Week 2 Wednesday Play-In Games Preview
MIES (Switzerland) - Week two of the Basketball Champions League Play-Ins continues on Wednesday January 11 with four more games, as teams who won Game 1 are going for sweeps, but the teams trailing 0-1 want to force a Game 3 in their respective series.
In three of the four games, the home team is looking to avoid elimination.
Here's a look at the four games on Wednesday:
Game 1: Pinar Karsiyaka v UCAM Murcia (Murcia lead series 1-0)
Where: Izmir, Turkey
When: 18:00 CET
In Game 1, Murcia won 97-92.
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- Karsiyaka won their only previous Play-In game played at home in the BCL, it was against a Spanish team, Lenovo Tenerife last season (88-80); they have lost their last four BCL games, including the last game in these Play-Ins (97-92), their longest losing streak in the competition.
- Braian Angola scored 41 points for Karsiyaka in the first leg, the most by a player in the BCL in 2022-23; however, Angola has never scored more than 15 points in consecutive games in the league (26 appearances).
- Murcia have only lost three of their last 17 BCL games, however those defeats happened in three of their last four away games in the competition; they have won their last three trips to Turkey in the BCL, including the last time they visited Karsiyaka (79-65 in March 2018).
- Murcia have both won (26.6) and conceded (25.4) the most fouls per game of any team in the BCL in 2022-23; they are also the team that shoots (29) and scores (23.7) more free-throws per game this season.
- Murcia's Thaddus McFadden has scored a total of 134 shots from behind the arc in BCL history and needs to score three more to reach the third place in the all-time three-point scoring list, overtaking Vojtech Hruban (136); he has made 3.3 shots per game from beyond the arc in his three BCL trips to Turkey.
Game 2: Darussafaka v S.L. Benfica (Darussafaka lead series 1-0)
Where: Istanbul, Turkey
When: 18:00 CET
In Game 1, Darussafaka pulled off the upset on the road, 89-76.
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- Darussafaka have lost their last two home games in the BCL, each by 20+ points margins, after winning seven of the previous eight; they registered their biggest win in the BCL during the Play-Ins last season, at home against San Pablo Burgos (85-66).
- Darussafaka's Dogus Ozdemiroglu has recorded a double-double in each of his last two BCL games but no player has yet made three consecutive double-doubles in the league this season; he is averaging 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game in his last four appearances in the BCL.
- Benfica have lost their last two games in the BCL after winning four of the previous five; however, they have won each of their three away games in the competition by an average margin of eight points.
- Benfica have conceded just 7.9 points from second chance situations, the fewest of any team in the BCL in 2022-23; Darussafaka scored only two points from those situations in the first leg, tied for the fewest by any team in the league this season – they have made eight or fewer offensive rebounds in their last two games after grabbing an average of 14 in their previous four.
- Toney Douglas scored 24 points in the first leg of these Play-Ins, the most for a Benfica player in a BCL game; Douglas has recorded 17+ points and 6+ assists in two of his three away games in the competition.
Game 3: PAOK mateco v Rytas Vilnius (Rytas lead series 1-0)
Where: Thessaloniki, Greece
When: 18:30 CET
In Game 1, Rytas won 85-62.
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- PAOK have lost their three Play-In games in the BCL, including the last game, 85-62, but they lost their only previous home game by the narrowest margin (80-79 v Strasbourg last season); PAOK have lost seven of their last 10 home games in the BCL, trailing at halftime in each of those 10 games.
- PAOK have made 9.9 steals per game, tied for the most in the BCL this season, alongside Benfica; on the other hand, Rytas have made the fewest of any team (4.3 per game).
- PAOK's Jalen Riley has scored 15+ points in seven of his last eight BCL games, including in each of his last four; he is averaging 21 points and 4.0 made three-pointers per game in his last six BCL games at home.
- Rytas have won four of their last five BCL games after winning only two of the previous eight; they won their last away game 82-71 v Peristeri but are yet to win consecutive away games in the competition.
- Rytas' Elvar Fridriksson has scored 10+ points in each of his last five games in the BCL; however, the Icelandic guard has scored 17.3 points per game at home but only 6.7 when playing on the road.
Game 4: Limoges CSP v MHP RIESEN (RIESEN lead series 1-0)
Where: Limoges, France
When: 20:30 CET
In Game 1, RIESEN won 85-81.
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- Limoges registered their biggest win in the BCL during their last home game in the competition (80-53 v VEF Riga); however, they are yet to win consecutive home games in the BCL.
- Limoges have seen their opponents scoring only 38.9 percent of their attempted field goals, the best defensive ratio of any team in the BCL in 2022-23; they have also conceded the fewest points per game in the league this season (69.9).
- RIESEN have won each of their last four away games in the BCL, only the second time they won 3+ away games in a row and were the team with the most away wins in the BCL in 2022 (6); they have scored 90+ points in each of their last two away games, as often as in their previous 25 away games in the competition.
- RIESEN have conceded the fewest three-pointers per game in the BCL this season (5.6), while forcing their opponents to score only 26 percent of their attempted threes, the best defensive percentage in 2022-23; the Germans have conceded fewer than 10 shots from behind the arc in each of their seven games this season.
- Jhonathan Dunn has scored 17 or more points in three of his last four games with RIESEN in the BCL, including 29 in the first leg of these Play-Ins; Dunn has made 22 shots from behind the arc, while only Sasu Salin and Jalen Riley have made more than him in the BCL this season (both 24).