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21 things to look out for in Wednesday's games

 

MIES (Switzerland) - Wednesday's four-game slate wraps up Week 3 action in the Round of 16 and there could hardly be a better punctuation point before the February hiatus than a clash between the two 2-0 teams in Group K.

Here are 21 things you need to know ahead of the four Wednesday games:

Tofas Bursa (1-1) vs. Cholet Basket (1-1)

Group I - 18:00 CET - Bursa, Turkiye


Can Austin Wiley break the record for most blocks in a single BCL season?

● Tofas have alternated between wins and losses in their last eight games in the BCL, winning the most recent one (93-71 v SIG Strasbourg). They are 5-0 in their last five home games in the Round of 16, scoring 90+ points in three of those.

● Cholet are 2-1 in their last three road games in the BCL, scoring 90+ points in both those victories, and interestingly their largest road win took place in Turkiye (their 91-80 success at Darussafaka in November). By contrast, they had a 0-4 record in their first four road games in the BCL.
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● Cholet have the worst perimeter defense in this season's BCL, as they not only allow opponents to make 12.3 three-pointers on average (more than any other team) but also allow them to shoot 43.5 percent from three-point range (the highest three-point shooting percentage). Tofas are averaging 10 made treys per game this season, their highest during their four campaigns in the BCL.

● Austin Wiley of Tofas is leading the BCL in blocks this season, with 19  so far. The BCL single season record belongs to Norvel Pelle of Varese, who had 40 blocks in 2016-17 (with an astonishing 2.7 blocks per game). Wiley has averaged 14.3 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks over his last four BCL games.

● If Cholet's Craig Randall hits 4 three-pointers on Wednesday he will become the first player in BCL history to have made 4+ treys in six consecutive BCL games. Ricky Ledo and Gabe York are the only other players, alongside Randall, to have made 4+ triples in five games in a row. Randall scored 20 or more points in three of his last four BCL games.

Pinar Karsiyaka (0-2) vs. Peristeri bwin (0-2)

Group K - 18:30 CET - Izmir, Turkiye


Kenny Williams, who had a BCL career-high 25 points last week, had scored 20 against Karsiyaka in his BCL debut 

● Karsiyaka lost 106 -97 to Lenovo Tenerife in their most recent home game, after going 5-0 in their first five home games this BCL season. They were leading at half-time in each of their last seven games at home.

● Peristeri won the four BCL games on the road in which they scored 85 or more points, but lost the last 12 road games in which they scored fewer than 85 points. Four of Peristeri's last five road games were decided by winning margins greater than 15 points.

● Peristeri are top of the league this season in fouls committed, with 25.6 per game. They are consequently giving up more free-throws that any other team, 20.6 per game. Karsiyaka however only earn 17.7 free-throws per game, making 13.7 of them on average. They had only one game this season in which they made 20 or more free-throws.

●Karsiyaka's Errick McCollum scored 14 or more points in each of his last five BCL games, tying his longest such stretch in the competition. He dished 7 or more assists in each of his last three BCL games, while he had a total of three 7-assist games over his 13 BCL games before this stretch.

● Peristeri's Kenny Williams had a BCL career-high 25 points in last week's game against Lenovo Tenerife (after 26 BCL games). His only other 20-point game in the competition was precisely in a road game against Karsiyaka: He had 20 points for AEK in what was his debut in the competition, in October 2022, but AEK lost 91-88 at Karsiyaka.

JDA Bourgogne Dijon (1-1) vs. Telekom Baskets Bonn (2-0)

Group J - 20:00 CET - Ludwigsburg, Germany


Bonn's Glynn Watson (pictured) and Dijon's Ahmad Caver are two of the best free-throw shooters this season

● Dijon and Bonn have met twice before in the BCL, in the 2019-20 Regular Season, and the German side won both games by 10 or more points, despite Dijon leading at halftime on both occasions.

● Dijon, who are coming off a home loss (89-82 to MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg), have not lost two home games in a row since November-December 2022. They have however a 0-7 record against teams from Germany in the BCL, including four losses at home.

● Bonn were defeated in their most recent BCL road game (97-92 to Rio Breogan in the final week of the Regular Season), but had an incredible 11-0 record in their previous 11 road games before that. Bonn scored 90 or more points in two of their last three road games, while they had scored 90 or more points in two of their 25 road games before this stretch.

● Dijon's Ahmad Caver is the third-leading player in free-throw shooting percentage in this season's BCL, shooting 90.5 percent from the stripe (19 of 21). He scored 14 or more points in five of his six BCL games - and exactly 14 points in the three games he came off the bench.

● Bonn's Glynn Watson is leading all Round of 16 players in free-throw shooting percentage, with 93 percent from the stripe (26 of 28 free-throws). Bonn have won all three games in which Watson was a starter and lost three of the five in which he came off the bench. He is averaging 18.3 points as a starter and 10.2 points off the bench.

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (2-0) vs. Lenovo Tenerife (2-0)

Group K - 20:00 CET - Belgrade, Serbia

Levi Randolph is chasing Vojtech Hruban and Giorgi Shermadini on the BCL all-time scoring leaders list

● Jerusalem and Tenerife have met three times previously in the BCL, with the Israeli side currently leading 2-1. Two of their previous three games were so tight that were decided by winning margins of up to two points.

● If Tenerife win on Wednesday they will become the first team to reach 100 wins in the BCL (currently 99 wins, 31 losses, 1 draw).

● Jerusalem have historically the highest winning percentage in the Round of 16, at 92 percent. They have an 11-1 record in the 12 games they have played in this phase, including a 7-game winning streak in the last seven (two this season and their last five Round of 16 games last season).

● Tenerife, who are 2-0 in their last two road games in the BCL, haven't won three in a row on the road since the start of their 2022-23 campaign.

● Jerusalem's Levi Randolph is 25 points away from becoming the third player to reach 1,000 points in the BCL, after Vojtech Hruban and Giorgi Shermadini. Randolph has had seven games of 25 or more points, a joint-high in the BCL, alongside Kevin Punter and Keith Langford.

● Tenerife’s Kyle Guy has joined Keith Langford, Malcolm Hill and TJ Shorts II as the only players to have scored 25 or more points in each of their first two BCL games. Shorts II is the only one to have achieved this statline in each of his first three BCL games.