basketball | Petak, Decembar 2, 2022 11:00 AM

Crvena Zvezda vs Virtus Bologna Best Bet: Ivanovic on a Brink of a Decade-Long Record

Aleksa Drobnjak

Crvena Zvezda vs. Virtus Bologna Best Bet: Friday, December 2nd

Crvena Zvezda has won 3 Euroleague games after experienced Dusko Ivanovic took over the reins. Although they have been playing against below-average offensive teams in those games, Crvena Zvezda have been the best defensive team in EL under the new head coach. Virtus is coming off a series of mixed results and is expected to crack under the pressure tonight.

In this article:

Crvena Zvezda vs Virtus Bologna Preview
Crvena Zvezda vs Virtus Bologna Best Bet

Crvena Zvezda vs Virtus Bologna Preview

December 3rd, 17:00 UK Time

Dusko Ivanovic is chasing the record tonight as the most successful coach after taking over a team during a season in Euroleague (the current record is an 8-game winning streak, but the best record in the last 10 years is a 4-game winning streak after taking over.) Crvena Zvezda fans and players will be motivated after pulling off a win in the eternal derby against Partizan as well. It is safe to say the atmosphere at Crvena Zvezda is outstanding.

Crvena Zvezda have been allowing only 70.5 points per game in the last 3 games, keeping their opponents to a miserable 31% from beyond the arc with aggressive first pass defence and switches. Gritty home-favoured teams like Crvena Zvezda are usually expected to keep Virtus to around 65-72 points. If they achieve this, the win should be in the bag. Crvena Zvezda will not have any problems with injuries tonight.

Virtus have started the season with a road record of 2W-3L, but all of their losses came from the bottom-feeding teams. We are expecting them to finish the away campaign on 0.33 at best at the end of the season since Scariolos’ team is the oldest in the competition. With 30.5 years on average, they experience fatigue on away courts more extremely than the rest.

They have been shooting 38% from three in recent games, which is certainly a success for them, as they have started the season with miserable numbers. We don’t see them on this percentage tonight due to high pressure from the stands and Crvena Zvezda’s backcourt.
Virtus will be missing tonight T. Shengelia with an ankle injury, and Abass with a knee injury.

Crvena Zvezda is expecting a full arena, for the first time this season, since the new coaching change has led to some improvements, the optimism is high in Belgrade. We expect Virtus to crack tonight. We see the moneyline at 1.42 for the home team, and 2.55 on the away side if the game goes fluidly and as expected.

Crvena Zvezda vs Virtus Bologna Preview

An experienced coach like Dusko Ivanovic will surely know how to motivate his players in their first-ever match against Bologna. We are taking Crvena Zvezda and hoping for them to continue their winning streak, as well as for Ivanovic to take down the decade-long record.