MIES (Switzerland) - After enjoying domestic cups all over Europe and national team action in the whole world, qualifying for this summer's continental events, what's the best way to get back to club basketball?
Well, a nice four-game evening awaits you on Tuesday, as the Basketball Champions League Round of 16 hasn't stopped delivering.
Here are our usual 24 things to know before turning on your screens.
FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets (2-0) vs. AEK Betsson BC (2-0) - Group I, 18:30 CET
FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets have won their last three BCL games, but are yet to win more in a row in the competition; each of their last four games ended with a margin of two points or fewer.
AEK Betsson BC have lost six of their last seven games played on the road in the BCL and seven of their nine trips to Germany; their last five road games ended with margins of more than 10 points, including four by a margin of exactly 11 points.
Wurzburg have allowed their opponents to shoot only 56 field goals per game, the best defensive average among all teams in the BCL in 2024-25; they have also allowed their opponents the lowest average of offensive rebounds in the league this season (8.0 per game).
Jhivvan Jackson (Wurzburg) has scored at least 14 points in each of his eight BCL games and has even scored more than 20 points in each of the last two after never reaching 20 points in his first six. Jackson has also grabbed 5+ rebounds and made 5+ assists in three of his last four appearances.
Hunter Hale (AEK) has averaged 19.6 points per game in his last eight road games in the BCL, always managing to score 13+ points in that run; he has made multiple three-pointers in nine of his 10 road games in the competition.
Both teams came back from the break in road-winning fashion: Wurzburg beat former BCL participant MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg thanks to the returning Zac Seljaas, who had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, while AEK took down Panionios.
ERA Nymburk (2-0) vs. Nanterre 92 (1-1) - Group L, 18:30 CET
This will be the third meeting between ERA Nymburk and Nanterre 92 in the BCL, with each of their previous two encounters in the Regular Season 2017-18 being won by the road team of the day.
Nymburk have won eight of their last nine games in the BCL, but the sole defeat in that span came at home (75-85 vs Promitheas in the Regular Season); each of their last seven games in the competition ended with a double-digit margin.
Nanterre have won six of their last nine games played on the road in the BCL and five of their last seven road games ended with a single-digit margin.
59.5 percent of Nanterre’s total points this season in the BCL came from two-pointers, the highest percentage of all teams; however, Nymburk have seen only 41.1 percent of their total points allowed coming from their opponents’ two-point shots, the lowest percentage of the competition this season.
Roko Prkacin (Nanterre, 60.8%) and Christian Bishop (Nymburk, 58.5%) have the best field goal accuracy in the BCL in 2024-25 among the players still in the competition; Bishop has scored more than 10 points in seven of his eight BCL games and has grabbed 5+ rebounds in six of his eight appearances.
Nobody's unbeatable: Nymburk won the Czech-Slovak Cup during the break, but suffered their first defeat in the domestic league after 14 consecutive victories - losing 75-74 to BK Olomoucko. Moving to France, Nanterre beat Gravelines 93-80 with four players in double-digits.
Bertram Derthona Basket (0-2) vs. Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola (0-2) - Group I, 20:30 CET
Bertram Derthona Basket have lost their first two games in this Round of 16, but have never lost three games in a row in the BCL; they have won seven of their eight home games in the competition, including the four they have played this season.
Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola have won seven of their last 11 games played on the road in the BCL with each of the last seven being won by the team leading at halftime; they have won their last four BCL games where they scored 80+ points and lost the last seven where they failed to reach that total.
Derthona have the best defensive three-point percentage in the BCL in 2024-25, allowing their opponents to score only 29.6 percent of their attempted threes, while Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola have the second best such percentage this season (30.9%).
Justin Gorham (Derthona) has scored 10+ points in each of his last two BCL games but has never done it in more games in a row in the competition; he scored 20 points against Promitheas in October 2023 while playing with Rytas Vilnius, his BCL career-high.
Wes Iwundu has scored more than 15 points in each of his last two BCL games, as often as in his first seven appearances; Promitheas have only won one of the seven games where Iwundu was a starter and won the two games where he started on the bench.
Both Derthona and Promitheas got eliminated early in the Italian and Greek Cups, but reacted differently once returning to championship duties. Justin Gorham led his team with 35 points and 7 rebounds to beat cup-winners Trento on the road, while Andrew Goudelock had a vintage 37-point night to drag this year's BCL participant Kolossos to a win over the black-and-orange side.
La Laguna Tenerife (2-0) vs. Aliaga Petkimspor (0-2) - Group K, 21:00 CET
La Laguna Tenerife have won their eight games in the BCL this season, their second-best winning run in the competition (W12 in 2022) and have won each of their last 26 home games; they have won each of the 13 times they hosted a Turkish side in the competition, but only three of those games ended with a double-digit margin.
Aliaga Petkimspor have lost their first two games in this Round of 16 but are yet to lose three games in a row in the BCL; they suffered their heaviest road defeat in the BCL while playing in Spain, 82-112 at Unicaja in October last year.
Tenerife (41.4%) and Petkimspor (40.2%) are the most accurate teams from three-pointers in the BCL this season; consequently, Tenerife and Petkimspor have seen respectively 41.7 percent and 41 percent of their total points being scored from behind the arc, the highest such percentages among all teams.
Marcelinho Huertas (Tenerife) has scored 18+ points in each of his last three BCL games, his best such streak in the competition; he has averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 assists in his 11 home games against teams from Türkiye, making four double-doubles in that run.
Petkimspor’s Wesley Van Beck and Breein Tyree have respectively made 30 and 28 three-pointers in the BCL this season, more than any other player, while Tenerife's David Kramer is joint-third, with 27 three-pointers made (also Jarell Eddie). Kramer is averaging 5.5 made three-pointers per game when playing at home in the competition.
Tenerife lost again in the umpteenth confrontation against Unicaja in the Copa del Rey after eliminating Barcelona in the Quarter-Finals, but quickly bounced back thanks to Marcelinho Huertas' 21 points against Joventut Badalona in the Liga Endesa; Petkimspor, instead, continue to chase a Turkish Playoffs dream as they beat Anadolu Efes 103-101 in Istanbul with 29 points from the underrated Wesley Van Beck.