After reaching the quarterfinals of last year's 7DAYS EuroCup, ratiopharm Ulm has hopes of going even further in the playoffs this time around. New head coach Anton Gavel will be looking to build on the work done by his predecessor, Jaka Lakovic, as Ulm attempts to assert itself as one of the contenders to lift the EuroCup trophy. Here are four games that Ulm fans should get excited about heading into the 2022-23 season.
2022-23 Games to Watch: ratiopharm Ulm
Round 1: Making a statement
Ulm kicks off its regular season campaign at home against Umana Reyer Venice, which has made several eye-catching moves over the summer. Both Ulm and Reyer will be aiming to secure their place among the top clubs in Group A come playoff time, so this match is a good opportunity for both teams to make an early statement. These two went 1-1 during the 2021-22 regular season, with both winning their games at home, so perhaps Ulm will feel like it has the upper hand.
Round 4: Setting the record straight
In its second road game of the regular season, Ulm travels to take on the 2021-22 EuroCup runners-up, Frutti Extra Bursaspor. Last season saw Bursaspor do the double over Ulm, recording a 68-66 victory at home in Round 8 before winning 86-72 in Germany in Round 17, but coach Dusan Alimpijevic's team is looking rather different now. Nevertheless, it should be another tough test for Ulm against Bursaspor, but grabbing a road win would do wonders for its confidence.
Round 14: Fond memories
Very few people gave Ulm a realistic chance of beating Joventut Badalona at Palau Olimpic de Badalona in the eighthfinals of last season's EuroCup playoffs, but that's exactly what it did. Joventut is once again one of the favorites to go on and win the EuroCup, but Ulm has experience of quietening down the home crowd in Badalona and will be eager to pull off another surprise result. There is likely to be a response from Joventut as it looks to make amends for last season, however, which makes this a must-watch game.
Round 16: One eye on the playoffs
In Ulm's penultimate home match of the 2022-23 regular season, it hosts Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana at ratiopharm arena. When Ulm and Cedevita met last season, they both managed to win on the road, so it will be interesting to see how this fixture plays out this year. Also, the playoffs will be just around the corner at this point of the season, which means the result of this game could go some way to deciding where they will finish in the Group A table.