The 8th VTB United League regular season came to a close on Sunday.
CSKA finished in 1st place with a 22-2 record and will enjoy home-court advantage throughout the postseason. Zenit finished in 2nd (21-3) and Khimki in 3rd (19-5), edging out Lokomotiv-Kuban (19-5) on a superior head-to-head record.
Eight teams qualified for the playoffs, which begin on May 1. Each series features a best-of-five game format.
Here are your quarterfinal match-ups: CSKA (1) – Astana (8), Zenit (2) – VEF (7), Khimki (3) – Enisey (6) and Lokomotiv-Kuban (4) – UNICS (5).
But before we move on to the playoffs, VTB-League.com has collected some of the best stats from the regular season.
32 of 156 games (20.5%) were within five points or less.
9 overtimes in the season (Parma played in three).
2 Russian players made the Top-6 in scoring for the first time (Alexey Shved – 2nd place, Sergey Karasev – 6th place).
2 players averaged more than 20 points per game for the first time (Nick Minnerath and Alexey Shved).
3 individual records were set during the regular season – points in a game (Keith Langford), steals in a game (DeAndre Kane), career double-doubles (Frank Elegar).
6 players from the Youth League debuted in the VTB United League this season. They are all 21 or younger: Egor Kurkin, Roman Balandin (Avtodor), Georgy Zhbanov (Nizhny Novgorod), Ilya Usoltsev (Lokomotiv-Kuban), Alexander Platunov (Parma).
20 different countries were represented on the court this season.
83.0 – average points per game by a team (Top-3 in League history).
7 players have competed in all 8 VTB United League seasons – Andrey Vorontsevich, Vitaly Fridzon, Anton Ponkrashov, Nikita Kurbanov, Dmitry Sokolov, Victor Khryapa, Gregor Arbet.
73.2 points per game by Tsmoki-Minsk – that’s a new club record for Minsk, despite finishing last in the League in scoring.
192 players scored at least one point.
2nd time in League history that two foreign teams are playing in the quarterfinals (Latvia’s VEF and Kazakhstan’s Astana).
2 teams averaged more than 4,000 fans per game for the first time since 2013 – Parma (5,115) and Lokomotiv-Kuban (4,110).
5 seven-footers (213 cm and taller) played in a game this season – Andrey Desyatnikov (Zenit), Artem Zabelin (Avtodor), Artem Klimenko (Avtodor/UNICS), Alexander Vinnik (Parma), Dmitry Sokolov (Khimki).
27 players above the age of 32 played in a game this season.
11.5 points – Vitali Liutych’s increase in scoring from last season, tops in the League (3.2 ppg to 14.7 ppg).
11.5 turnovers per game by UNICS – 1st in the League and Kazan’s 2nd-straight year turning the ball over less than anyone else.
23.9 assists per game by CSKA – 1st in the League.
70.3 points allowed per game by Lokomotiv-Kuban – 1st in the League.
30 wins by foreign teams.
36 times teams scored 100 or more points in a game.
234 3-pointers by Nizhny Novgorod – 1st in the League.
81.4% free-throw shooting by Zenit – 1st in the League this season and 2nd-best all-time.
94.8 points per game by CSKA, most ever in League history.
924 rebounds by Khimki – 1st in the League.
792 – Lokomotiv-Kuban’s League-leading increase in attendance.
11,000 – number of people that attended the 1st-ever League All-Star Game in Sochi.
