
Everything you need to know ahead of Wednesday's Gameday 10 fixtures
MIES (Switzerland) - Wednesday is packed with mouthwatering clashes and, as if that was not enough, it could see the first of the 16 tickets to the 2019-20 Basketball Champions League Play-Offs finding its owner, as Tenerife will secure a place in the postseason if they win at Peristeri and Bamberg lose to Gaziantep later on the day.
Let's have a closer look at Wednesday's eight-game slate:
Peristeri winmasters (6-3) vs. Iberostar Tenerife (8-1) - Group C, 18:00 CET
Peristeri have bolstered their backcourt with Isaiah Cousins, who spent the first part of the season at Hapoel
- Peristeri have signed Isaiah Cousins, who started the season at Hapoel Jerusalem. The 25-year-old guard averaged 3 points and 2 rebounds in his nine games in Group B with the Israeli powerhouse.
- Tenerife prevailed 72-68 in the reverse fixture on Gameday 3, as Dani Diez came up with a 16-point, 7-rebound showing.
- Peristeri, who are currently riding a three-game win streak in the BCL, have a 3-1 record at home. They have won all three home games in which they scored more than 75 points.
- Tenerife lost their most recent road game, 75-72 at Nizhny, after winning their previous 16 Regular Season road games in the competition. The Spanish team have won a total of 22 road games in the Regular Season, more than any other team in the competition.
- Peristeri give up a league-low (best) 26.7 points in the paint per game on average.
- Tenerife have the best defense in the league, giving up only 67.6 points per game on average. The Spanish side have given up fewer than 70 points in seven of their nine games so far this season.
- Marcelinho Huertas has dished 30 assists to Giorgi Shermadini, for a total of 56 points. The Tenerife duo are the most productive duo in the league in that respect.
Turk Telekom (6-3) vs. Lietkabelis (4-5) - Group A, 18:00 CET
RJ Hunter poured in 25 points in the reverse fixture in Lithuania
- Lietkabelis have tabbed former Latvian international Rihards Kuksiks. The veteran sharpshooter started the season at Liepaja, where he was averaging 14 points on 40 percent three-point shooting.
- Turk Telekom won 91-77 in the reverse fixture in Lithuania on Gameday 3, behind a 25-point showing by R.J. Hunter. The Turkish team have a 3-1 record at home this season.
- Lietkabelis have four wins in their last five games, while they had four wins in their previous 15 games in the competition. They won 66-63 at SIG Strasbourg in their previous road game and are seeking to clinch a second consecutive road victory for the first time in their history in the competition.
- Turk Telekom force opponents to commit an average of 9.8 turnovers per game, fewer than any other team. The Turkish team average only 10.7 points off turnovers per game.
- Six different Turk Telekom players have had at least one game this season scoring 20 or more points - Kyle Wiltjer, Moustpaha Fall, Muhammed Baygul, Nick Johnson, R.J. Hunter and T.J. Campbell. Teksut Bandirma is the only other team to have had six players achieving that feat.
- Zeljko Sakic of Lietkabelis averaged 24 points and 7.2 rebounds in his five most recent games in the BCL and was the league's fourth-leading scorer going into Gameday 10.
Falco Szombathely (5-4) vs. Casademont Zaragoza (5-4) - Group D, 18:00 CET
Falco have a perfect home record and they are... guaranteed to win every time Juvonte Reddic dishes 7 assists
- Falco have a 4-0 record at home, on an average winning margin of 16.8 points per game. The Hungarian team is averaging 86.5 points per game at home, compared with 73.4 points per game on the road.
- Zaragoza have lost three of their four road games, giving up an average of 85.5 points per game when playing on the road. Their only road win came at Besiktas, and it was the only occasion they gave up fewer than 80 points on the road.
- Falco are giving up a league-low (best) 8 second-chance points per game on average.
- Zaragoza are leading the league in defensive rebounds (31.2 per game) and blocks (4.8 per game). Paradoxically, they are also the team that allows opponents to grab a league-high (worse) 13.6 offensive rebounds per game on average.
- Juvonte Reddic of Falco averaged 8 assists in the last three games, on an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio of 4/1. The Hungarian team have won all four games in which Reddic dished 7 or more assists.
UNET Holon (3-6) vs. Polski Cukier Torun (2-7) - Group A, 20:00 CET
Holon have handed the reins to Greek coach Stefanos Dedas, after parting ways with Sharon Drucker
- Holon have appointed Stefanos Dedas as their new head coach, after parting ways with Sharon Drucker in December. The Greek tactician was previously the play caller at Turkish side Bahcesehir.
- Holon have also made a significant addition to the roster, bringing back Joe Alexander. The big man, who had started the season at French side Le Portel, had played for Holon in the 2017-18 season.
- Holon, who are currently on a four-game skid, started off the season as the league's- top offense but averaged only 67 points per game in their last three encounters.
- Torun are leading the league in points per game, with 92.9, and have scored an average of 100.7 points in their last three games.
- Holon's opponents score a league-high 17.6 free-throws per game on average. The Israeli team is bottom of the league in blocks, with 1.1 per game.
- Torun are leading the league in field goal percentage, shooting 49.1 percent from the floor. However, their opponents' average field goal percentage is 53.4 percent, which makes the Polish team's defense the worst in the league in that respect.
