Zenit will host UNICS in the Game of the Week.
Time: 14:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, St. Petersburg, KSC Arena
Broadcast: TV Start, Match TV, League website
The 3rd and 4th teams will play in St. Petersburg!
Rivalry history
In the United League, Lokomotiv Kuban and Zenit have played 25 games, and at the moment the Krasnodar team has an advantage 13-12 .
By the way, these teams played for the first time in history 9 years ago in St. Petersburg. The Krasnodar team won 89:74, and Loko best player was Malcolm Delaney, who scored 24 points and 7 assists.
This season, Zenit and Lokomotiv Kuban played in Krasnodar in mid-October, the hosts got the win – 69:67. Adrien Moerman could have saved the St. Petersburg team from loss, but he three-pointer in the end.
The power rankings
Both teams started the season very poor: Zenit unexpectedly lost at home to Uralmash in the first game of the season, and started November with 4 losses in 8 games.
Loko situation was even more difficult. Aleksander Sekulic team had problems for a long time and at some point even was outside the Playoff zone. The Krasnodar team stabilized the situation only in November, but by the end of the 2023 the team still climbed to the top of the standings.
Both Zenit and Loko are in good shape for their nupcoming game. The St. Petersburg team has won 9 of the last 10 games, while Lokomotiv has 8 of the last 9.
Game importance
A win in St. Petersburg this Sunday is extremely important for both teams.
Zenit can overtake second-place UNICS. Loko is no less motivated: if the Krasnodar team wins, Loko wil move Zenit out of the 3rd place. The loss, on the other hand, will only move Lokomotiv from the Top 3.
Numbers and leaders
It is important to mention Xavier Pascual attitude to defense. The Spanish coach masterfully builds defensive system, and at the moment the St. Petersburg team is the best in the League. On average, Zenit let opponents score 71.7 points per game, 3.5 points less than their nearest rival (CSKA).
Loko is inferior to Zenit in defense, allowing opponents to score 77.6 points per game, but looks better on offense. The Krasnodar team is among the Top 3 best scoring teams in the League with 83.2 points per game, while the St. Petersburg team has 81.8 points.
Loko makes 37.6 rebounds per game and leads the League in this stat. With such dominance, the Krasnodar team best rebounder, Okaro White, is just outside of the League Top 20 rebounders.
And in general, there are no players among Lokomotiv Kuban who stand out with flashy stats. The Krasnodar team players are not among the season’s top not only in rebounding, but also in assists (Vladislav Emchenko is 21st) and steals (Vladislav Emchenko is 14th). And the best scorer, DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, with 16.8 points per game, is 9th.
Zenit, on the other hand, has a lot to point out. First of all, Thomas Heurtel is worth mentioning, as the French guard leads the League in assists (8.8 per game), while Vince Hunter is among the best in rebounds (6.2) and steals (1.8). On offense, in addition to Heurtel and Hunter, Trent Frazier and Kyle Kuric should be highlighted, as this guard duo is averaging 28.2 points.
The comeback
Denis Zakharov returned from a serious knee injury and played his first game in almost a year last week (he suffered a torn ACL on January 10 against Loko).
The guard spent almost 8 minutes and made all 3 three-pointers versus MBA. Zakharov finished the game with 11 points, 2 assists and 1 steal.
