UNICS will host Zenit in the Game of the Week.
Place: Russia, Kazan, Basket Hall (capacity 7000)
Time: February 26, 2023, 17:00 (Moscow time)
Broadcast: TV Start, Match! Strana, League website
Rivalry
The rivalry between UNICS and Zenit is a fundamental. In the 2017/18 season, the Kazan team twice beat Zenit in the regular season. The first game ended with the largest 34-point difference for such rivalry. Zenit won the 3rd place game in response (93:79). The hottest battle of the teams took place in the 2016 playoffs semis, 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 – Zenit won 5 of them. First, Xavi Pascual team beat UNICS wice in the regular season, and then the teams played 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.
This season
UNICS and Zenit started the 2022/23 season with the game in St. Petersburg. The Kazan team got the win there – 82:79. The hosts started better, but Velimir Perasovic team took the lead, at some point had a double-digit lead…
…and almost missed it. Zenit was close to a comeback – Caleb Homesley’s three-pointer 8 seconds before the end reduced the difference to the minimum (79:80). A moment later, the St. Petersburg team fouled UNICS forward Louis Labeyrie and he confidently made both free-throws. Xavi Pascual team had 7 seconds to save, but Thomas Heurtel missed the shot.
Jalen Reynolds played his first League game after a 3-year absence, becoming the best scorer in UNICS with 22 points. The forward made his debut for his new team in St. Petersburg against Zenit, for which he played in the 2018/19 season.
2 months later on December 11, 2022 the teams played in Kazan, and there the game scenario was similar: after the haftime, UNICS took the team and seemed to end the game without difficulties with 9-point lead 80 seconds before the end.
But Thomas Heurtel decided otherwise. Zenit leader almost single-handedly organized the comeback with 8 points and forced UNICS coaching staff to take 2 timeouts at once in less than a minute. Zenit didn’t have enough time: Heurtel scored the last three-pointer in the end, but UNICS still took the win – 95:94.
Jalen Reynolds became the best in the Kazan team again: 26 points and 6 rebounds in just 20 minutes – and this despite the fact that the forward came off the bench.
Since then
By the December game, UNICS (13-2) and Zenit (12-2) had the same stats and seriously battled for the second place in the standings to chase the leader of the season CSKA.
But since that moment, a lot have changed. UNICS won 9 of 10 games and not only strengthened on the second place, but still hopes to beat CSKA.
But Zenit did not succeed in winter: the reigning champion got 5 losses in 11 games and retains only theoretical chances of the second place.
At the same time, the St. Petersburg team reacted well: Joe Thomasson, Thomas Wimbush and Richard Solomon left the team and newcomers Trent Frazier, Royce Hamm and Adrien Moerman have already made their League debuts. The changes helped Zenit – in early February, Xavi Pascual team beat CSKA for the first time this season.
Standings places
UNICS (23-3) and Zenit (18-8) has 2nd and 3rd places in the standings, but a month before the end of the regular season they are already completing different goals.
The Kazan team having beaten CSKA in the game before the All-Star Game break regained a good chance to get the first place. But to do this, the team need to win all remaining games and also to defeat the Army team more than 8 points. Otherwise, Velimir Perasovic team should hope that CSKA will make a mistake.
Zenit has a slightly different situation: the team is far away from UNICS. And to bypass the Kazan team, the St. Petersburg team need to remain undefeated and at the same time hope that UNICS will not win even once until the end of the regular season.
At the same time, Zenit keeps a relative distance from Nizhny Novgorod, and even has an advantage. Pari NN gained a good pace, but before the end of the regular season, the teams have only 6 games left, and the Volga team may simply not have time to catch up with the reigning champion in the standings. Which, of course, should not give Zenit a reason to relax.
Stats
UNICS guard Daryl Macon continues to show good scoring skills – he is second with an average of 18.1 points per game. Jalen Reynolds (15.2 points) is the second in the Kazan team. No one has such figures in Zenit. Thomas Heurtel scores 13.5 per game. Trent Frazier has an average of 16.5 points, but he has only played 2 League games so far. As for rebounds, UNICS also has a clear leader here: Louis Labeyrie gets 7.2 rebounds, which is the third resultof the season. Zenit’s best in rebounds is Royce Hamm (5.5).
But the St. Petersburg team has Thomas Heurtel, who leads the League in assists (8.8 per game). And in general, the French guard influence on the team’s offense is difficult to overestimate: Zenit scores 48% points after shots or assists from the point guard.
UNICS is ahead of Zenit in points (88.0 – 82.3), shooting percentage (49.5% – 47.3%), rebounds (34.7 – 34.0), steals (8.5 – 7.7) and blocks (3.1 – 2.9).
The St. Petersburg team is better in assists (20.4 – 19.3) and three-points percentage (40.6% – 35.6%).
