Week Six Preview

The VTB United League will be in action Saturday, Sunday and Monday, including Nizhny Novgorod vs. Khimki and Bisons vs. UNICS.

Saturday, October 31

Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus) - Krasny Oktyabr (Russia)
Time: 5:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: Arena Minsk, Minsk, Belarus
TV: NTV+ (Russia), Belarus-5 (Belarus), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Tsmoki-Minsk: This is a home game for the Belarusians and a chance to climb even higher in the standings. Sitting at 3-1, the team's only loss was to Zenit. Led by Week Five MVP Anthony Hilliard, the Dragons will be tough to beat on Saturday.

Krasny Oktyabr: Volgograd has struggled, dropping four straight to fall to 13th in the standings. The trip to Minsk will not be easy, but a 3-1 all-time record against the Dragons should give Oktyabr some measure of optimism.

Nymburk (Czech Republic) - VEF (Latvia)
Time: 5:00 PM (7:00 PM MSK)
Place: SC Nymburk, Nymburk, Czech Republic
TV: TV Nova Sport (Czech Republic), Riga TV (Latvia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Nymburk: Nymburk's hot start has been one of the biggest surprises in the first month of the season. Currently tied for 2nd place, Nymburk has an excellent opportunity to improve to 5-1 with a win over an inexperienced VEF squad.

VEF: Riga knows how to win in the Czech Republic, posting a 3-1 record in past seasons. It won't be easy on Saturday--VEF is implementing a new system with a young roster--but the Latvians won on the road last week in Volgograd and could do it again in Nymburk.

Sunday, November 1

CSKA (Russia) - Kalev (Estonia)
Time: 1:00 PM (1:00 PM MSK)
Place: USH CSKA, Moscow, Russia
TV: Match TV (Russia), NTV+ (Russia), SA Tallinna Televisioon (Estonia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

CSKA: CSKA's dramatic overtime loss to Nizhny Novgorod was the talk of the league last week. Coming off the defeat, CSKA won in the Euroleague on Thursday and hopes to make it two straight against Kalev.

Kalev: The Estonians have never defeated the Army Men and will once again be heavy underdogs. But Alar Varrak's men have won two in a row and won't go down easy in Moscow.

Bisons (Finland) - UNICS (Russia)
Time: 4:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: Loimaa Sports Hall, Loimaa, Finland
TV: Elisa Viihde (Finland), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Bisons: After losing four straight to start the season, Bisons delivered a shock, beating Lokomotiv-Kuban at home. Have the Finns turned a corner? The team lost twice to UNICS last season, including a heart-breaking defeat in the final seconds at home. Two straight wins against title contenders could turn Bisons' season around.

UNICS: Kazan faces a tough road test, coming off an overtime game in the Eurocup on Thursday. Much will depend on Kazan's superstar, Keith Langford. He's had an outstanding first month of the season and the fans are counting on him to lead UNICS to a 4th straight win.

Avtodor (Russia) - Enisey (Russia)
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 PM MSK)
Place: Kristall Sports Palace, Saratov, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Avtodor: Saratov coach Brad Greenberg noted in a recent interview that there's a battle for every spot in the league standings. Entering Sunday, Avtodor holds a half-game lead on Enisey, with a win getting the team back to .500. After beating Lietuvos Rytas in the Eurocup, Saratov would love to keep the momentum rolling.

Enisey: Last season, these two teams split home victories. Avtodor and Enisey appear evenly matched once again this season, but after a 1-3 start, Krasnoyarsk desperately needs to get back in the win column.

Vita (Georgia) - Lokomotiv-Kuban (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: It's easy to see Vita's progress from game to game. Last week, despite ultimately losing by 10, the league rookies led at halftime and had a chance to win until late in the 4th quarter. Going up against a powerhouse club like Lokomotiv-Kuban should bring Vita together even more. After all, teams make the most progress when they play tough competition.

Lokomotiv-Kuban: A disappointing loss in Finland last week will give Kuban plenty of extra motivation this weekend. Kyrylo Fesenko is questionable, but Loko's roster is deep enough to take care of business on the road. The biggest challenge will be overcoming fatigue: Lokomotiv played in Poland on Friday night in the Euroleague.

Monday, November 2

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) - Khimki (Russia)
Time: 7:30 PM (7:30 PM MSK)
Place: Sports Palace, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Nizhny Novgorod: Two of the league's top teams meet on Monday in Nizhny Novgorod. After the win against CSKA, head coach Ainars Bagatskis warned that his team had expended a lot of physical and emotional energy. Will Nizhny be able to recover and prepare for Khimki, particularly after a mid-week loss in the Eurocup?

Khimki: Moscow Region enters with an identical 4-1 record. Against the home team, Khimki will likely turn to its powerful team offense. Khimki and Nizhny give up the same amount of points each game, but Rimas Kurtinaitis's men score nine points more per contest.