MIES (Switzerland) - January is the month of new beginnings and New Year's resolutions. We all know those will be gone in a few weeks, but as of now, stay true to your promises: enjoy some nice games of basketball.
Santa's run around the world is over, but he left some gifts on his sleigh: the Play-Ins in Season X of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL. They start on Tuesday, and it's must-watch action.
Eight best-of-three series to complete the Round of 16 picture, where eight teams await their future opponents. Clock's ticking, and we have 48 things to look out for in Game 1. Stay with us.
Fitness First Würzburg Baskets vs. Patrioti Levice - G1, 17:30 CET
Fitness First Würzburg Baskets have won their last two games in the BCL, as many wins as in their previous eight; their last three games all ended with double-digit margins after seeing only two of their first 15 games ending that way.
Patrioti Levice have won only one of their three road games in the BCL, with each of those games ending with a margin of more than 10 points. They were trailing at halftime in each of those games.
Würzburg have made 10+ steals in each of their last two BCL games after failing to steal more than eight balls in each of their previous nine games. Levice have seen their opponents making 10+ steals in two of their three road games.
Davion Mintz has scored 15+ points in four of his five home games with Würzburg in the BCL, making 2.4 three-pointers on average in that span; however, the lowest scoring performance in his 19 BCL appearances was in his only previous home game in the Play-Ins, two points with Filou Oostende against Nanterre in January 2025.
Levice have won all three games where Rickey McGill scored more than 20 points and lost the three where he scored 20 points or fewer. He has averaged 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds when playing away from home, both more than when playing at home (3.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds).
Both teams started 2026 the right way, as Würzburg beat Hamburg 91-88 at home while Levice had a 105-84 road victory against Spisski Rytieri.
Hapoel Netanel Holon vs. Trapani Shark - G1, 17:45 CET
Hapoel Netanel Holon have won their last four games against Italian teams in the BCL after losing each of their first six games against teams from Italy.
Trapani Shark have won two of their three games played away from home in the BCL, but those three games all ended with margins of six points or fewer.
No team has conceded fewer second-chance points per game than Trapani (8.3 – also Rytas) in the BCL this season; on the other side, only two teams have scored fewer second-chance points per game than Holon (8.7).
Idan Zalmanson (Holon) scored 23 points in his last BCL game, against Bursaspor, his personal best in his 52 games in the competition, but he’s yet to reach double-digit scoring in consecutive games; he scored 12+ points in two of his previous three appearances in the Play-Ins.
J.D. Notae has scored 24+ points in each of his two road games with Trapani Shark in the BCL, making a total of nine three-pointers in the process.
Trapani didn't play during the weekend, while Holon lost 78-70 at home to Maccabi Rishon Le Zion.
Tofas Bursa vs. Cholet Basket - G1, 18:00 CET
Tofas Bursa and Cholet Basket met twice previously in the BCL: it was in the Round of 16 in 2023-24, with each team winning their home game.
Tofas have lost their previous two home games in the BCL Play-Ins, against AEK BC in 2022-23 and PAOK in 2023-24, but only by a three-point and one-point difference, respectively; Cholet have won their last two road games in the BCL, as many wins as in their first 11.
54.1 percent of Tofas' total points in the 2025-26 season came from two-pointers, the highest such ratio among all teams this season. However, Cholet are making the most two-pointers per game this season (23.2).
Alex Perez (Tofas) has averaged 13.5 points and 8.0 assists in his last four games in the BCL; he had 22 points, 9 rebounds, 13 assists, and 5 steals in his last home game, against Trapani Shark.
Gerald Ayayi (Cholet) has scored 15+ points in each of his last three BCL games, as often as in his first 25 appearances combined. However, he failed to score more than eight points in any of his previous three games in the Play-Ins.
Marek Blazevic and Alex Perez each scored 25 points, but Tofas suffered the first defeat of 2026 by losing 107-101 on the road against Karsiyaka; Cholet, instead, didn't play during the weekend as the LNB All-Star Game was on.
NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz vs. Pallacanestro Trieste - G1, 18:00 CET
NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz have won their three home games in the BCL this season, losing only three of their 12 quarters in the process, after winning only two of their seven home games in their previous season, in 2016-17.
Pallacanestro Trieste have won their last road game in the BCL, 80-79 against Galatasaray, after losing their first two. They were trailing at the end of the third quarter in each of their three road games.
Szolnoki have made less than 10 three-pointers in each of their last three BCL games after scoring 10+ shots from behind the arc in nine of their previous 11. Trieste are attempting more three-pointers per game than any other team this season (32.2).
Brady Skeens (Szolnoki) has scored a total of 36 points in his last two BCL appearances after tallying 35 points in his first four games. He has grabbed more than 10 rebounds in five of his six games in the competition; his total of 67 rebounds is the second-best for a player after six BCL games played (Arnaldo Toro, 69).
Colbey Ross (Trieste) has scored more than 10 points in each of his last two BCL games, his first such run in his 13 appearances; his personal-best in the competition was during a road game in the Play-Ins, 21 points against Galatasaray MCT Technic with Derthona Basket in January 2024.
