Week 28 Preview

UNICS vs. Lokomotiv-Kuban and Zenit vs. Nizhny Novgorod highlight the action in Week 28.

Sunday, April 3

Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus) - CSKA (Russia)
Time: 3:00 PM (3:00 PM MSK)
Place: Minsk Arena, Minsk, Belarus
TV: Belarus-5 (Belarus), Match! Nash sport (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Tsmoki-Minsk: Igor Grishchuk's club faces a brutal schedule to finish the  regular season, playing CSKA, Loko, Khimki and Zenit in the final four weeks. On the other hand, the Dragons have already been eliminated from playoff contention and will have nothing to lose. Playing at home, Minsk would love to reward its fans by giving CSKA a fight.

CSKA: The Army Men took on archrival Zalgiris in the Euroleague on Friday and picked up a convincing win over their long-time enemy. Overall, the Euroleague's Russian clubs went 3-0 this week. As for CSKA, defeating the legendary Lithuanian club should give the team an extra boost entering Sunday's contest.

UNICS (Russia) - Lokomotiv-Kuban (Russia)
Time: 3:00 PM (3:00 PM MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Kazan, Russia
TV: Match TV (Russia), Match! Nash sport (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

UNICS: Kazan remains in 2nd place, despite losing twice in its last five games and squeaking out an overtime win in Tallinn. Two games up on 3rd-place Lokomotiv-Kuban, Sunday's showdown is huge. A win would virtually guarantee 2nd place and home-court advantage in the first two rounds, while a loss could open the door for Lokomotiv to leapfrog Kazan in the final weeks. The first meeting between these clubs went to UNICS, 58-56 in Krasnodar.

Lokomotiv-Kuban: The Railwaymen have a tough task ahead of them. The club recently clinched its first-ever berth in the Euroleague playoffs and picked up another win on Thursday vs. Unicaja, but there won't be much time to prepare for UNICS. Kazan is very difficult to beat at home, while Krasnodar has only defeated one other top team on the road, CSKA.

Avtodor (Russia) - Krasny Oktyabr (Russia)
Time: 5:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: Kristall Sports Palace, Saratov, Russia
TV: United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Avtodor: Saratov has won seven straight while averaging nearly 100 points per outing. Trailing 5th-place Khimki by one game, Avtodor has a chance to jump as high as 4th place in the final standings. The schedule is also favorable with only one game remaining vs. a top-eight club (CSKA).

Krasny Oktyabr: Volgograd has yet to beat Saratov in the VTB United League, losing all three meetings over the past two seasons. The Steelmen can snap that streak on Sunday, but face an extremely motivated Saratov club.

VEF (Latvia) - Khimki (Russia)
Time: 5:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: Arena Riga, Latvia, Riga
TV: Riga TV (Latvia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

VEF: There's a lot of history between VEF and Khimki, but it's been a lopsided rivalry with Khimki boasting a perfect 14-0 record vs. the Latvian club. Francisco Cruz erupted for 35 points in the first meeting of the season, but it wasn't enough to get the win on the road. Playing at home is unlikely to give VEF much of a boost, either. The club has a better record away from Riga this year.

Khimki: Moscow Region has emerged from its slump, knocking off Zenit last week in the league and destroying Olympiacos in the Euroleague by 32. Petteri Koponen led the way for Khimki against the Greek powerhouse and also guided his club to victory against VEF earlier in the year.

Zenit (Russia) - Nizhny Novgorod (Russia)
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 PM MSK)
Place: SIBUR Arena, St. Petersburg, Russia
TV: Match! Nash sport (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Zenit: After a strong start to March, St. Petersburg lost its last two outings vs. Khimki and Avtodor. On Sunday, Vasily Karasev's club takes on bitter rival Nizhny Novgorod. Eliminated by Ainars Bagatskis and co. last season in the playoffs, Zenit hopes to take revenge and avoid slipping in the standings.

Nizhny Novgorod: Big changes over the summer meant Nizhny got off to a sluggish start in the league, but the club has since found its stride, winning six of its last seven. A victory on the road vs. 4th-place Zenit would improve Nizhny's odds of avoiding a first-round matchup with CSKA. Nizhny can also get revenge for a loss at home to St. Petersburg in December.

