded could play a role. Oostende had a solid score in the first stage, but in a relatively easy group, truth be told, with Cibona and a lethargic Artland. They got thrashed vs Nymburk and Cantu. This weekend they scored a decisive win vs Spirou in the national championship, but lost two starters in that game, a very important center Berggren and guard Quentin Serron. This narrows down their rotation even more, which is a big problem. Details

In theory, this is a derby but in reality, form, quality, and the current situation largely speak in favor of the away team. Bayern lost both games against Oldenburg last year and this will be a huge motivation for them today. The Bayern form last year and the one from today cannot be compared as they are now a team dominating the German league, they have the widest bench and they showed what form they are in on Friday as the beat Žalgiris in Kaunas without any problem whatsoever. They could have easily beaten them by 20 points had the Bavarians not relaxed in the last period. Oldenburg have been fluctuating a lot lately and this is not the level of play from last year. They have four consecutive defeats at home and they were heavily defeated in Berlin on Friday. The suspension for their first point guard Joyce hurt more than the defeat itself as they have no real replacement for him. Their reserve point guard Smit practically hasn't played at all this season and they will use Jenkins and Kramker, typical shooting guards, as point guards and the question is how this will turn out. In addition, Oldenburg are far from convincing in the paint. Their first center Chubb hasn't played this whole season and Italian Crosariol is not at this level. Aleksadnrov is pretty poor in defense as a power forward, and Smeulders has only recovered recently...Bayern are well-equipped under the rim (Troutman, Thompson, Bryant…) and should have an advantage in rebounds. All in all, the only advantage Oldenburg have is the home court while everything else suggests that this game will not be very tight. Details

Three tied defeats for Slask definitely influenced the set margin, but Wroclaw's team lost even against the objectively stronger teams, and in the away games (Trefl, Koszalin, Trefl). They had some absences issues, and new players adjusting during that time, so they fell out of the first six on the league table. Everyone knows that the home team definitely wants a direct way to the play-offs. Even though they're a rookie in the league, Slask definitely belong to the top of the league table with their quality. So far, they played pretty well at home, and today, they're playing against the weak Tarnobrzeg, so they simply can't allow the luxury of making a wrong step. Slask are definitely better. They showed it when they defeated today's opponents with 15 points difference. Tarnobrzeg only defeated the weak Kotwice in the away game, and Kotwice almost have no defense. That kind of a game definitely suits the home team's style. The guests don't have a center, and base everything on running, Slask should know how to take advantage of that and you can definitely expect a two-digit win by the home team. Details

Braunschweig lose their crucial players each round. They will have to face Würzburg today without their suspended center Kyle Visser, one of the the top scorers in the club (13,6 points on average + 6 rebounds) which is a huge handicap. They lost Harding Nana earlier, their crucial power forward, and their reserve center Erick Land. Their reserve playmaker Zazai is in question, and Gertz is also out of action which means the team will be able to count only on 6 first-team players. They will fill in the gaps with youth players, that is, the members of their B team. It's a huge blow for the home team who remain reliant on their duo Swann-Florence and they will have to face Würzburg who are definitely on the up and have conceded an average of 67,6 points since their new coach Koch arrived. They limited Brose to 61 points in the last round, Tübingen to 65 in the game before that, and Ludwigsburg to 58. A particularly important thing is that the away team are the strongest in the paint. Their trio McNaughton-Kleber-Boone is in good form and the home team will have a hard time matching them under the rim. They key will be to stop Swann or Florence and Würzburg definitely know how to do that. The 76,5 points margin for the home team is purely statistical and it doesn't factor in the situation for the home team nor the offensive improvements for the away team. Details

Malcom Delaney is Bayern's best scorer this season. He's been scoring around 15 points in EuroLeague, and he'll certainly score a few more today, because one of the best scorers at Bayern, Dedovic, is injured. The Germans are not as good in defense as they are in the paint, and imagining that someone besides Delaney will take responsibility is quite difficult. The American has a 12/24 record when it comes to the three point attempts in the last five EuroLeague games, his penetration is great, and he almost always takes the ball in the key moments. He'll be fighting against Dentmon, another great offense player, who is not at good in defense. Details

Since the Slovenian coach Gasper Okorn came, Koszalin aren't the same team. Okorn took the team with 0-4 ratio, and under his guidance, they had five wins and only two defeats in the last seven rounds. The turn happened because Koszalin started playing a better defense. If you take a look at the games against defensively very bad teams, like Polpharma or Tarnobrzeg, those were all games in which the defensively oriented basketball dominated. That's how Koszalin defeated both Anwil and Slupsk, two teams that can be compared to Asseco with their game style. Guests are also lead by a Slovenian, David Dedek, who's basketball philosophy is similar to the one by Okorn - defense has the top position. For example, Asseco usually have under 138 points per away games. They managed to slow down even the offensively best teams of the league. They lost to Stelmet 70-71, they defeated Turow 68-52, and with the first offense of the league, Trefl's, they played a game with 137 points. In the first round, Asseco defeated Koszalin 77-65, but the home team improved their defense significantly with the new coach in the meantime, and we should expect a pretty tough basketball in that regard. With the home team's under, the complete under of points is also a good option. Details

