betprepare.com

In this match there's too much chance given to Andorra. They are a team who belong to the bottom of the table because of their quality, and their coach indirectly said it too. There's a lot of tension at the club now and it seems that it's only a matter of time when someone will get sacked. On the other hand, we have a fully organized team, Zaragoza, who won three out of four games with a double-digit difference, and the only defeat was by Real Madrid. Even in the away matches in the last three rounds they scored two wins against two great teams. The great shape, the excellent roster and the weak opponents who have big problems seem like a great scenario for another win with a 10+ difference. Details

Torino have lost all three home games by double digit numbers. And they had their best defensive player and only true center Ebi at their disposal. He is absent today and it is hard to see how can Torino parry physically much stronger rivals from Milano. Repesa is furious after recent European defeats and he will ask maximum focus from his players, and in such situation Torino don't really stand much chance. As much as Milano may appear slow in Euroleague, at home they have dominated everyone and wins by double digit advantage have become normal for them. Macvan's absence from today's game won't be felt because Barac, Lawal, McLean and others can do what they want against physically inferior opponents and this game should be resolved by the halftime. Details

I warned about Zalgiris a few times this season. They are an extremely well-experienced and good-quality team that acquired players like Motum, Vougioukas, and Hanland, which gave them extra dimension. They are playing great basketball this season, which especially goes for defense. The defensive end never allowed more than 70 points this season and only Barcelona hit over 76 against them. A well-experienced team like then won't rush into anything today and will most definitely put good pressure on PAO, who are still looking for the top game. I don't think this will be a blow-out. On the contrary, I think Zalgiris have more chance of winning. The under at home team seems like the best option because I would not be surprised if PAO got limited to under 70 points. Details

The total points margin is getting higher even though I see no logical explanation for it. Both of these teams and their coaches represent a typical European basketball style. Tough defenses, no running and no fast-pace. Both teams are set up in the same way and there is no other way when you have centers who are 217 tall. I expect slow-paced basketball today with tough defenses on both ends of the floor. Barca and the favorites and rightly so. I don't think they'll go over 80 points and the game won't go over 150. This is a clash for the top spot in the group, each point can matter and Bartzokas and Pascual will call each action carefully. This will most likely not go over 150 points, unless someone has a crazy shooting night. Details

I don't think this will be a close match like the odds suggest. Limoges do not belong in Euroleague as their defeats to Olympiacos and Laboral proved. Milano are not weaker than those teams even though their results so far don't confirm that. But Milano will grow with time and I think today's meeting is a perfect opportunity for them. The home team have no weapons to attack them. Milano's defensive end will be particularly motivated as they cannot allow a defeat today. As soon as Milano's defense starts controlling their end of the floor and Laval, Barac and McLean control the rebounding, the huge difference in quality will become obvious. Limoges won't be able to respond to that and I think they'll record another convincing defeat. Details

Cantu are a heavy favorite here. They can hope for playoffs but the results are just not good enough for that just yet. Today's opponent seems like an ideal one for a convincing win. Though the Italian teams find this competition to be not as good as the Serie A, Cantu want this win and a boost of confidence it will give them. They ave enough time until the clash with Avellino at the weekend anyway. Cantu's offense is at a high level and they can hit as many points as necessary easily against opponents like these. If they play defense like they can, this can easily finish with a 20-point difference. That means this handicap is definitely worth going for. Details

I have to admit I don't see why Brindisi would be favorites against Venezia right now. The form is definitely on away team's side, because Brindisi are not doing well without Reynolds and they cannot wait for him to come back. Brindisi's only true advantage should be in the paint, but Gagic and Milosevic are playing far from their abilities there, and Kadji and Zerini are fours and they cannot use the lack of height at away team's centers. Venezia will slow down this game, impose their aggressive defense, and Brindisi without Reynolds cannot break that and they will shoot from the floor. This won't pass only in case of a crazy shooting night, otherwise Venezia will win here. Details

