Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (4-6) takes on Virtus Segafredo Bologna (4-6) at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in the early tipoff on Friday night, with both teams coming into this game in contrasting form.
Virtus looks to end Zvezda's honeymoon under Coach Ivanovic
Since the appointment of Dusko Ivanovic as head coach, Zvezda has gone on to win its last three games in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, beating LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, ALBA Berlin and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Point guard Luca Vildoza, who previously played under Coach Ivanovic at Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, has started to make more of an impact, and the same can be said about fellow guard Nemanja Nedovic. Curiously, in the win over Maccabi, only two players got into double digits for points: Nedovic with 12 and Hassan Martin with 11. Up against a stout defense like Virtus, which has the fourth-best ranking in the EuroLeague on this end of the floor, Zvezda will likely have to fight hard for every point it puts on the board.
Virtus comes into this Round 11 fixture following back-to-back defeats to Panathinaikos Athens and Anadolu Efes Istanbul. After giving up more than 80 points in just one game prior to Round 9, the losses to Panathinaikos and Efes saw Virtus allow its opponents to score 88 and 85 points, respectively. Head coach Sergio Scariolo's team has a good chance to get back on track from a defensive standpoint when it travels to face Zvezda, as the Serbians have the 16th-best offense in the EuroLeague. The good news for Virtus in its last two games is that Iffe Lundberg and Semi Ojeleye have put up decent scoring numbers, scoring an average of 18.0 and 17.0 points, respectively.