MIES, Switzerland (Basketball Champions League) - The third Basketball Champions League season is on! Let's have a look at some key facts before Tuesday's opening games.

Nizhny Novgorod (RUS) v Sidigas Avellino (ITA)

• Nizhny Novgorod will make their debut in the Basketball Champions League. They are the third Russian team to take part in the competition and will attempt to be the first one to qualify for the Round of 16.
• Sidigas Avellino will take part in their third BCL campaign. Their best result so far is a Round of 16 in the 2016/17 season.
• The Russian teams have only won one of their four games against Italian sides in the BCL.
• Sidigas Avellino scored only 65.9% of their free-throws last season in BCL, less than any other team.
• Avellino's Hamady Ndiaye made the most blocks per game (1.8) in the BCL 2017/18.
  
  

Lietkabelis (LTU) v Telenet Giants Antwerp (BEL)

• Lietkabelis will take part in their first BCL season. They qualified for this edition after finishing 4th in the LKL 2017/18 and are the third Lithuanian team to appear in the BCL.
• Telenet Giants Antwerp will also make their debut in the competition. They are the third team from Belgium to feature in a BCL season.
• The only two games between a Lithuanian and a Belgium team were in the 2016/17 Regular Season, when Juventus Utena beat Oostende twice.
• Only three players made more fouls per game than Lietkabelis' new man Mike Morrison (3.4) during the BCL 2016/17 when he was playing for Fraport Skyliners.
• Antwerp's Paris Lee made on average more assists (5) and more steals (1.8) per game than any other of his team-mates last season in the FIBA Europe Cup.
  
  

Petrol Olimpija (SLO) v SIG Strasbourg (FRA)

• Petrol Olimpija and SIG Strasbourg were already in the same group in the BCL 2017/18, each team winning their home game and they also faced each other during Gameday 1, but it was in Strasbourg (83-69 for SIG).
• Petrol Olimpija will take part in their second season in a row in the BCL. They didn't manage to go through the Group Stage last season.
• SIG Strasbourg will take part in their third BCL campaign, their best result being a Quarter-Final last season, lost against the future champion AEK.
• Petrol Olimpija allowed their opponents to make 8.7 steals per game in last year Regular Season, more than any other team.
• Strasbourg's new man Mike Green was the best scorer of the BCL 2017/18 Final: he scored 19 points with AEK against Monaco.
  
  

 medi Bayreuth (GER) v Besiktas Sompo Japan (TUR)

• medi Bayreuth and Besiktas Sompo Japan faced each other last season in BCL, it was in the Round of 16 with an aggregate win of the German side for their first appearance in the competition.
• Besiktas Sompo Japan will take part in their third BCL campaign. They always managed to go through the group stage but were always eliminated in the Round of 16.
• Besiktas scored 42.5% of their 3-pointers in the Regular Season in the BCL 2017/18, best % of the group stage.
• Bayreuth's Adonis Thomas will play in the BCL with a third different team: he played in 2016/17 with Sidigas Avellino and 2017/18 with Banvit.
• Besiktas' new man Joe Alexander averaged 13.1 points per game in his 12 appearances with UNET Holon in BCL in 2017/18.
  
  

 Umana Reyer Venezia (ITA) v PAOK (GRE)

• This is the third appearance for Umana Reyer Venezia in BCL. They finished at the 4th place in 2016/17 but failed to qualify for the Play-Offs last season. However, they won the FIBA Europe Cup 2017/18 after having been transferred from BCL.
• PAOK have always managed to go through the group stage in their first two appearances in BCL but never went further than the Round of 16.
• Umana Reyer Venezia have attempted 988 3-pointers in BCL history, more than any other team.
• PAOK made on average 23.9 fouls per game last season in the Group Stage, more than any other team.
• Umana Reyer's Gasper Vidmar, freshly arrived from Banvit, has grabbed 223 rebounds in the competition, more than any other player in BCL history.
  
  

 JDA Dijon (FRA) v CEZ Nymburk (CZE)

• JDA Dijon will make their debut in BCL this season. They are the 7th French team to appear in the BCL.
• CEZ Nymburk will take part in their third BCL season. Their best result is a Round of 16 during the last edition, lost by one point on aggregate against the future champion AEK.
• CEZ Nymburk will face a French team during Gameday 1 for the second season in a row: they lost at home against Nanterre in the opening day of the 2017/18 edition (72-81).
• The new JDA's player Jérémy Leloup made the joint-most steals in a BCL game, it was during Gameday 1 last season (eight steals with Strasbourg against Petrol Olimpija).
• Nymburk's Eugene Lawrence is the best assists provider in the BCL history: he made a tally of 166 assists in his first two BCL seasons.
  
  

 Iberostar Tenerife (ESP) v Telekom Baskets Bonn (GER)

• Iberostar Tenerife will take part in their third BCL campaign. They were crowned champion in 2017 but were knocked out in the Round of 16 last season.
• Telekom Basket Bonn will take part in their second consecutive season in BCL. They failed to qualify for the Play-Offs during the last edition.
• Iberostar Tenerife have made 726 assists in the competition, more than any other team that will take part in the 2018/19 edition.
• Telekom Baskets Bonn have won none of their last four away games in the BCL, but only one of these games has seen a double-digit margin.
• Tenerife's Tim Abromaitis (56.1%) was one of the three players to score more than 50% of their 3-pointers attempted last season (32/57 - min. 30 attempts).