Six players ended in double-digits to lead Olajbanyasz to the 99-62 win against MVM-OSE Lions in Hungary; Trieste led by even 20 points in the third quarter, but lost 89-87 to Trento on the road.
Mersin Sports Club vs. Le Mans Sarthe Basket - G1, 18:00 CET
Mersin Sports Club have won the four BCL games where they have scored 80+ points and lost the two games where they failed to reach that mark. They have won two of their three home games in the competition.
Le Mans Sarthe Basket have lost their last five road games in the BCL, but four of those games ended with a margin of five points or fewer. This run includes their only previous road game in the BCL Play-Ins, a 91-78 defeat against Promitheas Patras Vikos Cola in 2023-24.
Le Mans have conceded fewer fast break points (6.5), points in the paint (25.0), and points from turnovers (8.2) than any other team in the BCL this season. Only two teams have scored fewer points from turnovers than Mersin this season (11.2).
Jack White has tallied 34 points and 28 rebounds in his last two BCL appearances after scoring 35 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in his first four appearances combined. He has made 3+ blocks in three of his six BCL games.
Trevor Hudgins (Le Mans) has averaged 19.0 points per game in his three road appearances in the BCL this season, making, on average, 3.0 three-pointers per game in the process. It’s more than in his three home appearances this season (12 points per game).
Mersin fought but lost 93-80 away from home against Efes; no games in France this weekend.
MLP Academics Heidelberg vs. ERA Nymburk - G1, 18:30 CET
MLP Academics Heidelberg have won their last two games in the BCL after winning only one of their first four; they recorded their biggest win in the competition during their last home game, 82-62 against Promitheas.
ERA Nymburk have lost their last five games in the BCL, but have never suffered more defeats in a row in the competition. They have won three of their last four road games in Germany in the competition.
Nymburk have seen their bench players averaging 48.3 points per game in the BCL this season, more than any other team; their bench players have scored 56.6 percent of their points this season, one of the only two teams, alongside ALBA BERLIN (50.1%), to have seen their bench unit scoring more than half of their total points.
Michael Weathers (Heidelberg) is averaging 11.3 points per game when playing at home in the BCL, on average eight points per game less than when playing away from home (19.3). He has made exactly two three-pointers in each of his last three BCL appearances.
Sir' Jabari Rice (Nymburk) has scored 20+ points in each of his six games in the BCL, the best such run for a player in BCL history. He has tallied nine made three-pointers in his last two games after registering five made shots from behind the arc in his first four appearances.
Not the easiest of weekends for Heidelberg, which lost 89-73 on the road to Ludwigsburg to start 2026; Nymburk had the comfortable 99-77 road win against Opava in Czechia.
Elan Chalon vs. Promitheas Patras Vikos Cola - G1, 20:00 CET
Elan Chalon have won six of their last seven games in the BCL after winning five of their first 13. They have scored 90+ points in each of their last two home games after never reaching that mark in any of their first eight.
Promitheas have won their four games played in the BCL Play-Ins, including their two games played against a French team, Le Mans, in 2023-24.
Chalon have seen their opponents making 25.7 personal fouls on average per game in the BCL this season, more than any other team; only two teams have made more fouls per game than Promitheas in the competition this season (24.2).
Jeremiah Hill (Chalon) has scored 20+ points in each of his last two BCL games, both at home, after never reaching that mark in his first four appearances. In fact, he is averaging 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game when playing at home in the competition.
Rob Gray (Promitheas) has scored 12+ points in each of his 13 BCL games with more than 20 minutes played, even averaging 21.8 points in his four such games this season. He has played two games in the Play-Ins, scoring exactly 18 points on both occasions (with Tofas against AEK in January 2023).
While Chalon took some rest in the first weekend of 2026, Promitheas lost the BCL Greek derby against AEK BC, which prevailed 94-86 in Patras.
KK Spartak Office Shoes vs. Karditsa Iaponiki - G1, 20:00 CET
KK Spartak Office Shoes have won two of their three home games in the BCL and have enjoyed their biggest win in the competition during their last home game, 99-69 against Benfica.
Karditsa Iaponiki have lost their last two road games in the BCL, conceding more than 80 points in each of those games; they suffered their heaviest defeat in the competition during their last road game, 115-84 against Unicaja.
Karditsa were one of the two teams, alongside Oostende, to have never led by 10+ points in any of their six games during this season's BCL Group Phase. They trailed by at least 15 points in each of their last two road games in the competition.
Shevon Thompson (KK Spartak) has scored 15+ points in each of his last two home games in the BCL after reaching double-digits in scoring in only two of his previous nine home games in the competition. He has scored a total of 308 points in the BCL, the most among all players currently in the league who have never attempted a single three-pointer.
Damien Jefferson (Karditsa) has scored 20+ points in each of his last two BCL games, including a personal-best of 26 points against Unicaja in the most recent one, as many games with 20+ points as in his first 19 appearances. However, one of his previous two 20-point games was in the Play-Ins, 23 points against Holon in January 2024, while playing with Oostende.
KK Spartak opened January with the 86-65 road defeat to Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana; facing Panathinaikos in Athens is always a tough challenge, and Karditsa came out of it with bravery despite the 92-85 loss.