By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
After a one-month break, it’s playoffs tim since the Basketball Champions League Round of 16 is beginning this week. There’s no more room for calculation and mistakes as even the smallest one could get you out of the competition. Two games will be played on Tuesday night and the other six will be held on Wednesday.
PAOK – Pinar Karsiyaka
Both teams are expecting this game in the good mood. The hosts won five of their last six games in the BCL and their last three home games. On the other side, the Turkish side is on a 4-game winning streak in the BCL, but they never won five straight games. Will they make a new record?
PAOK must pay attention to their defense if they want to make to the next round. Karsiyaka is a team that scored the most points in the regular season (1192). They also had the best field goal percentage (53.5%) and the best free throws percentage (78.9%).
D.J. Kennedy was the key man for Karsiyaka in the regular season. He had five double-doubles during the Regular season while averaging 19,5 points and 9 rebounds per game. Clearly, the Greek squad will have to pay special attention to him.
Stelmet Enea Zielona Gora v AS Monaco
AS Monaco made the strongest mark in the regular season. They lost only the last game in the group as they had 13-1 record. On the other hand, Zielona Gora is the only team in the Round of 16 to get through the Regular Season with more losses than wins (6-8). They won 4 out of the last 5 games in the regular season and that pushed them to the Round of 16.
The French team is averaging 85,1 points per game, but despite that, they are building their success through the defense. They are averaging 11,6 steals per game with Aron Craft leading the gang with 2,3 steals per game. To win this matchup Monaco will have to stop Vladimir Dragicevic. The Big man V has made 67.3% of his field goals attempts, the best in BCL this season. He has also scored 66 points in the paint, the second-best among all players in BCL this season.
The Polish side needs to improve their perimeter defense. They have allowed their opponents to score 139 shots from behind the arc, the joint-most any team have conceded in BCL this season.
Neptunas Klaipeda v SIG Strasbourg
The Lithuanian side was off to the great start in the Basketball Champions League. Their offense was working like a clock at beginning of the Regular season. On Day 4 they nailed 114 in the game against Gaziantep as they were standing on a 5-1 record after the first 6 weeks of action. After it, they slightly slipped as they finished the Regular season on a 7-7 record losing their lost two games.
The French team improved as the Regular season was ending as SIG Strasbourg have won their last four consecutive games. If the Lithuanian squad wants to win this Round they need to stop Strasbourg under 80 points. The French team have never lost a game in which they have scored more than 80 points in the BCL this season.
AEK v CEZ Nymburk
The Greek side is coming into this matchup after a few great performances at home. They won four of last five games in front of their audience while scoring 83+ points in all five of them. On the other side, Nymburk has a good run in BCL winning eight of their last nine games. They can also find some confidence in the tradition as they won three out of four games against Greek teams in this competition.
Aek has made a name for themselves as a very offensive team, attacking the basket directly in the paint. Opponents were forced to foul 337 times, placing the Greek team at second rank in that segment. It’s not a surprise they have attempted (188) and made (140) most free throws in the Regular Season.
The Cezch side will answer with good rebound control (2nd rank with 545 rebounds, below Iberostar Tenerife with 551), and great ball movement, especially from Eugene Lawrence who is 3rd in most assists during Regular Season (82) and holds a joint-best of 13 assists.
EWE Baskets Oldenburg v MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg
Both teams are playing very effective at the moment. Oldenburg won five of their last six games at home in BCL while scoring 90+ points. Ludwigsburg won 11 out of last 12 games in BCL and 10 of them with a double-figure margin. Last game between these two teams was played in German BundesLeague on 2nd of February and the outcome was a win for Ludwigsburg, the guests won 87-79.
Oldenburg was the joint-leader in points scored (1192) and their best shot maker is Rickey Paulding with 261 points during Regular Season (2nd best overall, 1st among point guards).
Ludwigsburg, on the other hand, made fewer 3-pointer (89) among the teams in BCL but also conceded fewer field goals (307). THeor x-factor might be Thomas Walkup who made the most assists (65) and the most steals (27) among the forwards.
medi Bayreuth v Besiktas Sompo Japan
Although having a fairly good season so far, bot teams seem to have stepped down a notch winning only two of their last five games in all competitions. Concerning BCL specifically, Bayreuth won their last home game but lost two games before that. On the other side, Besiktas lost the last game played but have a great run of 10 wins in last 12 games.
These teams have a very different offensive approach. Besiktas scored 42.5% of their attempted 3-pointers, the best scoring ratio in BCL. Jon Diebler is the go-to guy as he’s got 59.7% from 3-point territory, the best scoring ratio in BCL this season.
Bayreuth has scored more points below the basket than their opponents in 10 of their 14 Regular Season games, but they are also a threat from beyond the arc as Gabe York has made 42 shots from afar. He has also scored 20+ points in 50% the games.
Nanterre 92 v Banvit
The French side has only lost one of their seven home games during the Regular Season. On the other side, Banvit has lost their last two games in the BCL but never lost three in a row in this competition.
Nanterre 92 made the most 3-pointer during the Regular Season (167), also seven players scored 100+ points for Nanterre, more than any other team. Jamal Shuler made 44 3-pointer, best tally among the players.
Block might be a factor as Banvit suffered 18 blocks, fewer than any other team, while only four teams made fewer blocks than Nanterre (23) during the Regular Season. They will also turn to Gaspar Vidmar who scored 69.3% of his 2-pointer, best 2P% among the big men.
UCAM Murcia v Iberostar Tenerife
The reigning champion Iberostar Tenerife will meet another Spanish team in the Round of 16 in the Basketball Champions League. This game will make history as two Spanish teams never face each other in the Basketball Champions League.UCAM Murcia has lost their last three games in a row in BCL while Iberostar Tenerife has won 15 of their last 17 games in the competition.
The current Champion relies on defense as they have allowed their opponents to score only 38.5% of their attempted field goals, the best defensive mark in BCL. They also are doing a good job in sharing the ball as they averaging 21m3 assists per game while Murcia is averaging only 14,4.
Photo credit: FIBA