MIES (Switzerland) - The 2024-25 Basketball Champions League Round of 16 is finally here with four groups stacked with star power and exciting matchups.
The first Tuesday night of this stage's action begins with three clashes - two of those from Group K. Here are 18 stats, notes, must-known figures, and domestic results you can't miss.
FIT/One Würzburg Baskets vs. Bertram Derthona Basket - Group I, 18:30 CET
FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets have won two of their first three home games in the BCL, but lost the most recent one (88-96 vs. Nanterre 92); they have scored 85+ points in five of their six BCL games, including in all three played at home.
Bertram Derthona Basket have only lost one of their eight games in the BCL this season, but it was while playing on the road (82-100 vs. BAXI Manresa); they lost only one of the eight BCL games where they won the first quarter and each of the five games this season where they were ahead after the first 10 minutes.
Only Nanterre 92 (20.6) have grabbed fewer defensive rebounds per game than Wurzburg (21.5) in the BCL this season. However, the Germans have allowed their opponents to grab only 7.0 offensive rebounds per game, fewer than any other team. Consequently, Wurzburg have the highest share of rebounds grabbed under their defensive board in the BCL 2024-25 (75.4%).
Zac Seljaas (Wurzburg) has scored 15+ points in each of his six games in the BCL. However, he averaged 25.0 points in his first three games and 16.0 points in his most recent three games; he has grabbed 5+ rebounds in each of his six games (7.0 per game on average).
Tommy Kuhse (Derthona) has scored exactly 16 points in each of his last two BCL games after scoring 15+ points in only one of his first six games in the competition. He has scored a total of eight three-pointers in his last four games after making only two in his first four appearances.
On the eve of their first-ever BCL Round of 16 game, the Germans couldn't bounce back domestically, losing their third consecutive game with a slim defeat in Hamburg; Derthona found the first loss after four straight victories in the all-BCL Italian derby against Pallacanestro Reggiana.
BAXI Manresa vs. Aliaga Petkimspor - Group K, 20:45 CET
BAXI Manresa have only lost one of their previous six home games played in the Round of 16 in the BCL (69-87 vs. Telekom Baskets Bonn in February 2023), and all those six games ended with a win of the team leading at halftime and all by a margin of at least 13 points.
Aliaga Petkimspor have won four of their last five BCL games after losing the previous two, with three of their last four games seeing a win of the team trailing at halftime. Two of their three defeats in the BCL came against a team from Spain, both against Unicaja in the Regular Season by margins of 30+ points (82-112 in Spain and 56-108 in Türkiye).
Manresa have grabbed 44.2 percent of the rebounds available under their offensive board, the highest percentage among all teams in the BCL this season; however, Petkimspor are one of three teams to have allowed their opponents to grab on average nine offensive rebounds or less per game (9.0).
Derrick Alston has scored more than 15 points in five of his six BCL games this season, while all his teammates in Manresa combined have done it three times (Retin Obasohan 2 games, Mario Saint-Supery 1 game). He has averaged 3.0 three-pointers made per game in his three home appearances.
Among the 28 players to have attempted 40+ three-pointers in the BCL this season, Petkimspor's Wesley Van Beck is the only one to have made at least 50 percent of them (52%, 25-of-48). He has made 3+ three-pointers in six of his nine games in the competition.
It was an emotional weekend for Manresa fans, going up against their recent past in Valencia by facing Pedro Martinez and Brancou Badio: it resulted in a 112-96 win for the hosts. After winning their Play-In series, Petkimspor couldn't follow it up domestically, losing to a former BCL representative Darussafaka.
La Laguna Tenerife vs. Pallacanestro Reggiana - Group K, 21:00 CET
La Laguna Tenerife have won their six games in the BCL this season, by an average margin of 17.7 points, and have even won their last 25 home games in the competition. They have also won their last 15 home games played in the Round of 16, preventing their opponents from scoring 80 points or more in 14 of those games.
Pallacanestro Reggiana have won their last two games in the BCL, but are yet to win three games in a row in the competition; four of their last six games ended with a win of the team trailing at halftime, including each of the last three.
Tenerife have the best accuracy from behind the arc in the BCL this season (42.6%) and have seen the highest share of their total points scored from three-pointers (43.0%); Reggiana have the lowest accuracy from two-pointers among all teams this season (45.8%).
Bruno Fitipaldo (Tenerife) could make his 100th appearance in the BCL, a feat only achieved by two players before, his teammate Tim Abromaitis (106) and Linos Chrysikopoulos (100). Tenerife have won their last eight BCL games with Fitipaldo as a starter and lost three of their last six games with him starting on the bench.
Cassius Winston (Reggiana) has scored 20+ points and made 5+ assists in each of his last five BCL games, the best such run for a player in the BCL history; however, the last time he scored fewer than 10 points and the last time that he made fewer than 5 assists in a BCL game were both against Tenerife, with Tofas in April 2024 (7pts, 1ast).
Tenerife didn't have to travel a lot in the ACB this past weekend, winning 70-67 in the Canary Islands derby against Gran Canaria on the road; Reggiana, on the other end, traveled directly to the island after emerging victorious from the already-mentioned clash with Derthona.