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15 things to look out for in Wednesday's games


MIES (Switzerland) - The Round of 16 concludes on Wednesday March 22 with two games from Group J - including the decider between Rytas Vilnius and BAXI Manresa - and two contests from Group I, including the  Game of the Week between SIG Strasbourg and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, which will decide top spot in the group.

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

Rytas Vilnius (2-3) v BAXI Manresa (3-2)

Group J - 18:30 CET - Vilnius, Lithuania

  • Rytas lost their last home game in the BCL (86-79 v Bonn) after winning the previous four; they lost consecutive home games only once before in the competition, it was in their first two home games, in October-December 2020.
  • Rytas have made 10+ three-pointers in each of their last six BCL games after never doing it in consecutive games previously in the competition; Manresa have conceded 10+ three-pointers in five of their last six BCL games, as often as in their previous 35 games in the competition.
  • Marcus Foster has scored 24.4 percent of Rytas' 1157 points in the BCL this season (282 points), the highest percentage among all players of the 16 teams still competing, and will face Jerrick Harding, tied for second in that ranking (22.6 percent 202-of-895; also, TJ Shorts II 22.6 percent).
  • Manresa lost their last away game in the BCL (85-75 v Bonn) but have never lost two away games in a row since the start of the 2021-22 season; five of their last seven away games ended up with margins of five points or fewer.
  • Dani Perez has failed to score in his last four games in the BCL despite playing 10+ minutes in each of those games - only one player has previously failed to score in five games with 10+ minutes played in a row, Ludovic Beyhurst in 2018-2019.

Bahcesehir College (0-5) v Telekom Baskets Bonn (5-0)

Group J - 18:30 CET - Istanbul, Turkey

  • Bahcesehir have lost their last five BCL games, a streak that started with a defeat 74-68 against Bonn, more defeats than in their initial nine games (5-4); they were never leading at the start of the fourth quarter in any of their seven home games in the competition (3-4).
  • Bahcesehir's Langston Hall has the most games started (six) without ever winning one in the BCL this season (2-1 when starting on the bench); he will face Leon Kratzer (Bonn) who, on the contrary, is the player with the most starts without losing a single one this season (eight).
  • Bonn have won their last 10 BCL games and became the third team winning 10+ games in a row in the competition (Monaco 14, Lenovo Tenerife 12); they have won their last five away games, as many wins as in their previous 19 games away from home.
  • Bonn are averaging 118 points per 100 possessions in the BCL this season, more than any other team; on the other hand, Bahcesehir are conceding 113 points per 100 possessions, only Hapoel Atsmon Holon (115) are conceding more among the 16 remaining teams.
  • Bonn's TJ Shorts II has combined 10+ points and 10+ assists in two of his last three BCL games after never doing so in his previous eight appearances; he has made at least one steal in each of his last 10 games.|

Hapoel Atsmon Holon (0-5) v JDA Bourgogne Dijon (2-3)

Group I - 20:00 CET - Holon, Israel

  • Holon have lost their last five games in the BCL, including the last game against Dijon (89-81) but have never lost more games in a row in the competition; Holon have lost their last two home games after winning the previous nine.
  • Holon's Manny Harris scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds last week against Strasbourg in his first BCL game since the 2018 final that he won with AEK; he has failed to score 10+ points in only four of his 19 BCL games but two of those four games were against French oppositions.
  • Dijon have lost their last two games in the BCL but have lost more in a row only once before, back in 2018 when they lost six consecutive games; Dijon have scored fewer than 70 points in each of their last two games, as often as in their previous 23 games in the competition.
  • Only one team, Strasbourg, (22.9) have averaged more two-pointers made per game than Dijon (22.4) this season in the BCL, but Holon have made 11.3 three-pointers per game, only Galatasaray average more (11.4).
  • Dijon's Markis McDuffie has combined 15+ points and 5+ rebounds in 10 BCL games this season, more than any other player, including in each of his previous three games against teams from Israel.

You can find the Game of the Week (SIG Strasbourg v Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem) preview here.