Quality-wise, these two teams are not so different as the odds show it. Maybe even Zaragoza has the slight advantage and this looks more like a handicap based on the table and the scores which are not an ideal show of things. Zaragoza had a very difficult fixture so far, and they lost to Barcelona and Real with eight points of difference. Now the American Henry Sek has recovered, so they will be even stronger and I see a big chance for them in today's away match. Last year they hardly played against Joventut because they had Katic and they didn't have to defend Joventut's fast game. This season, with Jelovc and Forua at the center and Norel, Zaragoza can stand up to any game style. I believe that they can be equal here, and even surprise by the end since Zaragoza's rise will start with this match. Details

The handicap margin is dropping, but I don't see any particular reason for that. Everyone is talking about Kuric and his tumor, which is definitely a big loss for the home team and that is why we bet against Gran Canaria when they faced Alba. But today is a different story. The team is no longer shaken, Kuric was operated on and he is fine, and his current condition will be additional motivation for the home team today and sold out arena. This season at home, Gran Canaria demolished all of their opponents by huge leads, and they still haven't faced a team so inferior in quality like Manresa. They want to get back on the winning track, they definitely want to do it convincingly for Kuric and sold-out arena, and they won't get a better chance in the ACB league than Maresa, and I believe that this will be another easy win for Aito Reneses and his team. Details

Andorra have nothing to do here if they rush and chase after the score or if they don't keep their defense at the highest level. They are a slow team who played very good last season at home with their defense, and they left almost all of the best teams under 80 points. They will insist on that today too because after two defeats in a row they have to go after a win, even in matches like this one. Barca are great, they're playing at their highest level, but everything starts with the defense and there won't be chasing around. Today the reserve players will probably get more play-time who are not as offensively strong. Last year these teams barely made it over 120 points here, and in the preparation match they barely went over 150, so I don't see how this one will go any higher than that. Details

Reggiana play great basketball. They are one of the rare European teams that has put together a great team without a single American. They play intelligent, organized basketball and that is keeping them at the top of the national championship and Eurocup. But I don't think they will have an easy job today. Cremona under Pancotta are very tough, physically strong and aggressive team. The pressure Adgeboye, Southerland and Washington can make in the backcourt should be the key for today's game, because Kaukenas, Reggiana's game depends too much on Aradori, and he can be guarded easily with athletically strong players. The most important thing will be control of Reggiana's rebound where Polonara, Veremeenko and Lavrinovic play great, but the home team have great Cusin in the paint who guards the rebound great, and jumpers Biligha and Washington who can definitely parry Reggiana in that segment. Overall I expect here an even game and I wouldn't be surprised if Reggiana slipped up here. Even with Kaukenas' return to court, which is very unlikely, this is still a 50-50 game and this has value. Details

This season, Zalgiris have put together a great team filled with quality and experience. Led by sold out arena at home, they will be a tough nut to crack for anyone, but I think that won't be the case today. Barca's quality is on another level, and their current form is impressive. There is no mention of fatigue, because no one is playing over 20 minutes, and Tomic was resting completely this weekend against Arroyo. I think Barcelon's defense will be crucial in today's game, and their only goal is stopping stopping Kalnietis' pick game. Since Barca are, with CSKA, the best team in Europe in stopping pick, I see that as a great chance. Satoransky will put pressure on Kalnietis, and Tomic and Lawal are great in such defense. Zalgiris don't have any other offensive options and they will have big problems there. There is no need to specially mention Barcelona's offense, and it is ridiculous to expect that Arroyo, Navarro, Abrines, Oleson, Doellman... will miss every shot like they did against Karsiyaka when they suffered their only defeat this season. Incomparably more realistic option is that Barcelona will win at Kaunas by a double digit advantage. Details

Under Pears, Laboral are excellent, especially lately. Their aggressive and fast defense creates trouble for everyone, but I don't think that will be the case today. Efes are not a static team like Uicaja or Olympiacos whom Laboral have crushed with their defense. Efes have Huertel and Granger as plays who can pierce through such defenses with no problems, and they're all the time spinning the pick game, unlike Oly or Unicaja who sent a lot of their balls to centers. Efes's centers are fast and speedy, and Laboral can't keep up with one Brown or Saric. Laboral got the role of the favorites only thanks to the last couple of matches, and my opinion is that the quality is by far on Efes's side, just like the fact that Efes can deal very good with what now seems like the Spaniard's strongest weapons, and that's defense and quick transition. For me Efes are the favorites in this match, but out of the respect for the home team and their shape, I will go "only" for the handicap. Details

