UNICS will host Zenit in the regular season game.
Place: Russia, Kazan, Basket Hall (capacity 7000)
Time: December 11, 2022, 18:00 (Moscow time)
Broadcasts: TV Start, Match TV, League website
Rivalry
The rivalry between UNICS and Zenit is fundamental. In the 2017/18 season, the Kazan team twice beat Zenit in the regular season and the game in the capital of Tatarstan was the season opener. It ended with the largest difference at that time – 34 points. Zenit’s revenge was sweet – winning the game for 3rd place (93:79). The best game of the teams was in the 2016 playoffs semi-finals, when UNICS defeated Zenit in 5 games and reached the final and with it the Euroleague.
In the previous season, the teams played 6 games and 5 of them were won by Zenit. First, Xavi Pascual team beat UNICS twice in the regular season and then the team met in the semifinals. UNICS opened the score in the series, but then Zenit got 3 wins in a row, reached the final and became the League champion.
UNICS and Zenit opened the 2022/23 season with the game in St. Petersburg. The Kazan team won, although the team almost lost with double-digit lead during the game – 82:79. UNICS best scoring player was Jalen Reynolds with 22 points. He returned to St. Petersburg for the first time in the United League after leaving Zenit 3 years ago.
History
The first teams game in history happened on October 19, 2014 in Kazan. Zenit had a chance to win, but Vasily Karasev team did not have enough experience to stop one of the strongest teams in the League at home.
Dmitriy Kulagin became one of the most effective in the St. Petersburg team – he scored 11 points, 4 assists and 2 steals. Kulagin will be the only player who played in 2014 game and will participate in this Sunday game.
2 months of the season recap
3 weeks before the New Year, UNICS and Zenit are at the 2nd and 3rd place in the standings with 2 losses. And the only team that won both the Kazan and the St. Petersburg teams was CSKA.
UNICS passed this 2 months confidently, except the game with CSKA. Velimir Perasovic team won MINSK only by 4 points (58:54) and this week beat Enisey. Nevertheless, UNICS had a lead in every game and a long roster allows to unload the leaders – only Louis Labeyrie and Nenad Dimitrijevic played more than 25 minutes on average.
Zenit also had problems only with CSKA. And if at the beginning of the season the reigning champion suffered in Perm and Samara, then gradually team chemistry began to develop and since then the team wins looked more confident. Zenit has not lost for more than a month and has a 7-game winning streak.
Fact
The last time Zenit lost in the Basket Hall was on February 10, 2021 – 58:59. The winning shot 2 seconds before the end was made by UNICS guard Jamar Smith.
Also, Zenit had 7 wins in a row before that game.
Numbers and leaders
UNICS is second in the League in points scored (89.0), Zenit is third (82.4). The Kazan team is also in second place in shot percentage from the game (50.2%), first in blocks (3.5) and fourth in steals (8.8).
But according to other stats, Zenit is at least no worse. The St. Petersburg team has 40.1% of three-pointers (the second after CSKA), 36.1 rebounds (4th place in the League) and 21.3 assists (2nd place).
At the same time, Zenit has the best defense of the season. The reigning champion is the only team that let opponents score less than 70 points (66.4). UNICS shares second place with CSKA, allowing opponents to score 72.3 points.
Daryl Macon is UNICS best scoring player, who scores 20.5 points per game. But UNICS guard has played only 6 games – this is less than half of the Kazan team games. So Macon is not in the top scorers list yet, but it’s only a matter of time. In addition to Daryl, Jalen Reynolds shows good game – he has 14.9 points.
Zenit has Thomas Heurtel as the best in points and he is only at the end of the Top-20 in the United League: the French guard scores 12.4 points per game. But there is nothing surprising fact: Zenit varies the offense, 6 players score 7 or more points and the St. Petersburg team demonstrates the third best offense in the League (82.4 points).
In Zenit, Richard Solomon is the best in rebounds – 7.0 on average per game. UNICS has Louis Labeyrie with 6.5 rebounds. The French forward missed games with CSKA and Enisey, but is ready to return on Sunday.
Worth mentioning two point guards rivalry. Thomas Heurtel (7,9) and Nenad Dimitrijevic (6,9) are in the Top 3 in assists and have a huge impact of their teams’ offense.
Career high
In the 2018/19 season, Jalen Reynolds played for Zenit and came to Kazan with his team at the end of the regular season. The American played his best game for the St. Petersburg team – 20 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal, 38 eff. points and along the way set the career high in the League in rebounds.
But in the fourth quarter, Reynolds was injured and could not continue the game. Without their best player, Zenit lost – 72:74.