Alba played the last few games without their best striker, but you couldn't tell that from their offense. They didn't score less than 81 points in either of those games, and besides the good offensive game, they're also good in the defense. That's why they only conceded 73 points against Vechta's run-and-gun team last weekend, and only 46 against Dexia in a revue game. They only concede 69 points per game this season, and score over 80, at home 88,5 in the championship. On the other hand, Braunschweig are going through a tough time. They have big issues with injuries and their rotation will be reduced to only seven players today. Clearly, Braunschweig have problems keeping the intensity and freshness because they only managed to win one last quarter in the last eight games. A tight rotation is especially problematic today because Alba's coach Obradovic is known for forcing an aggressive defensive game. Guests' offense depends on the back duo Swann-Florence, and if they don't play the right way, there are big problems. They're left without the substitute point guard Zazai, so Immanuel McElroy will probably be a back up solution for that position. He usually plays the three. After Braunschweig scored 53 points in Frankfurt, they scored 66 against Oldenburg at home in the last round. Details

Why bet on a club that has six consecutive defeats? Well, Bayreuth are not any worse than Mitteldeutscher and the fact that they've slipped into the relegation zone has completely mobilized their squad. It's hard to find a club in Bundesliga that is unlucky as Bayreuth. Their latest game against Artland is a good example of that as they are very close to an away win and then lost the game in the last seconds of overtime. Coach Krunić was happy with his team's performance especially the center duo Burrell-Qvale who should be able to dominate the paint today. Bayreuth have gotten all their wins so far at home while MBC have won only once in seven away games. I expect the hosts to be ready and motivated and the odds on Bayreuth are very good. After a long while, their squad is complete and you could see that against Artland. I believe their quality is not reflected in their standings. Details

Tarnobrzeg haven't been defeated in the last three matches, since coach Dariusz Szczubial took over the club. He lead the team in the previous two seasons, too. This coach' philosophy is extremely offensive, and he's clearly showing that this season, as well. In the last three home games, they scored 95, 107, and 91 points. Of course, Koszalin, Kotwica and Polpharma aren't as defensively powerful as Slupsk are, but the guests come into today's duel with numerous problems. That team won't be aided by their best player and striker Roderick Trice who got the same injury again in the last match. Center Garrett Stutz is back to the practices, but he's not in his best shape after having some ankle issues. Wing player Marcin Dutkiewicz also has health issues, and also the back Michal Jankowski. The Slupsk management decided that the susbstitute center Keith Wright won't be going to this away game, either. The reason is his bad shape, so that player probably counted off the last of his days in Slupsk. They're all good defensive players. Slupsk won't have the full rotation option, and they could have a lot of problems in the paint, which will probably suit to Tarnobrzeg who will insist on the fastest game possible, and the transitions. Details

The margin is in a complete accordance with the stats, but context is singing a different tune here. Both Tubingen and Wurzburg are currently at the very bottom of the table with a 3-10 record. Wins are therefore extremely necessary. Home team's coach said every game is crucial now. He also said that his team have stability now. Tubingen were in a great crisis, but they signed some players since, and the key defender Lischka recovered from an injury. Some development is visible with Wurzburg as well. Ever since the new coach Koch took over, things started looking up. Two wins in three rounds prove it best, plus the fact they played best defense of the season last weekend. They are not trying for three points as often anymore, they are more patient, and tougher in defense. That kind of approach limited Ludwigsburg at only 58 points. They will have to do without the best scorer Harris today, which means orienting on defense will be the key to wining. Tubingen are at 70 points on average home, and Wurzburg limited powerful Telekom under this margin recently on the road. Details

A bit of a typical prediction when it comes to Anwil's home games against a team that aren't in the top of the Polish basketball. Wloclawek team concede only 69 points per game this season, which makes them the best defense of the league. They allow even less at home, 65,3. The data that only the best offense of the league, Trefl, managed to score over 69 points in their arena in the regular time - they scored 70, speaks best about what kind of team they are. They played one game against Rosa, in the pre-season, when they celebrated 74-62 at home. Radom guests score 74 points per away game, but when they faced tougher teams, they were left significantly under 70. So, in Slupsk (who are the most alike Anwil in the Polish league), they scored 63, and 57 in Stelmet. In the last round, they played a pretty tough game against Koszalin. Today, they'll have a much more difficult job in the offense because their best striker Elijah Johnson is injured, and he'll be off the court for a couple of weeks. Details