MIES (Switzerland) - Shocking audiences throughout Europe, Galatasaray made the unthinkable by stopping Unicaja's 18-game winning streak in the Basketball Champions League.
On Tuesday, Ibon Navarro's team can already forget about their first BCL loss in 15 months, eager to get revenge. You can't miss this one and the rest of the program: check our usual must-known notes.
Aliaga Petkimspor (0-3) vs. BAXI Manresa (2-1) - Group K, 18:00 CET
Aliaga Petkimspor have lost their three games in this Round of 16, including the reverse fixture against BAXI Manresa (87-96), despite leading at halftime in two of those games; that's as many defeats as in their first nine games in the competition combined.
Manresa have lost five of their seven road games in the Round of 16 of the BCL, including each of the most recent three, and allowing 85+ points in five of those games. In fact, seven of the 11 times they allowed 85+ points away from home in the BCL were during games from the Round of 16 onwards.
Only ERA Nymburk (17.2) are forcing more turnovers per game than Manresa (16.2) in the BCL this season; the Spanish side is scoring more points off turnovers per game than any other team this season (21.0).
Bryson Williams (Petkimspor) registered his first double-double in the BCL last week (18pts, 11reb vs. La Laguna Tenerife); he has averaged 22.5 points in his last two games after averaging 8.0 points in his first eight appearances.
Derrick Alston (Manresa) has scored 15+ points in seven of his nine BCL games, including 20+ points in each of his last two road games; he scored eight three-pointers across his last two road games after scoring only one in his first two games away from home.
Life's not always a bowl of cherries, as Petkimspor couldn't take down Fenerbahce despite Breein Tyree's 26 points after beating Anadolu Efes; coming off three consecutive losses in all competitions (Copa del Rey, ACB, and BCL), BAXI Manresa fought back to beat Basquet Coruna 104-89, staying in contention for the domestic post-season thanks to 45 points from the Cameron Hunt-Derrick Alston duo.
AEK Betsson BC (3-0) vs. FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets (2-1) - Group I, 18:30 CET
AEK Betsson BC have won their last four BCL games, including against FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets last week (77-71), but they have won more in succession only once since the start of the 2020-21 season (W5 in October-December 2023); their last two games ended with a margin of seven or fewer points after seeing their previous six games ending with a double-digit margin.
Wurzburg have only lost one of their four games played as the road team in the BCL (69-71 vs. Hapoel Holon in Hungary) and each of their last three such games ended with a margin of exactly two points and saw a win of the team trailing at halftime.
AEK (82%) and Wurzburg (80%) are two of the four teams that have scored at least 80 percent of their free-throws in the BCL this season (also Igokea 87.4% & Falco Szombathely 80.1%). Wurzburg are however the only team still in competition that have seen their opponents making at least 80 percent of their free-throws (80.8%).
Prentiss Hubb (AEK) has always scored more than 10 points in his 11 BCL games with more than 25 minutes played, averaging 20.8 points in his four such games this season. He also made at least three three-pointers in 10 of those 11 games.
Davion Mintz (Wurzburg) has scored more than 15 points in each of his last two BCL games, as often as in his first eight appearances; he has averaged 17.3 points in his last four road games, making multiple three-pointers in each of those games.
Between Greek League and the BCL, AEK haven't lost since January 29, and Peristeri were their latest victim thanks to RaiQuan Gray's double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds; Wurzburg, instead, suffered a 110-101 loss to Syntainics MBC despite Zac Seljaas and Jhivvan Jackson combining for 48 points.
Nanterre 92 (2-1) vs. ERA Nymburk (2-1) - Group L, 20:00 CET
The road team of the day has always won in the three BCL meetings between Nanterre and Nymburk, including last week when Nanterre won 90-86 in Czechia; each of the three games between those teams ended with a single-digit margin.
Nanterre have won four of their last five BCL games after winning only three of the previous eight, and have won each of their last two home games in the competition; Nymburk have won their last five road games in the BCL but have never won more in succession while playing away from home, with each of their last two road games ending with margins of 20+ points.
Nymburk are grabbing more offensive rebounds (16.6) and total rebounds (42.1) per game than any other team in the BCL this season, while on the other hand, Nanterre have grabbed the fewest defensive rebounds (21.3) and total rebounds (29.8) per game.
Justin Tillman (Nanterre) scored 25 points last week against Nymburk, his best total in a BCL game in his 24 appearances in the competition; his teams have won 12 of the 13 BCL games where he scored 14+ points.
Tylan Birts (Nymburk) has scored 10+ points in each of his three games in the Round of 16, including a personal-best of 14 points against Nanterre last week, after scoring fewer than 10 points in four of his first five games in the competition.
Nanterre had to drop an 88-74 home defeat to ASVEL during the French weekend, while Nymburk bounced back following their loss last week with a 116-92 win over former BCL participant BK Opava.
Unicaja (2-1) vs. Galatasaray (2-1) - Group J, 20:30 CET
Unicaja's defeat against Galatasaray (84-86) ended their record-run of 18 wins in the BCL; the last time they lost consecutive games in the competition was back in May 2023, during the Final Four played on their home court (vs. Telekom Baskets Bonn in Semi-Finals and vs. La Laguna Tenerife in the Third-Place Game).
Galatasaray have won their last two games in the BCL, but have enjoyed longer streaks only twice before (W3 in November-December 2021 & W4 in December 2023-January 2024). They have allowed 80+ points in seven of their last nine road games in the competition (W3 L6).
Unicaja are averaging the most points per game in the BCL this season (94.6), no team has ever completed a BCL season with an average of 90+ points per game; they are averaging the best points per possession this season (1.28) and at the same time, they are also allowing the fewest points per opposition possession (1.02)
Kendrick Perry (Unicaja) has scored 10+ points in each of his last five home games, his best such run in the competition; he had 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists the last time he faced Galatasaray at home, in March 2023, despite coming off the bench that day.
James Palmer Jr (Galatasaray) has scored 20+ points in three of his 18 games in the BCL, all three came away from home, including two of his last three games on the road; he had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists in his last road game, against Manisa Basket.
Killian Tillie was on a roll as he contributed with a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds to Unicaja's resounding 95-78 win over Granada; in another battle between BCL teams from Türkiye, Galatasaray beat Karsiyaka 101-80 with six players finishing in double-digits.