Cantu come into their first home game of the season without a win all year, preseason included, and with a new coach still building a system. Udine kept their coach and their core and opened with a comfortable win. The home price leans on the venue and a must-win story; I think the gap in how settled the two teams are matters more, so I go with the visitors.
Cantu lost their league opener at Venezia 73-85, and their coach said himself that the defence needs to grow and the team needs more solidity. A new group with a new system usually takes a few games to hold together on that end, and so far there is nothing in the results to say Cantu are past that stage.
Udine are a different picture. Vertemati stayed on the bench after a season that ended with a safe finish and a place in the Italian Cup. They beat Scafati 87-63 in round one, and the club's preview called that the best defence of the round. The guards looked sharp too: the playmaker Sisko nearly had a double-double, Valentine scored 18 and Battle 17. It is one game against a weaker side, so I read it as a sign of continuity and nothing more.
There is a story on the other side. This is Cantu's first game in front of their own crowd, there are ex-club matchups with Christon and Bucarelli, and the home side badly needs a result. All of that is public, and it is why the home side is the shorter price. Udine also won the last meeting between these two, 95-83 in April.
The price on the visitors has already come in a little since the opening number, but I could not connect that to any team news, so I am not reading anything into it. My view rests on the settled side against the rebuilt one.
