20 October, 2020
09 May, 2021
50 Bonzie Colson (STRA)
05/04/2021
News
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Play-Offs Week 6 Wednesday games preview

MIES (Switzerland) - The eighth ticket to May's Final 8 is still up for grabs but it will be claimed on Wednesday night, with the conclusion of the clash between SIG Strasbourg and Turk Telekom.

Here's a closer look at the two Wednesday games, which will conclude action in Group K of the Play-Offs:

SIG Strasbourg (2-3) vs. Turk Telekom (2-3) -- Group K, 18:30 CET

  • Whichever team wins this game will clinch the remaining ticket to the Final 8 from Group K, finishing second in the group. Nizhny Novgorod have already secured first place.

  • Turk Telekom won 83-76 in the reverse fixture on March 2, behind 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists from Nick Johnson. Bonzie Colson had 18 points and 7 rebounds for Strasbourg in defeat.

  • Turk Telekom are coming off a tough 82-81 loss at Belediye in Turkish BSL league action on Saturday, despite a 24-point, 7-assist performance by Nick Johnson. Strasbourg were not in domestic league action at the weekend.

  • Strasbourg have won three of their last four home games in the BCL, after losing the previous six. In seven of Strasbourg's last nine home games in the BCL, the team that won the game was the one that was leading at halftime.

  • Turk Telekom have lost their last two road games in the BCL after losing only three of their previous 11 games on the road. Nonetheless, the Ankara team have won both of their two previous games in France.

  • Strasbourg are the best team in BCL history with regards to comeback wins. The French team have won 10 games after trailing by 10 points or more, and they have achieved that feat in three different games this very season, including the Week 5 clash against Nizhny Novgorod in which they were trailing by 15 points.

  • Strasbourg's Brandon Jefferson is averaging 17.2 points per game over the last six BCL contests, after scoring in single digits in four of his previous five games in the competition. Jefferson has shot 41 percent from three-point range and 95 percent from the free-throw line in that six-game stretch.

  • Kyle Wiltjer scored 24 points in last week's win over AEK, his highest-scoring game in the BCL since the Regular Season opener. The Canadian forward had averaged 11.7 points per game over the nine games in between. Turk Telekom have won seven of the eight BCL games in which Wiltjer has scored at least 20 points.

AEK (2-3) vs. Nizhny Novgorod (4-1) -- Group K, 18:30 CET

  • AEK are out of contention for a spot in the Final 8, as both Strasbourg and Turk Telekom (who face each other in the other game of the night) have the head-to-head advantage over the Greek team. Nizhny have already secured first place in the group and, of course, a Final 8 berth.

  • Nizhny defeated AEK 88-60 in the reverse fixture, inflicting upon the Athens team their heaviest ever loss in the BCL. Artem Komolov had 21 points and Kasey Shepherd added 17 points and 8 assists for the Russian side, while Dimitris Moraitis had 13 points for AEK in defeat.

  • AEK are coming off a 97-94 loss in overtime to Lavrio in Greek league action on Saturday, despite a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds from Yanick Moreira.

  • Nizhny, by contrast, were 99-93 winners at Avtodor in VTB United League action on Monday, behind 22 points from Ivan Strebkov who shot 4 of 6 from three-point range.

  • AEK, who are currently on a three-game skid in the BCL, have never lost four in a row in the competition. The Greek team are nonetheless 5-0 at home this season.

  • Nizhny won their last four road games in the BCL, tallying as many wins as they had in their previous 15 road games in the competition.

  • Nizhny are leading the league in made three-pointers with 11.7 per game. The Russian side made only eight triples in last week's game against Strasbourg, but they haven’t had so far this season two consecutive games of fewer than 10 made triples.

  • AEK's Keith Langford had his lowest-ever scoring BCL game in the reverse fixture (including only games in which he featured for at least seven minutes), as he scored 9 points in the reverse fixture. Langford has made one three-pointer in the last four BCL games combined, down from averaging 2.3 triples per game over the previous 12 games.

  • Nizhny's Andrey Vorontsevich scored exactly 15 points in three of his four games in the BCL. The Russian international is averaging 14 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, on 40 percent three-point shooting.