Gran Canaria dominate the Eurocup in the last years, but I think things will be different today. Kyle Kuric's brain tumor definitely influenced the team, and he's the best player the guests have. Without him, both the offense and the defense will struggle. You could see how much they miss Kurc this weekend against Laboral. Aguilar and Newley are also questionable today, and even if both of them played, they won't be their best. Alba are very convincing at home, they play an aggressive defense that won't suit Gran Canaria. It's hard for anyone to play away in Berlin, and it will definitely be hard for GranCa who are coming while struggling with injuries. Details

Pamesa's pace is much slower now than in the past few seasons. They also play very good defense, which resulted in over one over at this margin in 3 home games. Venezia are an even bigger reason for this bet because Recalcati forces the well-organized and slow-paced basketball dominated by their defense. Venezia played most of the matches at 60 or so points. i don't think either coach will decide to get things faster now. This looks like the classical European game in which tactics and defenses will dominate. That is why the 150-point margin is acceptable. Details

Neither of these two have been brilliant this season, but Cantu's got so much more potential. Ross has recovered fully and is back, he played 19 minutes in the league match this weekend. Him, Abass and Heslip are a class above Le Havre. And the motive here is huge. Le Havre are focused on the national championship and could take this match lightly. Besides, they've got beaten with double-digit numbers in away matches this season, and weren't competitive in either of them. Cantu didn't have luck with the draw at the beginning of the national championship, but their game will definitely improve as the season goes on, especially when the team is complete. They're motivated today because they're playing at home, and they could easily win this. Details

A match which should be decided by small numbers. Zalgiris have been an atypical team for Lithuanian basketball school and they base a lot of their strategy on a strong defense and slow game. The same is this year with the back line being led by the experienced Kalietis, Pocius and Seibutis. That means there will be no racing around and that they will play long offenses with strong defenses on both sides. Karsiyaka surprised us positively by beating Barca in the first round, but I don't think they are a team who are good enough to be favorites against such a good and experienced team such as Zalgiris. Because of all the aforementioned, I find the best variable to be the home team's under. Details

I think Murcia are quite underestimated today. OK, Barcelona are a machine and maybe the best team in Europe right now, but they are coming to an unpleasant court today, against a team led by Fotis Katsikaris which means steel-like defense and a physically strong team that can compete against any other team in the league. They have done the same thing here against Unicaja, they kept them even until the last second and they can easily do the same thing against Barcelona. Katsikaris already announced that he will demand defense and concentration in all 40 minutes, and it suits him that Barcelona are not as fast as Unicaja. I believe that Murcia can definitely complicate things here and I am betting on this handicap, even though equally good choice is the under on away team's points. Details

Joventut are definitely not a team that deserves to be such favorites against Fuenlabrada. Last year sure, but not this season. Joventut are not the favorites. Tabak turned Fuenlabrada into a much more serious team than they were last season, especially defensively. We saw that in the last game against Unicaja where they dropped simply because of the fear and respect at the start of the game, and as soon as they got back on their feet, they played an even game against a Euroleague team. Unicaja are stronger than Joventut, and the respect/fear shouldn't be present this time. These teams are not very different, we could actually say that they are equalized. Joventut's advantage is home court, but that cannot count for 12 points and for me this handicap is too high. Details

The margin is set too low for someone with this much quality and so much freedom on the floor. Haynes can go up against anyone in Europe in any kind of conditions. Logan and him are the first and second offensive option here. He always takes at least 10 shots and will be very motivated against CSKA. He said he doesn't see a way for Teodosic to defend him, which makes sense. Haynes will take as many shots as he normally does and more. The matcup is not that important here since because, as I said, Haynes can have an over against anyone. He cannot be stopped one-on-one. I think he can go up to 20 points today and I simply cannot miss out on this. Details