MIES (Switzerland) - Wednesday nights in autumn are cozy, with rain dropping on the window and a mug of hot chocolate cupped in one's hands. Can you imagine if some basketball action were featured too?
Well, Season 11 of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, is here to save the day with four unmissable Group Stage games in Czechia, Lithuania, Greece, and Spain. Stay with us to find out more.
SK Slavia Praha ERA NBK vs. Igokea m:tel - Group G, 18:00 CET
This will be the 6th meeting between SK Slavia Praha ERA NBK and Igokea m:tel in the BCL, with the Czech side winning the first one in October 2021 and Igokea getting the upper hand in the following four; four of their previous five meetings ended with a margin of seven or fewer points.
Slavia Praha have lost their last five games in the BCL but have never endured a longer run of defeats in the competition; they have lost their last eight games in the Regular Season, allowing 90+ points in six of those games.
Igokea have lost 10 of their last 11 road games in the BCL, including the most recent four, and they have allowed 90+ points in eight of those 11 games; however, they have won their most recent league fixture (77-72 against Slavia Praha) and will try to win back-to-back BCL games for the first time since December 2022.
Among the players who have attempted 20+ two-pointers and 20+ three-pointers in the BCL this season, Slavia Praha’s Javian McCollum is one of the three to have made at least a third of his attempts from both ranges (33.3% in two-pointers & 33.3% from behind the arc).
Roman Penn was Igokea’s top scorer in the reverse fixture against Slavia Praha, with 19 points, also his personal best in the competition; he has made at least seven assists in each of his three games this season and currently sits on top of the assists table this season (24).
Slavia Praha beat Plzen 114-82, staying on top of the Czech league's standings at 11-1; Igokea lost 73-67 to Krka away from home in the ABA League.
Rytas Vilnius vs. Nanterre 92 - Group A, 18:30 CET
Rytas Vilnius have won their last 12 home games in the BCL Regular Season, and they were leading at halftime in each of those games.
Nanterre 92 have lost their last four road games in the BCL but have never lost five in a row in the competition; the two teams have scored 80+ points in each of Nanterre’s two road games in the BCL this season.
Rytas are averaging only 14.3 personal fouls per game in the BCL this season, the fewest among all teams; consequently, they have conceded fewer free-throws per game than any other team (4.7) and are the only team to have seen fewer than 10 percent of their total points allowed coming from the line (5.7%).
Augustas Marciulionis (Rytas) has scored 15+ points in each of his two home games in the BCL 2026-27 (18.5ppg on average) after averaging 7.0 points per game in his first four home appearances in the competition.
Xavier Castaneda (Nanterre) has scored 15+ points in each of his last two BCL games, more often than in his first seven appearances; he has made 6+ assists in each of his three games this season after never reaching that tally in any of his six games before when playing with Unicaja.
Rytas weren’t successful in Lithuania during the weekend, losing 85-81 on the road against Lietkabelis; Nanterre won 93-81 against Chalon with six players in double digits, including Castaneda (17 points).
Peristeri Betsson vs. Itelyum Varese - Group D, 18:30 CET
Peristeri Betsson have won their three games in the BCL this season and will try to win four games in a row for the first time in the competition.
Itelyum Varese won their last road game, 95-61 against BMA365 Bamberg Baskets, and will attempt to win consecutive road games for the first time in the competition; six of their nine games away from home in the BCL ended with a margin of more than 20 points, including each of their most recent three.
Peristeri are making more blocks per game on average than any other team in the BCL this season (6.3), while Varese have the best average of steals per game this term (12.0).
Ty Nichols had 10 points and 10 assists in the reverse fixture against Varese, the only double-double for a Peristeri player this season in the BCL; he had 20+ points in each of his other two games in the competition.
Hunter Hale (Varese) has scored 20+ points in each of his last two games, including 20 in the reverse fixture against Peristeri, but he has never reached that total in three BCL games in a row. He has made 4+ three-pointers in five of his last eight games in the BCL.
Both teams didn’t get wins during the weekend: Peristeri lost 81-78 to Kolossos away from home, while Varese suffered the 84-81 home defeat to Udine despite David Duke’s 24 points.
UCAM Murcia vs. BMA365 Bamberg Baskets - Group D, 20:30 CET
UCAM Murcia have only lost two of their last 18 home games in the BCL Regular Season, but one of those defeats came in the most recent one, 80-72 against Peristeri; they have not lost consecutive home games in the Regular Season since losing three in October-November 2017.
Bamberg have lost their first three games of this BCL season, but they have never lost four games in a row during a single edition; they have scored less than 70 points in each of their last two games, their first such run in the regular season in the competition.
Bamberg are the only team making fewer than 40 percent of their two-pointers in the BCL this season (39%), while Murcia are the only team to have conceded fewer than 40 percent of the two-pointers they have faced so far (35.5%).
Dylan Ennis (Murcia) has scored 10+ points in 14 of his last 15 BCL games, but the only time he failed was in the reverse fixture against Bamberg (7pts); he has averaged 16.8 points in his last eight home games in the competition.
Jordan Jones (Bamberg) scored 25 points in his last game against Varese, after tallying 13 points in his first two BCL games combined, including 7pts against Murcia; only Tyrese Rice has previously managed to score 25+ points in multiple games with Bamberg in the BCL (4 times).
Murcia lost 90-71 to Real Madrid away from home; Bamberg lost on the road too, suffering the 92-79 defeat to Trier.