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It is true that Reggio have 12 back-to-back home wins, but in half of those they didn't cover this margin. Menetti is clearly sparing his players and he is not hiding that even though they want to win the second position. Cantu need to win, they're on a good series, Metta World Peace gave them a boost. They most definitely need a win for the play-off position. The win over Milan confirmed that they have the quality, and another important factor, besides Metta's arrival, is the fact that Gentile has started playing, and Abass' contribution from the bench is increasing. This should be a tough game with less points, considering Reggio's motivation and inability to break opponents, these 7.5 seem like a nice stock which Cantu should defend. Cantu won the first game 64-63. Details

According to the latest information (which were published later last evening by the well-informed Polish portal Sportowefakty), Asseco is arriving to Slask without all of their main players. Just like in the last round they will play with their second team; players who are on average 22 years old. They didn't take Walton, Gladikas, Szczotka with them, and Frasunkiewicz won't even play, even though he's in the roster. That means they will be without players who scored in the first head-to-head against Slask a total of 57 out of 67 points. Coach Dedek's move is not unexpected; Asseco are sure that prior to the last round they will enter the playoffs from the seventh place; they can't go up nor down. Slask still stand a chance to reach the fourth place, and the advantage of the home court in the first round of the playoffs. They're complete, and extremely home-oriented. Their home record this season is 13-1; they beat Rosa with +11, recently kicked Turow and Koszalin... Asseco are a bad away team. Their away record is 4-10, they lost to weak Lubin in their full line-up with -8, and before that even worse to Polpharma. Details

Panionios have a very difficult schedule for the remainder of the season, after this game they are playing against Atromitos, and then PAOK. As it was said in the preview, it sound absurd that the game against Olympiakos is their best chance, but it really is. Atromitos and PAOK need points for the play-off, while Olympiakos are already champions. Panionions have played some good games lately, since mid-February they have seven wins in ten games (actually five out of eight if we don't count the 3-0 wins against OFI and Niki). Even if they're losing everything, it's worth betting on Panionios, and this is just an addition to the bet. The key reason the bet should be on Panionios, and the reason the odds have been drastically changed, is, simply put, the fact that the champions might give Panionios a 'push'. These two teams have a great relationship, Olympiacos regularly send their players on loan in Panionios, and it is clear that the away team will play with half the strength today. Even though the odds that Panionios won't lose have dropped significantly, the bet is still worth playing. I will decide for the option that the home team will not lose with a higher stake, even though Panionios' win on a lower stake is not a bad solution. Details

Trento has the third best offense of the league, but it's hard to not to play this when we know that Roma in the last 24 matches 20 times didn't go over this margin (58, 77, 72, 71, 63, 56, 56, 65, 71, 80, 72, 66, 63, 74, 72, 82, 54, 66, 67, 60, 66, 84, 75, 84). When we take a better look, in the last nine they didn't concede more, and they approached the margin only once. Today they need to win if they want to get to the playoffs, and they're aware that defense is not the only way to reach that win. Trento should also win in order to reach fourth place, but they already achieved their goal and they don't have to rush into this one. In the first head-to-head it was 75-68 for Trento, and today I expect an equally tough match because the stakes for Roma are high. Details

Although both need it, coach pistoia said it all. Pesaro can still try to escape with the games they have ahead of them, Pistoia can't. They need to win any way they know if they want to continue the playoffs race. Their game style doesn't suit Pesaro, and they could especially have problems under the hoop. Pistoia raised their game in last rounds, and although I don't believe they will win as convincingly as they did in the first head-to-head (84-53), I believe in their win. Pesaro are in a crisis again and behind them have a 5-game losing run. Details

The dominance with which Kei wins is amazing. It was always clear we can expect great things from him, but I didn't expect such progress so fast. He worked on his mass, stamina and technique because of which scores came before they were expected. From one match to another his game level is rising, and clay seems to suit him better than anything else. That's why his stamina, technique and the ability to hold long exchanges come to shine. He lost a set to Bautista-Agut, but just because his shape fell a little; but in the third set he didn't want to risk anymore so he pumped it up little and pulverized his opponent. Andujar achieved something amazing here, but as weird as it may sound, he had too many fellow national players as his opponents which suited him. Beating Fognini may sound surprising, especially after he beat Nadal, but Fognini is a completely unreliable player because he can lose to anyone, as well as beat the best. What's surprising is beting Ferrer, in a quite equal match; Ferrer wasn't his level, he again has foot problems and as unexpected as it may be, he underestimated his opponent. Of course Andujar is laying well, he wouldn't have reached this level if it were the opposite, but Kei is slightly better and I think he will dominate this duel. He will win more exchanges, he'll be cooler and make less errors. It's clear Andujar is playing at home and that the pressure is big, but this part of the tournament is more than enough for his level of tennis, so I think he won't handle the pressure well, especially after today's opponent who will frustrate him additionally. Details