- Chris Wright and Keith Hornsby of Torun average a combined 39.3 points per game, which makes them the highest-scoring duo in the league among players who have played at least six games together.
Telenet Giants Antwerp (2-7) vs. AEK (7-2) - Group B, 20:00 CET
Jerai Grant moved to Athens from Strasbourg during the Christmas break
- AEK have added Jerai Grant, who had started the season at Group A contenders SIG Strasbourg. The American forward averaged 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game with the French outfit. The Greek team on the other hand have parted ways with big man Stefan Jankovic.
- AEK won 62-51 in the reverse fixture in Athens, behind an 18-point display by Kendrick Ray. Antwerp's 51-point output was their lowest ever in a BCL game.
- Antwerp are bottom of the league in scoring, averaging 72.4 points per game. They are also bottom of the league in field goal percentage, on 39.4 percent shooting from the floor, and in free-throw shooting, with 60.2 percent.
- AEK have won all three encounters so far between the two teams, holding Antwerp to an average of 63.7 points per game.
- Antwerp, who are currently on a three-game losing skid, have never lost four consecutive games in the competition. The Belgian side scored more than 75 points in only one of their last nine home games in the BCL.
- AEK have won 11 of their last 13 road games in the Regular Season. The Greek team gave up only 64.7 points on average in their last three games on the road.
- AEK won all four BCL games in which Jonas Maciulis scored in double digits this season. The Lithuanian forward, who is averaging 9.8 points per game, is yet to score in double-digits in consecutive games this season.
Brose Bamberg (4-5) vs. Gaziantep (2-7) - Group B, 20:00 CET
Darion Atkins will continue his high flights in Group C, albeit now on behalf of Bamberg
- Darion Atkins, who parted ways with Tenerife in December, will continue playing in Group C as Bamberg have secured his services. The American forward/center averaged 4.1 points and 2 rebounds in his seven BCL games with the Spanish team.
- Bamberg won 76-66 in the reverse fixture in Turkey, as Paris Lee led the way for the German team with 13 points and 6 assists.
- Bamberg's current three-game skid is their longest losing streak in the BCL Regular Season. The German team however have never lost consecutive games at home in the competition. Gaziantep on the other hand have lost their last three road games.
- Bamberg are averaging a league-low 27.3 points in the paint per game. They are also on the receiving end of 4.3 blocks per game on average, more than any other this season.
- Gaziantep's bench is averaging a league-low 18 points per game.
- Ivan Buva has scored at least 11 points in each of his six appearances with Gaziantep and he has now scored in double-digits in each of his last 10 games in the competition.
BAXI Manresa (6-3) vs. SIG Strasbourg (4-5) - Group A, 20:30 CET
Toolson tied a remarkable record in the Spanish league at the weekend
- Strasbourg have parted ways with forward Jerai Grant, who has moved to Group B contenders AEK.
- Strasbourg won 81-63 in the reverse fixture in France, behind 17 point-showings by Gabe York and Jerai Grant.
- Manresa's Ryan Toolson tied the Spanish Liga Endesa's record for most consecutive free-throws without a miss at the weekend, after converting a 70th free-throw in a row in Manresa's 80-79 win at Baskonia. The veteran sharp-shooter misfired on his very next shot from the foul line however, missing out on the chance to establish a new record.
- Manresa have a 4-0 record at home, scoring 80 or more points in three of those fixtures.
- Strasbourg, who have won their last two road games in the BCL, are seeking a third consecutive win on the road, a feat they would accomplish for the first time in their history in the competition.
- Manresa have the best perimeter defense in the league, giving up only 5.4 three-pointers per game.
- Manresa’s Dani Perez is averaging 7.4 assists, to go with his 5 points per game. He is the league's joint leader in assists, together with Marcelinho Huertas and Chris Wright.
- Gabe York has scored at least 12 points in each of his nine games with Strasbourg, and he was the league's tenth-leading scorer up going into Gameday 10, averaging 17.2 points per game.
Happy Casa Brindisi (4-5) vs. JDA Dijon (6-3) - Group D, 20:30 CET
David Holston led Dijon to victory when the two teams met in France back in October
- Brindisi have signed veteran forward Dominique Sutton, who last played for Chinese club Anhui Dragons. Sutton has previous experience in Italy with Trento, while he played a few games last season for Group B participants San Pablo Burgos.
- Dijon won 95-79 in the reverse fixture in France, behind a near double-double of 17 points and 9 assists by David Holston. That loss is Brindisi's heaviest defeat so far in the competition.
- Brindisi have won all four games at home, while they have lost all of their five games on the road.
- Dijon have lost eight of the nine games in which they have given up 80 or more points in their BCL history. The only team to scofe more than 80 points against Dijon this season was Falco Szombathely, in the Gameday 8 clash that the Hungarian team won 82-81.
- Brindisi scored at least 90 points in each of their five most recent games, which is the longest streak scoring 90 or more points by any team this season.
- Dijon are leading the league in points off turnovers, averaging 21.7 such points per game. This is a direct consequence of the French team forcing opponents to a best in the league 18.8 turnovers per game on average.
- Brindisi's Tyler Stone averaged 23.3 points, 10 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the last four BCL games, after averaging 12 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in his first five games in the competition.