Week Thirteen Preview

Tsmoki-Minsk - Khimki and Nymburk - CSKA headline the action in Week Thirteen.

Saturday, December 19

Astana (Kazakhstan) - Vita (Georgia)
Time: 4:00 PM (1:00 PM MSK)
Place: SC Velotrek, Astana, Kazakhstan
TV: KAZ Sport (Kazakhstan), Silk TV Sport 3 (Georgia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Astana: Saturday's home game against last-place Vita is a good opportunity for Astana to pick up its 4th win of the season. All of Astana's wins have come at home, while the Georgians have struggled on the road.

Vita: Tbilisi suffered another serious loss this week with November's Young Player of the Month and team leader Pierria Henry leaving the club. Pavel Googe continues to rely on the team's young talent and get them experience in big games.

Sunday, December 20

Avtodor (Russia) - Bisons (Finland)
Time: 2:00 PM (2:00 PM MSK)
Place: Kristall Sports Palace, Saratov, Russia
TV: Elisa Viihde (Finland), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Avtodor: Saratov has won four straight, avearaging more than 100 points per game during that stretch. Against Astana two weeks ago, Avtodor set a new league record by scoring 131 points in a blowout win!

Bisons: The Finns will counter with one of the league's top defenses. Bisons are 6th in the league, giving up just 80.6 points per game. Expect the visitors to try to slow the tempo and avoid a shootout with Avtodor at all costs.

Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus) - Khimki (Russia)
Time: 2:45 PM (2:45 PM MSK)
Place: Arena-Minsk, Minsk, Belarus
TV: Belarus-5 (Belarus), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Tsmoki-Minsk: The Dragons suffered a crushing defeat to CSKA last week to drop to 9th in the standings. After a strong start, Minsk has lost three of its last four and would love an upset over Khimki to return to .500.

Khimki: Moscow Region has been inconsistent this season, both in the United League and Euroleague. A win on the road is crucial this weekend, especially with Nymburk and Avtodor nipping at its heels. Expect Moscow Region to unleash its top-ranked offense against the Belarusians.

UNICS (Russia) - Krasny Oktyabr (Russia)
Time: 4:00 PM (4:00 PM MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Kazan, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

UNICS: Kazan has settled into 3rd place, within striking distance of CSKA and Zenit. Given the rhythm Evgeny Pashutin's men are in, the Basket Hall fans will expect another win on Sunday. Keith Langford leads the way for the Tatar club after being named Eurocup MVP of the Week.

Krasny Oktyabr: The Steelmen are in the midst of a difficult stretch. Having lost three straight, Volgograd travels to play UNICS, a team that beat them twice last season. The visitors will also be missing Dmitry Sokolov, who recently signed with Khimki.

Nymburk (Czech Republic) - CSKA (Russia)
Time: 6:00 PM (8:00 PM MSK)
Place: SA Kralovka, Nymburk, Czech Republic
TV: TV Nova Sport (Czech Republic), Match TV (Russia), NTV+ (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Nymburk: Through 12 games, the Czechs are 5th in the standings, half a game behind 4th-place Khimki. But Nymburk will not be favored against the Army Men, despite the strong start to the season and home-court advantage. The Czechs lone win against CSKA came back in March 2012, with the the Russian club winning the last five meetings between the two teams.

CSKA: The Army Men have won six in a row and expect to make it seven straight in the Czech Republic, having already defeated Nymburk earlier this season by a 51-point margin.