Week Seven Preview

Eight games are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday, highlighted by Tsmoki-Minsk hosting Nymburk and the Lokomotiv-Kuban - CSKA showdown in Krasnodar.

Saturday, November 7

VEF (Latvia) - Astana (Kazakhstan)
Time: 5:00 PM (6:00 PM MSK)
Place: Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia
TV: Riga TV (Latvia), KAZ Sport (Kazakhstan), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

VEF: Despite the loss to Nymburk last week, VEF played well and had a chance to win the game late. Head coach Carlos Frade praised his team's progress following the contest. Now VEF looks to take the next step and defeat Astana in Riga.

Astana: Led by star forward Nik Caner-Medley, Astana has a talented roster, but the Kazakhs won't be favored on the road. The Kazakhs typically struggle away from home, having lost already to Lokomotiv-Kuban and Nymburk. That said, VEF also has yet to win at home this season, making this an excellent opportunity for Astana to banish its road blues.

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) - Krasny Oktyabr (Russia)
Time: 5:30 PM (5:30 PM MSK)
Place: Trade Union Sports Palace, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhny Novgorod has been on fire, knocking off CSKA and Khimki in back-to-back games, but received bad news earlier this week: leading scorer Maxim Grigoryev is out with an ACL injury. Earlier in the season, Ainars Bagatskis also lost starting point guard Eric Maynor to a serious knee injury. Nizhny needs to hope that 20-year-old Ivan Viktorov and others can step up to fill the void.

Krasny Oktyabr: After four straight losses, the Steelmen are starting to turn the season around. Oktyabr dealt Tsmoki-Minsk its second defeat on the road last week and would love to beat another high-flying team on Saturday in Nizhny Novgorod.

Sunday, November 8

Khimki (Russia) - Kalev (Estonia)
Time: 4:00 PM (4:00 PM MSK)
Place: BCMO Sports Complex, Khimki, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), SA Tallinna Televisioon (Estonia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Khimki: Following the tough loss to Nizhny Novgorod, Khimki should be extremely motivated for Sunday's matchup with Kalev. Moscow Region has one of the top offenses in the league and hopes to improve to 9-0 against Kalev all-time on Sunday.

Kalev: This is Kalev's second straight game against one of the league's top contenders. Last week, Kalev lost to CSKA by 33, although the score was close in the first half. The Estonians won't have it easy in Moscow Region, but expect Alar Varrak's men to do everything they can to slow Khimki down and make the game interesting.

Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus) - Nymburk (Czech Republic)
Time: 4:30 PM (4:30 PM MSK)
Place: Arena Minsk, Minsk, Belarus
TV: Belarus-5 (Belarus), TV Nova Sport (Czech Republic), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Tsmoki-Minsk: The Belarusians had a chance to improve to 4th in the standings, but the loss at home to Volgograd instead dropped Tsmoki to 8th. Against the Czechs, Tsmoki will look for redemption and the first home win of the season. The Belarusians will be led by Garrett Stutz, who spent last season with Nymburk.

Nymburk: This game features the VTB United League's two biggest overachievers. Nymburk is currently in 2nd place and coming off an exciting comeback win vs. VEF. The Czechs will need that toughness on the road this weekend...after all, they have yet to win a game away from home.

Zenit (Russia) - Avtodor (Russia)
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 PM MSK)
Place: SIBUR-Arena, St. Petersburg, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Zenit: Undefeated and atop the league standings, Zenit can further tighten its grip on 1st place with a win at home over Saratov. Because of injury, October MVP Ryan Toolson will not be available, putting extra responsibility on the rest of the team to deliver a result.

Avtodor: Despite tough losses to Khimki, Lokomotiv-Kuban and UNICS, Avtodor has shown great resiliency to post a 3-3 record, including dealing Nizhny Novgorod its only loss of the season. Coming off a convincing win over PAOK in the Eurocup, Avtodor hopes to secure its first win against Zenit in St. Petersburg as Mexican point guard Paul Stoll makes his VTB United League debut.

Vita (Georgia) - UNICS (Russia)
Time: 6:30 PM (5:30 PM MSK)
Place: Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi, Georgia
TV: VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Vita: Tbilisi continues to improve and though head coach Pavel Googe says they still don't have enough experience, playing the league's top contenders is always a great way to it. Last week, Vita kept it close against Loko and hopes to do the same against UNICS on Sunday.

UNICS: Kazan is coming off an exhausting Eurocup road game, but Evgeny Pashutin's men have won four straight in the league and don't want the streak to end, led by explosive scorer Keith Langford.

Enisey (Russia) - Bisons (Finland)
Time: 7:10 PM (3:10 PM MSK)
Place: Sports Palace, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
TV: Elisa Viihde (Finland), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Enisey: Oleg Okulov's squad is 1-4, a half game ahead of Bisons in the standings. Krasnoyarsk will try to take advantage of the home court and maintain the positive momentum from a win in the FIBA Europe Cup on Wednesday.

Bisons: The Finns are second-to-last in the standings, but Greg Gibson's men won't be heavy underdogs in Krasnoyarsk. Expect a competitive game with Bisons looking to utilize their athletic frontcourt of Justin Jackson and Ike Udanoh.

Monday, November 9

Lokomotiv-Kuban (Russia) - CSKA (Russia)
Time: 8:00 PM (8:00 PM MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Krasnodar, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), Match TV (Russia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Lokomotiv-Kuban: Kuban hosts CSKA in Week Seven's central showdown. Both teams have struggled some early, but the season is still young. Krasnodar's Malcolm Delaney has come out red-hot in 2015, picking up the Euroleague October MVP. On Monday, he'll try to lead his men past the reigning champs.

CSKA: The Muscovites lost Viktor Khryapa and Pavel Korobkov to injury this week. Dimitris Itoudis has a deep roster, but even CSKA will have a tough time in Krasnodar without two important frontcourt contributors. One thing is certain: CSKA doesn't want to suffer a second defeat this early in the season.