Esbjerg are favoured to win a position in the final, but the story is not over. Only one goal difference gives Viborg the room to consider their chances in today's second semi-final game. Considering their player limit, but they've gotten used to that over the majority of the season, the fact is that 7 or 8 players in rotation and two keepers will carry most of the burden today as well. Since this format of defense was the key to coach Friis-Hansen's success and results, after his arrival in February, we can expect Viborg's maximum approach, especially in the defense in this, potentially last game of the season. We can also add the fact that Masson and Poulsen on goal are the reason for most of Viborg's results this season, as well as Hansen's announcement that he wasn't happy with defense in the first match and that they will try to improve it ahead of the second game. In three of their head-to-head games this season, we have two unders and one game with 53 goals that fell apart at the end of the second half. The great importance of today's game gives me right to believe in their third game on the margin of 50 goals this season. Details

Two rounds before the end Ludwigsburg have everything in their hands, but only if they keep winning. Currently they're eighth with a 16-16 record, and the same score goes for the ninth Gottingen, but Ludwigsburg beat them in the first head-to-head with 26 points of difference. Since they're playing against Gottingen in thelast round, it's clear that match could decide the eighth place. But, in case Gottingen lose to the homely strong MBC, and Ludwigsburg beats Artland, then they could afford themselves a defeat of -25 difference in the last round to Gottingen, securing once more the playoffs. That's why today's match is so important for the hosts. They beat Artland in the first part of the season when they were in worse shape, when they didn't have the best shot of the league Kennedy in their roster, and when main play Stockton was hurt, and main rebounder of the league Brockman has just arrived. Artland don't have motives. They're in a 5-game losing run and they lost even the mathematical chance to reach playoffs. They haven't been doing good the whole season, especially not since their main play Holston god injured. Besides, they played the last match on Friday, they had one day to prepare and rest, while Ludwigsburg had a whole week to prepare for that. Besides, Ludwigsburg have eight wins at home in the last nine matches, they beat clubs such as Alba and Brose with a two-digit difference. Details

It's questionable what kind of tactics will the coaches employ because a lot of things are at stake. Both of the teams would like to win, and being defeated could spoil their second-league ambitions. But, in any case, Bistra will have a harder time. They're at the very bottom, they're playing in front of their fans and will probably take a bigger risk. They're missing three of their first-team players - stopper, main midfielder and their most efficient forward. Three points would mean a lot to them in a match with a direct opponent for a stay in the league. They hardened their defense, they didn't concede goals in the last two matches, and considering Bistra's weaknesses, they should find a solution in the offense. Details

The currently leading Buxtehuder are five matches away from the end of the championship and prior to today's away match in Oldenburg and according to their coach Dirk Leun, they have a clear goal: "We are at the top and we hold the destiny of the champions fate in our hands. According to that we're heading to Oldenburg to win." And we should trust him. Buxtehuder are in a 13-game winning run, the start of this big winning series was with beating Oldenburg. It was that match, which was also the derby of North Germany, that Buxtehuder entered with huge player problems. Because of injuries the team didn't have three important players: captain Isabell Klein, Jana Podpolinski and Friederike Gubernatis, with only 10 players in the roster. With such a back line in which they only had the standard Jessica Oldenburg and with the only left-handed player in the team, Stefanie Melbeck, for whom that was the first match after a two-year break. During the match Buxtehuder led with six goals of difference and in the end won with 30-29. On today's away match Buxtehuder had all the strength they need available.

Today the situation is diametrically different. Buxtehuder are at the top of their shape against a home team who have missed their best player in the past montch, Angie Geschke, and they're a team whose shape is failing with a record of three losses and two wins in the last five rounds. Oldenburg's coach announced that Geschke returned to practices this week, and that she'll be available today, but that she's not ready for the full 60 minutes. Two more players were injures this week: Neuendorf, a comeback after a two-year break. Neuendorf injured herself this week and didn't practice with the team. The second one is the right wing Schirmer, and both won't make it to the roster. In the last match against Metzingen they had 10 players, today they will have the rotation and their most efficient player Geschke whose shape is questionable. I see Buxtehuder as the favorite for the win. Details

When Rola is interested, then he belongs to the challenger elite, without a doubt. It was obvious since the draw came out that he should easily win the tournament. He is completely convincing, his game level doesn't drop as it does his opponents', he is mentally strong and his body language says that winning this tournament is his goal. He convincingly defeated all of his opponents, he lost a set against Pella, but he didn't leave anything to chance in the third set so he played stronger, while Pella's game level dropped and he was frustrated after the break. Germain has been in bad form this year, I expected more from him, but he finally started to play better. He wasn't as convincing as Rola, but he won key points when needed and earned wins. He was supposed to get eliminated against Ghem, but the home player undersetimated his opponent and dropped a lot in the tiebreak of the second set; in the third one he completely fell apart, especially because of the tiebreak frustrations, which is why he couldn't get a first serve in, and he was rushing in the rallies and made a lot of dumb moves. Rola is a better player, mentally stronger and more reliable and he should with by at least six games. Details

