17 October, 2023
05 May, 2024
5 Muhammad-ali Abdur-rahkman (DSK), 8 Jaren Lewis (LUD), 3 Jayvon Graves (LUD)
15/01/2024
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20 things to look out for in Tuesday's games

MIES (Switzerland) - This is the last-chance saloon and there are no do-overs: Three of the five Play-In series that have gone into the tie-breaking Game 3 will conclude on Tuesday.

This means that the three winners will win their respective series and advance to the Round of 16, while the three losing teams will terminate their BCL campaign.

Here are 20 things you need to know ahead of the three Tuesday games:

PAOK mateco v Tofas Bursa

Game 3 (series tied at 1-1) - 18:30 CET - Thessaloniki, Greece

Andrew Harrison is PAOK's leading scorer in this series with 16.5 points over the first two games 

● PAOK are hoping to become only the third team in BCL history to qualify to the Round of 16 after losing Game 1 of their Play-In series at home (Hapoel Holon in the 2021-22 season and Bahcesehir in 2022-23 are the only ones to have achieved it so far).

● This will be PAOK's fourth game at home in the BCL Play-Ins, and they have won just one of the previous three. PAOK's 95-63 defeat to Tofas in Game 1 of this series is the Greek team's heaviest ever loss at home in the BCL.

● Tofas, who of course won on the road in Game 1, haven’t won consecutive road games in the BCL since November-January 2021 (when they defeated Keravnos in Cyprus, Dijon in France and Nymburk in Czechia).

● Tofas are averaging 93.3 points per game on the road this season. By comparison, the Turkish team's previous highest scoring averaging on the road in their three previous BCL seasons, was 85.3 points per game.

● PAOK are bottom of the league this season in fastbreak points, averaging only 5.8 per game. This means that PAOK score only 7.6 percent of their total points in transition, which is also the lowest in the league this season. By contrast, Tofas have the third-best transition offense in the BCL this season, scoring 15.9 fast-break points per game on average.

● PAOK's Andrew Harrison scored 15+ points in each of the first two games of this series and, what's more, in Game 2 he had a BCL career-high 6 assists and tied his BCL career-high in rebounds with 5. This is the first time since he started playing in the BCL that Harrison had 15 or more points in back-to-back games.

● Three different Tofas players scored 20 or more points in Game 2 (Austin Wiley 23, Cassius Winston 22, Marcus Denmon 20), which is not only a first for the Turkish team but also a first for any team in the BCL since January 2023.

● Marcus Denmon of Tofas is, alongside Klemen Prepelic of Galatasaray EKMAS, the only players to have scored 20 or more points in both Game 1 and Game 2 of this season's Play-Ins.

MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg v Darüssafaka Lassa

Game 3 (series tied at 1-1) - 20:00 CET - Ludwigsburg, Germany

Josh Carlton entered the BCL history books with his double-double in Game 2

● Game 3 will be the fifth encounter between Ludwigsburg and Darüssafaka in BCL history, with the two teams alternating wins: The German team won the first and the third (Game 1 of the series) match up, while the Turkish side won the second and the fourth (Game 2 last week).

● Ludwigsburg are 2-0 in their two most recent games at home in the BCL, including their win in Game 1 of this series. This is the longest winning streak at home since October- November 2017, when they had won four in a row.

● This is the second time Darüssafaka find themselves in Game 3 of a Play-In series, and once again they will play on the road. The previous was in the 2021-22 season, when they defeated San Pablo Burgos 80-68 in Spain to advance to the Round of 16. In that series they lost Game 1 on the road and then won Game 2 at home, just like this year.

● Darüssafaka however are 1-6 in their last seven road games in the BCL, and that sole win was their 84-75 success at VEF Riga on the opening night of the Regular Season, on October 17.

● Jayvon Graves has scored 20 or more points and dished 5 or more assists in each of Ludwigsburg's four home games in the BCL this season. If he scores 20+ also on Tuesday he will tie Marcus Foster for five 20+ home games in a single season. TJ Shorts II is the absolute leader in this category, having recorded six home games of 20+ points last season.
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● Darüssafaka's Josh Carlton became In Game 2 the first player in BCL history to register a double-double of 15+ points and 15+ rebounds in fewer than 28 minutes of action - he had 15 points and 15 rebounds in 25 minutes and 45 seconds on the floor. Carlton's 28 rebounds over his first two games in the competition is a joint-high in BCL history, as Babacar Toure (in 2018) is the only other player to have averaged 14 boards in his first two BCL games.

Hapoel Holon v Filou Oostende

Game 3 (series tied at 1-1) - 20:00 CET - Szombathely, Hungary

Justin Smith's off shooting night in Game 2 was an anomaly 

● Game 3 will be the seventh BCL encounter between Holon and Oostende, with the Belgian team currently leading 4-2 in the previous six games.

● Game 1 of this series was the first of these six games between the two sides in which Holon were leading at half-time. They of course ended up winning the game, 80-70.

● Holon have a 5-2 record in their seven games in the BCL Play-Ins so far, and that includes a Game 3 win (74-68 v Besiktas in the 2021-22 season). All of Holon's last four Play-In games were decided by a double-digit margin.

● Oostende are even more experienced in this respect, having been in a Game 3 of a Play-In series no less than three times previously. The Belgians however won one of those, 83-77 v Igokea in the 2021-22 Play-Ins. Each of those three games was a tight affair, and was decided by a margin of eight points or fewer.

● Holon's Justin Smith shot 33 percent (4 of 12) from the field in Game 2 but that was highly atypical for him, as he was averaging a formidable 78 percent (39 of 50) from the floor in this season's BCL up until that game. Smith is still the third-leading player in two-point field goal percentage this season, shooting 68.9 percent from within the arc, and is leading all BCL players in steals, with 17 so far.

● Oostende's Damien Jefferson posted 13+ points and 6+ rebounds in five of his eight BCL games, including Game 2 last week, in which he had 14 points and 6 rebounds. He is however second in turnovers in the BCL this season, with 25. PAOK's Elvar Fridriksson is first, as he had committed 30 going into Tuesday's games.