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14/03/2023
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20 things to look out for in Wednesday's games

MIES (Switzerland) - Round of 16 Week 5 action continues on Wednesday March 15 with four more games (one from each group) in addition to the Game of the Week (between AEK and Galatasaray Nef) from Group K. Six Quarter-Final spots remain up for grabs.

Here's what you need to know ahead of the four Wednesday games:

Hapoel Atsmon Holon (0-4) v SIG Strasbourg (3-1)

Group I - 19:00 CET - Holon, Israel

  • Holon are on four-game losing streak but have never lost more games in a row in a single BCL season; Holon lost the last game against Strasbourg (112-110) after winning their previous four BCL games against the French side.
  • Holon have 20.5 assists per 100 offensive possessions, the highest assist ratio amongst all teams in the BCL this season; however, it's Strasbourg who are making the most field goals per game in the league this season (31.5).
  • Holon's Chris Johnson is one of 13 players to have scored more than 700 points in BCL history (710); Johnson has scored more than 20 points in two different games this season, including 23 points against Strasbourg, but has never had a single BCL campaign with more such performances.
  • Strasbourg have lost five of their last seven road games in the BCL after winning six of the previous seven. Strasbourg were leading at the beginning of the fourth quarter in each of their last four BCL games, as often as in their previous 13 games in the competition.
  • Marcus Keene has been Strasbourg's top scorer in half of their games this season in the BCL (5 of 10), including in each of the most recent three; he made five three-pointers in the last game against Holon, his most in a BCL game (also five v UCAM Murcia on Gameday 5).

Bahcesehir College (0-4) v Rytas Vilnius (1-3)

Group J - 19:00 CET - Istanbul, Turkey

  • Bahcesehir have lost their last four games in the BCL, as many defeats as in their first nine games in the competition. The Lithuanian champions are yet to be ahead on the scoreboard at the beginning of the fourth quarter in a home game in the BCL. They were tied once and were trailing five times after 30 minutes, but won three of those six games.
  • Rytas have lost their last two games but are yet to lose three games in a row this season in the BCL, with their last win coming against Bahcesehir in the reverse fixture in Vilnius (95-88). Rytas have lost 11 of their last 14 road games in the competition, with the most recent two defeats by margins of 13+ points.
  • Rytas are leading the league this season in offensive rebound ratio, grabbing 37.1 percent of rebounds disputed on the offensive end. They collected only 4 offensive boards in their most recent game however (at Telekom Baskets Bonn on March 8), after averaging 14 per game in their previous 12 games this season.
  • Rytas' Marcus Foster is one of two players, alongside Maurice Kemp, to have scored 30 or more points in two BCL games this season, including in the last game against Bahcesehir (30 points). Foster made 5+ three-pointers in three games this season, tied for the most with Thaddus McFadden and Jalen Riley.

Unicaja (3-1) v Limoges CSP (0-4)

Group K - 21:30 CET - Malaga, Spain

  • Unicaja lost their most recent game (72-67 at Galatasaray Nef) but are yet to lose consecutive games in the BCL this season; they have scored more than 80 points in each of their last three home games in the BCL but have never had a longer such streak.
  • Unicaja's bench unit have scored 44.6 points per game, the highest average of any team in the BCL in 2022-23; Unicaja have also allowed their opponents to grab a league low 7.2 offensive rebounds per game and, therefore, have conceded the lowest average of points per game in second chance situations (8.4).
  • Unicaja have scored 43.9 points per game in the first half, the most of any team in the BCL in 2022-23; they reach halftime leading by an average of 7.8 points per game, also the most of any team this season.
  • Limoges have lost their last four games in the BCL, including against Unicaja (84-67) and a defeat here would be their longest losing streak in the competition; Limoges have scored fewer than 75 points in each of their last four games and are yet to win a game when scoring below that mark (0-10).
  • Limoges' Nicolas Lang (100 three-pointers made) is one of 15 players to have scored 100 or more three-pointers in the BCL ever; this season, he is averaging 16 points per game when playing at home, but only 9 points per game when playing away from home.

UCAM Murcia (2-2) v Lenovo Tenerife (4-0)

Group L - 21:30 CET - Murcia, Spain

  • Murcia have won their last 15 home games in the BCL, but their last home defeat was precisely against Tenerife back in March 2018 (71-66). Murcia lost the reverse fixture in Tenerife by a 20-point margin (85-65), tied for their largest defeat in the BCL (they had also lost by 20 points to EWE Baskets Oldenburg in November 2017).
  • Murcia average 76.4 possessions per game and they are leading the league in pace this season. In stark contrast, Tenerife have the slowest pace in this season's BCL, averaging 69.0 possessions per game.
  • Murcia's Thad McFadden has scored 25 or more points in each of his last two BCL games, as many times as in his previous 62 appearances; he has scored a total of 746 and needs 13 more to overtake Miro Bilan (758) to reach fourth place on the all-time scoring list in the BCL.
  • Tenerife have won 19 of their last 21 BCL games, but their two defeats in that span both happened on the road and both this season; they have won their last five BCL games against Spanish teams.
  • Giorgi Shermadini has scored 10+ points in 14 of his last 16 games in the BCL, however, he scored 7 points in the reverse fixture against Murcia, which was his lowest scoring output in a single BCL game since February 2022 (4 points v Rytas).

You can find the Game of the Week (AEK v Galatasaray Nef) preview here.