Vysočina took on Pardubice in the Czech 1. liga on Sunday, and the hosts emerged victorious with a 76-65 scoreline. The result came as a surprise given the standings going into the game. Pardubice sat second in the table while Vysočina languished in seventh place.
To be fair, the gap between the teams looked substantial on paper. Pardubice had twelve wins from eighteen games compared to Vysočina's seven victories. The visitors had been inconsistent recently though, losing three of their last five fixtures including heavy defeats to Valašské Meziříčí and Plzeň.
And here's the thing about this one — we had given a home win prediction at 53 per cent confidence. People laughed at that number, but it was a reasonable assessment. Pardubice had lost their last game 60-70 to Záborský and looked vulnerable, while Vysočina had shown they could compete against higher-ranked opposition.
The away side's recent form told its own story. They had beaten Opava 2 76-67 in their previous outing but lost to Záborský before that. Their three losses in five games included a 65-85 hammering by Valašské Meziříčí Děčín. The visitors cannot afford another slip if they want to maintain their position at the top of the table.
For Vysočina, this result matters more than most would think. They dropped another game after this, taking them to eleven losses in eighteen matches. Pardubice remain second but now face pressure to respond. The gap between them and the leaders has not closed, but the margin for error shrinks with each setback.
