08 October, 2019
04 October, 2020
35 Tashawn Thomas (JERU)
03/03/2020
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Everything you need to know ahead of Wednesday's Round of 16 games

MIES (Switzerland) - Wednesday brings us the main dish in the first week of action in the Round of 16, as 12 of the teams that advanced to the Play-Offs take to the court looking to start off the postseason with a win in the all-important Game 1 of their series.

Let's have a closer look at all six games on the Wednesday slate:

Turk Telekom vs. Besiktas Sompo Sigorta - Game 1, 18:00 CET


Turk Telekom have bolstered an already strong frontcourt, which includes the likes of Moustapha Fall (pictured), by adding Kenny Kadji

  • Turk Telekom have signed 31-year-old big man Kenny Kadji, whi had started the season at Spanish side Movistar Estudiantes. Meanwhile Besiktas have parted ways with Shaquielle McKissic, who averaged 16.6 points per game in the Regular Season.

  • This will be the second time that two Turkish teams face each other in the BCL Play-Offs. In the 2016-17 season, Pinar Karsiyaka beat Besiktas in the Round of 16 and advanced to the Quarter-Finals.

  • Turk Telekom won all five BCL games they have played in 2020, scoring an average of 89 points and giving up 79.6 points per game.

  • This is the fourth consecutive season that Besiktas have qualified for the Play-Offs, but they are yet to win a game in this stage of the competition.

  • Turk Telekom made exactly 11 three-pointers in each of their last three games. They have won seven of the eight games in which they have made at least 10 shots from three-point range. The Ankara team is leading the league in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 40.4 percent from behind the arc.

  • Besiktas are the second-best team in the league (behind Lietkabelis) in opponents' offensive rebounds, allowing only 8.9 per game.

  • Turk Telekom's Kyle Wiltjer averaged 23.8 points per game in his last six appearances, after 14.5 points in his first eight games in the competition.

  • Toddrick Gotcher of Besiktas is averaging 15.1 points per game when he plays at least 25 minutes and 6.3 points per game when he plays fewer than 25 minutes. Besiktas have won five of the seven games in which Gotcher has played 25 or more minutes.


Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem vs. Peristeri winmasters - Game 1, 18:15 CET


Peristeri have brought in DeAndre Kane to replace the sidelined through injury Isaiah Cousins who, interesingly, had started the season at Hapoel

  • Hapoel have signed Emanuel Terry, who had started the season at Bandirma and stood out in Group B averaging a near double-double of 11.9 points and 9.9 rebounds for the Turkish team. Hapoel have parted ways with center Mindaugas Kupsas, who joined Filou Oostende.

  • Peristeri have signed 30-year-old guard DeAndre Kane to replace Isaiah Cousins, who underwent surgery and will be sidelined for about three months. The Greek side has also parted ways with forward Brayon Blake.

  • Hapoel won three of the four games they have played in the Play-Offs, while BCL debutants Peristeri are playing in the postseason for the first time.

  • Hapoel have a 15-1 record at home in the BCL, which translates to a 93.8 percent winning percentage, the second-best in competition history. They are chasing AS Monaco, who had a 94.4 winning percentage at home.

  • Peristeri give up an average of 71.9 points per game on the road as the second-best road defense in the league, behind Iberostar Tenerife.

  • Hapoel have become the first team in BCL history to conclude the Regular Season with an field goal percentage of at least 50 percent and a free-throw percentage of at least 80 percent. The Israeli team shot 50.2 percent from the floor and 83.9 percent from the line in the Regular Season.

  • Hapoel hit 13.3 three-pointers per game in their last four games, are one of three teams to average more than 10 made threes per game in the Regular Season.

  • Peristeri have the best transition defense in the league, as they give up the fewest fast-break points, 7.7 per game. The Greek team also give up the fewest points in the paint, 26.7 per game.

  • Hapoel's J’Covan Brown dished at least 10 assists in two of his last four games. He had never achieved this feat in his previous 47 appearances in the competition. Hapoel won nine of the 10 games in which Brown dished 6 or more assists.

  • Peristeri's Kingsley Moses had five games of at least 10 rebounds and 2 blocks, more than any other player in the BCL this season.


Casademont Zaragoza vs. Lietkabelis - Game 1, 20:00 CET


Zaragoza signed Jason Thompson after Javier Justiz (pictured) suffered a season-ending injury

  • Zaragoza have signed big man Jason Thompson, who had started the season at China's Beijing Royal Fighters. The 33-year-old American is replacing on the roster Javier Justiz, who will miss the rest of the season through injury. The Cuban center averaged 8.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

  • Both Zaragoza and Lietkabelis appear in the BCL Play-Offs for the first time ever.

  • Zaragoza are riding a six-game winning streak in the BCL, the second-longest this season behind ERA Nymburk's seven-game win streak. The Spanish team averaged 92.5 points in their four most recent games, after averaging 76.6 points in their first 10 games in the competition.

  • Lietkabelis won three of their last four road games, after starting out on a 1-9 record on the road in the competition.

  • Zaragoza give up 13.5 second-chance points per game, more than any other team in the league. This is a direct consequence of Zaragoza allowing opponents 12.8 offensive rebounds per game, also worse in the league.

  • In contrast, Lietkabelis are the best in the league in opponents' offensive rebounds and second-chance points, allowing only 8.6 offensive boards and 7.5 second-chance points per game.

