Playoff Seeding Scenarios And More (updated)

Playoff Seeding Scenarios And More (updated)

Find out where every team could finish in the League standings. 

CSKA: 1st place
The Army Men have already played every game. Thanks to PARMA’s win over UNICS, they are guaranteed to start the playoffs in 1st place. 

UNICS: 2nd
Kazan did not win the regular-season title, but finished ahead of Khimki for 2nd place. 

Khimki: 3rd place
Rimas Kurtinaitis and co. finish in 3rd place. The loss to Enisey ended Moscow Region’s hopes of catching UNICS.

Lokomotiv-Kuban: 4th place
Krasnodar is locked into 4th place no matter what happens this week. 

astana_zenit_ubl_vtb_ (2)

Astana: 5th or 6th place
The Kazakhs can match Avtodor’s feat from last season and finish ahead of one of the League’s Big Five. In order to take 5th place, Astana needs to beat Zenit on the road or lose by one point. 

Zenit: 5th or 7th place
In order to regain 5th place, St. Petersburg needs to beat Astana at home by two or more points. A loss would drop Zenit to 7th place because of Kalev’s win vs. Loko on Wednesday. 

Kalev: 6th or 7th place
The Estonians have already set multiple club records, but the season isn’t over yet. Kalev has a chance to climb to 6th place with some help elsewhere. Tallinn beat Lokomotiv on Wednesday to clinch 7th place. If Astana beats Zenit, they will take over 6th.  

Nizhny Novgorod: 8th place
Nizhny Novgorod has struggled down the stretch, falling to 8th place over the weekend. Following Kalev’s win over Loko, Nizhny Novgorod has no chance to move up in the standings and will face CSKA in the quarterfinals. 

kalev_nn_ubl_vtb_ (12)

Enisey: 9th, 10th or 11th place
Krasnoyarsk didn’t make the playoffs and can only hope for 9th place. Oleg Okulov’s men took an important step by ending Khimki’s five-game winning streak on Wednesday. Now they need to beat Avtodor on Sunday to clinch 9th. In the event of a loss, Enisey can finish 10th or 11th, depending on the outcome of the VEF – Lokomotiv-Kuban game. 

VEF: 10th or 11th place
Riga has one game left, hosting Loko on Sunday. With a win over Kuban, VEF will finish in 10th place regardless of the outcome of the Avtodor – Enisey game. With a loss, Riga could drop to 11th place (if Avtodor beats Enisey).

Avtodor: 9th or 11th place
Saratov needs to beat Enisey and hopes VEF loses to Loko, in which case they will take 9th place. If Avtodor loses in Krasnoyarsk, the team will finish 11th. Avtodor could also beat Enisey by at least two points, which, coupled with a Enisey win over Khimki and VEF win vs. Lokomotiv, would lift Pashutin’s men into 9th place.

Zielona Gora: 12th or 13th place
Thanks to three wins in four games vs. PARMA and Tsmoki-Minsk, the League newcomers cannot finish worse than 13th. The most likely outcome is for Zielona Gora to take 12th place, which they can guarantee with a win at home vs. UNICS. If the Poles lose to Kazan, they will need PARMA to also lose to Khimki. 

PARMA: 12th, 13th, or 14th place
Perm could finish in last place if Tsmoki beats Nizhny on the road and PARMA itself loses to Khimki on the road. If Minsk loses in Nizhny, then even a setback in Moscow Region will keep Perm in 13th place. The Russians can catch Zielona Gora, but they need a win over Khimki and a Zielona Gora loss to UNICS.

Tsmoki-Minsk: 13th or 14th place
The Belarusians defeated Zielona Gora a few days ago, but in order to avoid last place in the standings, they need to take down Nizhny Novgorod. Tsmoki will also need PARMA to lose to Khimki. If either result goes the other way, Minsk will remain in 14th place.