Enisey (Russia) - Kalev (Estonia)
Time: 7:10 PM (3:10 PM MSK)
Place: Sports Palace, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
TV: SA Tallinna Televisioon (Estonia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Enisey: Krasnoyarsk has been solid against the bottom half of the league. Playing at home, the Siberians are likely to be favored. At the same time, Enisey hasn't defeated Kalev since November 2014. Enisey won that game by scoring a club record 111 points. Krasnoyarsk also defeated Cibona earlier in the week to advance to the FIBA Europe Cup Final Four.

Kalev: Even though Tallinn has lost four of its last five, competitive outings vs. Loko and UNICS have given the team confidence (Kazan needed overtime to escape Tallinn with a win). The Estonians already knocked off Oleg Okulov's club at home, though the star in that win, Josh Boone, has since moved to Khimki.

Tuesday, April 5

Nymburk (Czech Republic) - Vita (Georgia)
Time: 6:30 PM (7:30 PM MSK)
Place: SA Nymburk, Nymburk, Czech Republic
TV: TV Nova Sport (Czech Republic), Silk TV Sport 3 (Georgia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Nymburk: The battle for 6th-8th is heating up and Nymburk cannot afford any setbacks down the stretch. The team has only four games remaining on the schedule, including three vs. playoff-bound clubs. That makes Tuesday's game vs. last-place Vita a must-win.

Vita: Tbilisi finally broke through with its first victory last week. Traveling to Nymburk this week, expect Vita to play with confidence as it seeks to get revenge for a loss earlier in the season. Nymburk won that game by 60 points, the 2nd-biggest margin of victory in league history.

Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus) - Lokomotiv-Kuban (Russia)
Time: 7:00 PM (7:00 PM MSK)
Place: Minsk Arena, Minsk, Belarus
TV: Belarus-5 (Belarus), Match! Nash sport (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Tsmoki-Minsk: After the game vs. CSKA, the Dragons meet another title contender and the league's top defense in Lokomotiv-Kuban. With the exception of its season-opening win against UNICS, the Belarusians have not tasted success against a top-eight team. Tsmoki is also 0-7 all-time vs. the Railwaymen.

Lokomotiv-Kuban: Georgios Bartzokas has assembled a terrific defensive unit in Krasnodar, not to mention a team that can play exciting, up-tempo offense. Krasnodar held Minsk to 50 points in their first meeting (Minsk averages 82 points per outing). At this point, every game for Krasnodar is a chance to improve ahead of the postseason (both in the Euroleague and VTB United League) and there's no doubt Lokomotiv's defense will be focused in Minsk.

Wednesday, April 6

Zenit (Russia) - Kalev (Estonia)
Time: 8:00 PM (8:00 PM MSK)
Place: SIBUR Arena, St. Petersburg, Russia
TV: Match! Nash sport (Russia), SA Tallinna Televisioon (Estonia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Zenit: Zenit has a tough calendar in April with seven games to play, including two meetings with Kalev. These teams square off for the first time this season on Wednesday with the rematch scheduled for the final day of the regular season. Both games are huge for St. Petersburg as Vasily Karasev's club looks to hang on to 4th place and home-court advantage in the first round.

Kalev: The Estonians have struggled on the road this season (only three wins), but a recent narrow defeat in Krasnodar is cause for optimism. Zenit needs to be careful against Kalev, even if the Russian club will be heavily favored at home.

Thursday, April 7

Astana (Kazakhstan) - Enisey (Russia)
Time: 8:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: SC Zhastar, Astana, Kazakhstan
TV: KAZ Sport (Kazakhstan), Match! Nash sport (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Astana: Both of these teams have been eliminated from postseason contention, but intrigue remains, especially for Astana. The Kazakh club hasn't won since late January, losing 11 straight over the past two-plus months. Ravaged by injuries, Astana hopes to break through at home with only two more games left on the schedule.

Enisey: The Siberians still have a chance to finish in the top-10, despite missing out on the playoffs. Krasnoyarsk recently defeated Astana at home. Another win on Thursday would put the pressure on Krasny Oktyabr for 9th place.