  • Zaragoza's D.J. Seeley scored at least 15 points in four of his last five appearances after doing so in only two of his first eight games in the competition. Zaragoza won five of the six games in which Seeley scored 15 or more points.

  • Paulius Valinskas of Lietkabelis averaged 15.4 points per game in his last five appearances, after averaging 8.7 points in his first six games in the competition.


Dinamo Sassari vs. San Pablo Burgos - Game 1, 20:30 CET


Jaime Smith, who started the season at Bandirma, returns to Sassari as the Italian side part ways with Curtis Jerrells

  • Sassari have brought back Jaime Smith, who was an integral part of the Dinamo squad that lifted the FIBA Europe Cup trophy last season. The 30-year-old American point guard started the season at fellow BCL Bandirma and averaged 14.8 points and 4.2 assists per game with the Turkish team. Sassari have consequently parted ways with veteran point guard Curtis Jerrells, who averaged 9.3 points and 1.9 assists per game.

  • Smith's return to Sassari means that this series will see the two best three-point shooters in the Regular Season going up against each other. Smith is shooting 51.8 percent from behind the arc, while Ferran Bassas of Burgos is shooting 51.2 percent from three-point range.

  • Bassas, who played with Tenerife in the first seasons of the BCL, has won 49 games in the competition and if Burgos win on Wednesday he will become the first player to reach 50 victories in competition history.

  • Sassari have won two of the three home games they have played in the Play-Offs, while BCL debutants Burgos are naturally playing in this stage for the first time.

  • Sassari, who won their last four games in the Regular Season, are seeking to register their first five-game winning streak in competition history.

  • Sassari have a 72.8 percent defensive rebounding ratio, the highest in the league this season. Interestingly, Burgos's 36.8 percent offensive rebounding ration is also a league-high.

  • Burgos made a league-high 159 three-pointers in the Regular Season, as they averaged 13.3 made shots from behind the arc in their last six games.

  • Sassari's Miro Bilan averaged 14.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his last three appearances, up from 9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in his previous six appearances. Sassari won all nine games in which Bilan scored in double-digits.


JDA Dijon vs. Nizhny Novgorod - Game 1, 20:30 CET


Rasheed Sulaimon, fresh off winning MVP honors in the French Leaders Cup, is looking to post his second consecutive 20-point game in the BCL

  • Nihzny have signed a familiar face in forward Sergey Toporov, as the 30-year-old NIzhny native left his hometown team last summer to join fellow Russian side Spartak Primorye and has now returned home.

  • Dijon are taking part in the Play-Offs for the first time while Nizhny aim to win their first road game in the Play-Offs. Last season, the Russian side lost on the road to Umana Reyer Venezia in the Round of 16, passed the round by winning both games at home but then lost to Telenet Giants Antwerp both at home and on the road.

  • Dijon won five of their last seven home games in the BCL, after winning only two of their previous seven home games in the competition.

  • In their history in the competition, Nizhny won 13 of the 15 games in which they scored 80 or more points. Meanwhile they won only four of the 17 games in which they scored 79 or fewer points.

  • Dijon lead the league in steals, with 11 per game, and in points off turnovers, with 20.9 per game.

  • Nizhny made 10 or more shots from behind the arc in three of their last four games, after hitting 10 or more three-pointers in only one of their previous 11 games in the competition.

  • Dijon's Rasheed Sulaimon, who scored 20 points in the last game of the Regular Season, against Besiktas, has never scored 20 or more points in consecutive games in the competition. Dijon won three of the four games in which Sulaimon scored 20 or more points.

  • Nizhny's Darrlyn Willis and Dyshawn Pierre of Sassari are the only players to post at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in multiple games (both twice) this season.


AEK vs. Telekom Baskets Bonn - Game 1, 20:30 CET


Keith Langford is back for AEK after missing about a month of action due to injury

  • Bonn have handed the reins to former Nigeria and Angola head coach Will Voigt, after parting ways with Thomas Päch just before the final game of the Regular Season. The German team have also signed 32-year-old point guard Donald Sloan, who was last on the Beijing Royal Fighters in the Chinese league.

  • AEK welcome back from injury Keith Langford and Nikos Gkikas, who were sidelined through February, as well as Nikos Zisis who missed AEK's two most recent games in the Greek league.

  • AEK have qualified for the Play-Offs for the fourth consecutive season, while Bonn are playing in the postseason for the first time in their three campaigns in the competition.

  • AEK won four of their five games they have played at home against German teams. Their only loss came in the most recent game in Athens against a German side, a 79-75 defeat to RASTA Vechta in November 2019.

  • Bonn won four of the six games they have played against Greek teams in the competition but lost the two most recent, both against PAOK this season.

  • AEK lead the league in both opponents' shots from the floor and opponents' assists this season, allowing only 53.8 shots and 14.4 assists per game.

  • Bonn had 20 or more assists in five of their last six BCL games, after reaching this figure in only two of their previous seven games in the competition. The German side won nine of the most recent 11 games in which they had 20 or more assists.

  • Langford scored 25 or more points in four different games, a joint-high this season alongside Turk Telekom's Kyle Wiltjer.

  • Bonn's Eugene Lawrence has dished a total of 32 assists in games against AEK, more than against any other team in the competition. Lawrence dished out a joint BCL career-high 13 assists in a game against AEK in October 2018, when he was playing for Nymburk.