Week Twelve Preview

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

Sunday, December 13

Bisons (Finland) - Astana (Kazakhstan)
Time: 4:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: Loimaa Sports Hall, Loimaa, Finland
TV: Elisa Viihde (Finland), KAZ Sport (Kazakhstan), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Bisons: Both of these teams are undefeated at home. With Bisons hosting on Sunday after a disappointing loss in Nymburk, the Finns will be favored.

Astana: Ramunas Butautas's squad has struggled to find consistency, suffering a 38-point defeat at home to Avtodor only to bounce back with a win against Kalev. The Kazakhs are 12th in the standings and have a chance to catch Krasny Oktyabr with a win against Bisons.

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

Lokomotiv-Kuban: Kuban is off to a slower than expected start in the VTB United League, in part because of the grueling calendar. The Railwaymen have played twice as many games on the road as at home. On Sunday, Loko takes on UNICS in Krasnodar, boasting a 5-0 record in the last five meetings between the Russian clubs.

UNICS: The visitors won't be overly concerned about the losing streak. Kazan is playing extremely well both in the VTB League and the Eurocup, where Quino Colom posted the first triple-double of his career and was named Eurocup Round 9 MVP.

Kalev (Estonia) - Enisey (Russia)
Time: 5:00 PM (6:00 PM MSK)
Place: Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, Estonia
TV: SA Tallinna Televisioon (Estonia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Kalev: The Estonians are 1-3 all-time against Krasnoyarsk. The home team's biggest challenge on Sunday will be slowing down Enisey's offense: the visitors are averaging 14 points more per game than Kalev.

Enisey: Oleg Okulov's men have been playing at a high level, recording wins over Nizhny Novgorod and Tsmoki-Minsk in recent weeks. With another victory in Tallinn, Krasnoyarsk could move into position for a playoff berth.

CSKA (Russia) - Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus)
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 PM MSK)
Place: USH CSKA, Moscow, Russia
TV: Belarus-5 (Belarus), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

CSKA: The Army Men are cruising in the VTB United League and Euroleague, boasting an eight-game winning streak across both competitions. With a win over Tsmoki-Minsk, Dimitris Itoudis's men can further tighten their grip on 1st place in the league.

Tsmoki-Minsk: A home loss to Enisey has Tsmoki close to dropping out of the top-8. In order to maintain playoff positioning, Minsk needs to spring a huge upset on the road against the reigning champs.

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) - Zenit (Russia)
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 PM MSK)
Place: Sports Palace, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Nizhny Novgorod: Ainars Bagatskis's men have been dealt a difficult hand. Four straight losses have dropped the club to 10th place with a game against 2nd-place Zenit next on the schedule. In Nizhny's favor, the team returns home following a three-game road trip, where the club is 3-1.

Zenit: A defeat to CSKA cost the team 1st place in the standings. Expect St. Petersburg to do everything it can to get back on top. Zenit will also be motivated by a chance to exact revenge on Nizhny Novgorod for the quarterfinal exit in the 2015 playoffs.

Vita (Georgia) - Nymburk (Czech Republic)
Time: 6:30 PM (5:30 PM MSK)
Place: Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi, Georgia
TV: Silk TV Sport 3 (Georgia), TV Nova Sport (Czech Republic), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Vita: Tbilisi has yet to win, despite several close games. The team has struggled with roster turnover, making it difficult to gel on the court. Nonetheless, guard Pierria Henry is a bona fide star, recently earning the VTB United League Young Player of the Month award for November.

Nymburk: The experienced, savvy Czechs are on the road and bring a 7-4 record to Georgia, where they will be expected to win. Nymburk even has a chance to return to the top-4 in the standings, depending on the outcome of other games.

Monday, December 14

Krasny Oktyabr (Russia) - Avtodor (Russia)
Time: 7:00 PM (7:00 PM MSK)
Place: Dynamo Sports Palace, Moscow, Russia
TV: United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Krasny Oktyabr: The battle between Volga clubs promises to be a good one: both Saratov and Volgograd like to push the tempo and can score in bunches. Krasny Oktyabr has lost two straight, but has an opportunity on Monday to knock off a big rival and get back on track.

Avtodor: Saratov is playing its best basketball of the season. Alexey Vasilyev's men are 4-1 in their last five, including a 131-point outburst in Kazakhstan last week. Avtodor also dished out 40 assists in that game, a VTB United League record. Expect another big night on offense for the visitors.

Khimki (Russia) - VEF (Latvia)
Time: 7:30 PM (7:30 PM MSK)
Place: BCMO Sports Complex, Khimki, Russia
TV: Riga TV (Latvia), NTV+ (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Khimki: Last year's playof finalists dropped a few games early, but a win over Lokomotiv-Kuban last week has Khimki tied for 3rd place with UNICS. Offseason signing Alexey Shved has also started to hit his stride. The Rice - Shved backcourt is clicking for Moscow Region, which has to concern future opponents.

VEF: Riga has sunk to 15th in the standings, posting a 3-8 record with the only wins coming against Krasny Oktyabr, Astana and Vita. VEF is also 0-13 all-time against Khimki, making Monday's visit to Moscow Region especially daunting.