MIES (Switzerland) - What to expect from the last Wednesday night of action before the national team break in the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL? Just wait and see.
The menu offers Bursaspor Basketbol's desire to finally break their losing streak, Joventut Badalona's Round of 16 qualification hope, and a lot more. Enjoy our appetizer: 24 must-know facts to make you hungry.
Igokea m:tel vs. Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets - Group E, 18:00 CET
Igokea m:tel have only won three of their last 19 games in the BCL but they have won their most recent home game, 91-76 against Pallacanestro Trieste. They will attempt to win back-to-back home games for the first time since December 2021-January 2022.
Fitness First Würzburg Baskets have lost their last three road games in the BCL after winning three of their first four. None of their seven road games ended with a margin of greater than seven points.
Igokea are conceding on average 17.0 points per game from second chance situations, more than any other team in the BCL this season; 19.2 percent of their total points conceded came from those situations, also the highest percentage this season.
Breein Tyree needed 37 games to score 600 points in the BCL - three other players have done it in fewer games in league history (Kevin Punter, 33; Marcus Foster, 35; DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, 36). Tyree has scored 16+ points in three of his four games this season, with the exception being against Würzburg in the reverse fixture (12pts).
Marcus Carr has scored 12+ points in each of his four BCL games with Würzburg. He has also made 5+ assists in three of his four appearances this season.
Both Igokea and Würzburg had a weekend off in the ABA League and the Basketball Bundesliga, respectively.
Cholet Basket vs. Bursaspor Basketbol - Group C, 20:00 CET
Cholet Basket have lost their last two home games in the BCL Regular Season after winning four of the first five; however, their last such win was against a team from Türkiye (97-86 vs. Darussafaka in December 2023).
Bursaspor Basketbol have lost their last four games in the BCL after winning three of the previous four; nine of their 10 BCL games ended with a double-digit margin, including all four this season.
Bursaspor are averaging only 23.0 points in the paint per game in the BCL this season, fewer than any other team, while only two teams have a better average than Cholet (39.0).
Cholet’s Gerald Ayayi has scored more than 10 points in each of his last five games in the BCL but has never enjoyed a longer such scoring run; Ayayi has dished out 7+ assists in each of his last two home games with Cholet in the competition and has made 100 percent of his last 28 attempted free throws at home.
Brandon Childress (Bursaspor) had his first double-double in the BCL in his most recent appearance in the competition (14pts, 11ast vs. Joventut Badalona); he has scored in double figures in three of his four games played this season, with the exception being the reverse fixture against Cholet (9pts).
Both players had nice individual performances for their respective teams during the weekend: Ayayi had a 19-point effort but Cholet lost 76-78 at home to Nanterre 92 in the LNB, while Childress had 15 points and 8 assists in Bursaspor's 76-74 win against Aliaga Petkimspor.
KK Spartak Office Shoes vs. SL Benfica - Group H, 20:00 CET
KK Spartak Office Shoes have lost their last two BCL games after winning their first two, and each of their last three games ended with a double-digit margin. They won 90-74 against SL Benfica on Gameday 2, the biggest final margin in any of their four games.
Benfica have only won two of their last 15 games in the BCL but enjoyed a victory in their last game, 93-90 against Le Mans; they will attempt to win consecutive BCL games for the first time since November-December 2022, when they had wins against BAXI Manresa and VEF Riga.
Only two teams are making fewer steals per game than Benfica (5.3) and KK Spartak (5.5) in the BCL this season; they are also two of the five teams to average the fewest points from fast break situations per game this season (Benfica 6.0, Spartak 6.3).
Shevon Thompson is averaging 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game with KK Spartak in the BCL; he has had eight double-doubles with points and rebounds in league history, whilst only D.J. Kennedy has had more than him (9).
Aleksander Dziewa has scored in double figures in each of his most recent three BCL games with Benfica, as many times as in his seven previous appearances in the competition; he had 18 points against Cholet in GD4, which was Dziewa’s highest scoring performance in the league.
KK Spartak lost 72-57 on the road in Sarajevo against Bosna in the ABA League; in Portugal, Benfica confirmed their status as favorites, staying on top of the standings at 6-0 following the 109-80 win in the Lisbon Derby against Porto.
Joventut Badalona vs. Hapoel Netanel Holon - Group C, 20:45 CET
Joventut have won their first four BCL game. Before this season, only three teams managed to win their first five games in the competition: Besiktas and Neptunas Klaipeda in 2016-17 and Virtus Bologna in 2018-19. They will also attempt to become the first team to win each of their first five games with a double-digit margin.
Hapoel Netanel Holon have lost six of their seven BCL games played in Spain, including each of the last four; they have scored less than 70 points in four of their seven trips to Spain.
Joventut are scoring on average 17.3 points from second chance situations in the BCL this season, the most of all teams, while only two teams are conceding more such points per game than Holon (15.0).
Ricky Rubio is averaging 14.0 points per game, the highest scoring average amongst all players with an average of fewer than 18 minutes per game in the BCL this season; he is shooting 66.7 percent from behind the arc (8-of-12) and 100 percent from the foul line (16-of-16).
Jordan McRae is averaging 21.3 points per game in the BCL this season, but scored only five points against Joventut in the reverse fixture, his second-lowest scoring game in the competition (scoreless vs. MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg in his debut in October 2023).
Joventut enjoyed the 78-92 road win in Gran Canaria with Ricky Rubio and Ante Tomic scoring 17 points each in the ACB; Holon beat Beer Sheva 85-87 away from home with Derrick Walton Jr. contributing with 25 points.