A handful of teams face the daunting task of having to overturn significant deficits from the opening leg if they want to advance to the Round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League.

Which team is most likely to do it?

Strasbourg were steamrolled at Aris, 71-52

How could an ambitious SIG side that won on the road at Iberostar Tenerife and also beat a talented Sidigas Avellino at home to finish third in Group D suffer the heaviest defeat of its Basketball Champions League campaign? It happened at the absolute worst time, in a Play-Off Qualifier at Aris, a beat-down in the Nick Galis Arena. SIG's biggest margin of defeat away from home had been 7 points on Gameday 1 at Juventus Utena. The bottom line is that Strasbourg weren't ready to play, which is almost unforgivable considering the stakes and also Aris's reputation of being tough to play at home. SIG coach Vincent Collet has to shoulder some of the blame because he'll get a lot of the credit if Strasbourg somehow battle back and win on aggregate. The big question is this: can SIG be aggressive enough to overturn the deficit and win on aggregate?

Nymburk crashed at Dinamo Sassari, 94-72 

What was more surprising, that a CEZ Nymburk side that won 10 games during the Regular Season could lose so badly or a Dinamo Sassari side that barely reached the Play-Off Qualifiers with a 7-7 record could be so ruthless? Maybe the Italian side, as guard Rok Stipcevic suggested after, was simply more battle-hardened because of its tough domestic schedule. It was a theory that CEZ Nymburk coach Ronen Ginzburg subscribed to. There is hope, however, for Nymburk. First of all at home, they haven't lost in the competition and have beaten Banvit and AS Monaco. Second of all, Nymburk can score a lot of points at home. They poured in 87 against Aris, 86 against Banvit and 76 against Monaco. A good start is crucial for the hosts.

Maccabi Rand Media lost 83-66 to MHP RIESEN

It's better to have lost by 17 points than 22, which was the margin with 30 seconds to go before Arik Shivek's side got a 3-pointer and a steal and fast-break lay-up. Shivek played down the importance of home-court advantage in this tie before the opening game. Oddly, it may help the Israeli team to play in a charged-up atmosphere that is sure to greet it in Ludwigsburg. John Patrick, the MHP RIESEN coach, was correct to warn his players: "We need to be disciplined... we have to keep our feet on the ground and realize this series is an 80-minute game and basically, we're at half-time right now." Maccabi Rand Media need a good start and must find the open man when facing double-teams. They must be able to strike quickly on the break and avoid turning the ball over and giving MHP RIESEN easy scoring opportunities. More important than anything is that Shivek's players must believe in their chances. "It looks bad," Shivek said, "but it's never over."

Pinar Karsiyaka fell 90-80 at Fraport Skyliners

The Izmir team won its last four games at home so that's the good news, that and the fact that Karsiyaka have some very good players and a charged-up crowd to help them. Ten points is not a huge deficit, either. What's worrying is that before their four-game winning streak, Karsiyaka did lose some games at home and they are now playing a Fraport Skyliners team that is much more potent than it was earlier in the season. For starters, head coach Gordon Herbert is no longer out of action and resting a bad back. The team also has a stronger squad. A.J. English now has five games under his belt. This can also be a statement game from Michael Morrison, the best and most dominant player in the opening legs. He came out of nowhere to score 35 points! Can he dominate again or was that a fluke? This has all the makings of a classic.