MIES (Switzerland) - After sixteen must-watch games in the opening round of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, we are back for the second week of action in Season 11.
Starting on Tuesday, we will have our eyes set on France, Italy, and Germany. Here are 18 things to look out for in these three matchups, with facts, stats, and domestic results to know before tuning in.
Nanterre 92 vs. Rytas Vilnius - Group A, 20:00 CET
Nanterre 92 have lost their last two BCL games, but they have suffered a longer streak of defeats only once before: four between March and October 2018. They have started a season with two defeats only once before, in 2018-19.
Rytas Vilnius won 82-73 last week against Sabah BC, extending their winning run in the BCL to eight straight games; they will attempt to win their first two games of a BCL season for the first time.
Rytas have scored 40+ points in the paint in each of their last two BCL games after failing to reach that mark in any of their previous 10 games. However, Nanterre have allowed 40+ points in the paint in only one of their last 16 home games.
Benjamin Sene (Nanterre) has scored 10+ points in three of his last five BCL games after reaching that total in only one of his first 12 appearances; he has made 5+ assists in each of his last six games in the competition.
Gytis Radzevicius (Rytas) has recorded nine points-rebounds double-doubles in the BCL, a joint-high alongside Shevon Thompson and D.J. Kennedy. He is in the Top-10 for rebounds grabbed in the BCL (374) and the first Lithuanian in that ranking.
Xavier Castaneda (29 points and 6 assists) and Hugo Yimga-Moukouri (19 points and 9 rebounds) were decisive for Nanterre to beat Gravelines-Dunkerque 101-73; Rytas had the 86-77 victory over Neptunas in the Lithuanian league.
Itelyum Varese vs. Peristeri Betsson - Group D, 20:00 CET
Itelyum Varese won only three of their seven home games during their previous BCL season in 2016-17, but they won their very first one during that previous campaign, 83-82 against ASVEL. Six of their seven home games ended with a single-digit margin.
Peristeri Betsson have lost their last four road games in the BCL, but they have never lost five in a row in the competition; they won their first game away from home in their first two BCL seasons but lost that game in each of their most recent three campaigns.
Peristeri had 41 rebounds and 24 assists last week against BMA365 Bamberg Baskets, their first BCL game with 40+ rebounds and 20+ assists; Varese have let their opponents make 20+ assists in three of their last four home games in the competition.
Hunter Hale was the only Varese player to reach 10 points last week against UCAM Murcia (17pts); he has averaged 18.0 points per game in his last nine BCL appearances as a starter, making 3+ three-pointers in six of those games.
Ty Nichols and Jalen Finch had respectively 20 and 21 points last week against Bamberg and will attempt to become the 4th and 5th players to score 20+ points in consecutive BCL games with Peristeri, after Marcus Denmon, Trevor Thompson, and Joe Ragland.
Both Varese and Peristeri were successful in their domestic league: the Italians beat Pallacanestro Trieste 85-84, while the Greeks were propelled by Ty Nichols' 33 points to take down Iraklis 91-89.
ALBA BERLIN vs. Igokea m:tel - Group G, 20:00 CET
ALBA BERLIN lost their last two home games last season in the BCL after winning four of the previous five; they scored at least 84 points in five of their last six home games.
Igokea m:tel have lost nine of their last 10 road games in the BCL, conceding 90+ points in seven games in that run. They lost their previous two trips to Germany, both against Wurzburg in October 2024 (98-80) and October 2025 (70-68).
Igokea have made 5+ blocks in each of their last two BCL games, as often as in their previous 23 games in the competition. However, they made a total of only four blocks in their previous four games against German teams combined.
Brandon Angel had 21 points and 7 rebounds last week against SK Slavia Praha ERA NBK; no player has had multiple BCL games with 20+ points and 5+ rebounds while playing for ALBA.
Aleksandar Lazic (Igokea) scored 13 points last week against Surne Bilbao but has never scored more than 10 points in consecutive BCL games (20 appearances); his only BCL game with 15+ points and 5+ rebounds happened in Germany, 16 points and 6 rebounds against medi Bayreuth in January 2019, then with Petrol Olimpija.
The two teams didn't have a positive weekend, respectively losing on the road to Trier in Germany (95-75) and at home to Borac (94-83).