I can't see Leverkusen as the favourites today. There are many reasons for that. The first one, Metzingen is going into this game more rested because their last game was last week, while Leverkusen played on Wednesday an away game against Leipzig (they lost 28-31). The second, and far more important one, are Leverkusen's problems with players. The home team will be without their main playmaker, Anne Jochin. She's a quality player who can play both as right and left back, and she is also the team's third best scorer with 105 goals. Anna Seidel, one of two pivots, will also be absent, as well as left back Adeberg. Seidel has the same amount of playtime as the second pivot Karolius, who will have to play both defense and offense for the whole 60 minutes today. Metzingen are in top form, they are on a 6-game winning streak, and a win today would confirm the third postion and they would be close to a spot in European competition, with four rounds to go. Their main problem in today's game will be stopping Leverkusen's main scorer, Kim Naidzinavicius, who is the forth scorer of the League with 145 goals. Considering the fact that with Anne Jochin's absence, Naidzinavicius took over the complete organisation of attacks, and that she will face Metzingen's defense, which is the second best defense in Bundesliga, I expect the home team to have much more problems than what is indicated by the odds. I expect Metzingen closer not only to the offered handicap but also closer to the win. Details

This bet is a consequence of the current situation in both clubs. 10 days ago, Besiktas' point guard, Reynolds, said that they started playing faster under Dettmann, a Finnish expert who recently took them over. Considering Lofton's return and a roster full of players with good outside shots, it is no wonder this suits them. In the last home game, they defeated Banvit 96-87, last week they scored 50 before the half-time against Eskisehir, but then missed everything. That won't happen today because Selcuk don't have defensively strong players, and they lost the pillar of their defense with Williams' suspension. It can be seen from our preview how coach Bekir is facing the situation, no one scored less than 80 points against them in the last nine games, and today they are playing against a team that defeated them 84-79 on their own court, with Williams playing. Considering that they also have players who can score a lot of points in Warrick and DeVries, I think we have a tight game ahead of us. Details

Out of the 29 matches so far, Jenisej only owonce left Kalev in Estonia (111-66) under this margin. In the other 28 meetings they conceded at least 77 points, quite above this margin. At home they conceded points over this margin in all 14 matches; on average 87.1 points per match. That's no coincidence, but it's a consequence of the offensively oriented Siberian team. In a match which has no result significance it will be a bit strange to expect Jenisej to slow down their pace and hold their defense together; they'll probably offer a very attractive match for their fans at the end of the week. Arrivals of Glazunov and Gudumak, as well as employing bench players are resulting in a better game. What's worth to point out is that the team are very fast, often with 65 - 70 shots from the floor. Against teams similar to Jenisej (Astani and Nizhny 88, Avtodor 80, Zenit 84 points), even such a Samara scored well over this margin. In such circumstances I expect Samara to end up at 80 or more points. Details

There shouldn't be any doubt what to tip in the Dordrecht - Cambuur match. It's enough to take a look at the table three rounds before the end of the championship. Dordrecht and the mathematical second-league team with 21 defeats in 31 matches, and Cambuur in a realistical chance to get to the eighth place which can bring playoffs for the Europa League.
The hosts are demoralized and severed into half with all the absences, and they have to stand up to the motivated away team. Cambuur is not complete either, and they have certain problems with the line-up and the shape in away matches, but they're still one class above Dordrecht.
The away team don't even think of failing, and while they have Ogbeche in their team they don't need to fear that they will concede a goal. It's interesting to see their last 10 head-to-heads while they were still in the second league.
Cambuur have nine wins, and Dordrecht one with the minimum 2-1 in September 2001. The first match of this season was a clear 4-1 for Cambuur. We don't have to keep going, but we should believe in Cambuur who could have a historical chance to earn three points in Dordrecht and continue their Europa League dream... Details

The title of the preview says it all, this is a result-wise irrelevant clash between the two most efficient teams of the competiton and there should be no lack of points. We talked a lot about Avtodor during the season, they are playing the fastest basketball of the league with very short offenses. Even when the games were far more important, they stuck to their game style and it is hard to expect they would change anything in a result-wise unimportant game. On the other side, after two difficult, agonizing struggles in Athens, I expect that Itoudis will give his players some freedom and that we will watch another atractive game by the Moscow team. In seven of their last 11 games, CSKA scored over 100 points, and I believe that they will do the same today against a team that doesn't care much for the defense. Anyway, they scored 93 and 100 points on home court against Panathinaikos. It doesn't matter how many rotations Itoudis will make, CSKA have two equaly good lineups and whoever plays, it won't be felt. On the other side, Rodionov announced that he might give younger Russian players more playtime and that is also in favour of this bet. Another good bet is the total over, but I don't want to depend on points and Avtodor's possible rotations. I expect CSKA over 100, even near 110 points and considering the nature of the game, this bet has a value, regardles of the high margin. Details

The fact is that Real Salt Lake didn't lose in the last seven head-to-heads against New England, but also that they did it with a lot stronger line-up. The away team have huge problems with absences, it was seen that they were struggling in the last two matches, and they're heading to Revolution who are really playing good. If New England didn't end the bad series with Real, this is their chance. Details