MIES (Switzerland) - The last four games and then Basketball Champions League action will take a break in February, returning at the beginning of March.
There can't be the second Wednesday of this season's Round of 16, however, without 24 must-know facts about the Turkish derby in Group J, the Spanish derby in Group K, and two more unmissable games.
Manisa Basket (0-1) vs. Galatasaray (0-1) - Group J, 18:00 CET
Manisa Basket have won three of their four home games in the BCL, but two of those wins ended with a margin of two points, or less; they have averaged 95.0 points per game in their last two home games after averaging 75.5 points per game in the first two.
Galatasaray lost their last game, 66-86 against Rytas Vilnius, but have not lost consecutive BCL games since losing their first three games of the Round of 16 in 2023-24; they have won the last nine BCL games where they allowed fewer than 80 points and have lost five of the last six where they allowed at least 80 points.
Galatasaray (30.3) and Manisa (29.6) are the teams allowing the most attempted three-pointers per game in the BCL this season and consequently, they are the teams allowing the most three-pointers per game (Manisa 11.1, Galatasaray 10.9). 41.8 percent of the total points allowed by Galatasaray came from behind the arc, the highest such percentage among all teams this season.
Fabian White Jr. (Manisa) has scored a total of 63 points in his last three BCL games (21.0 per game) after scoring a total of 55 points in his first six appearances (9.2 per game); he has also grabbed 23 rebounds in his last three games, as many as in his first six appearances.
James Palmer Jr. (Galatasaray) has scored fewer than 10 points in each of his last two BCL games after doing it only once in his first 14 appearances in the competition; he has scored 17+ points and grabbed more than 5 rebounds in each of his previous two BCL games against a team from Türkiye.
While the two teams crossed paths a few weeks ago in the Turkish domestic league, this past weekend Manisa couldn't bounce back and lost in overtime against Darussafaka despite Saben Lee's 21 points and 7 assists; Galatasaray haven't lived a happy end Saturday either, losing to Tofas Bursa and extending their losing-streak in Türkiye to four consecutive games.
Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola (0-1) vs. FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets (1-0) - Group I, 18:30 CET
Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola won their last home game in the BCL (84-68 vs. Karsiyaka) after losing their previous five; they have won three of their previous four home games in the Round of 16 but each of the most recent three such games ended with a single-point margin (W2 L1).
Four of FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets' last five BCL games have been won by the team losing at the end of the 3rd quarter, with the German side winning their last two; Wurzburg's last three BCL fixtures have ended with a single-possession margin.
Wurzburg have allowed their opponents to score 42.8 percent of their three-pointers in the BCL this season, the worst defensive percentage, while Promitheas have allowed only 30.3 percent of the shots they faced from behind the arc, the second-lowest percentage (Derthona 29.6%).
Isaiah Reese (Promitheas) is averaging 6.2 assists per game in the BCL this season, only Cassius Winston (6.4) has a better average among the players still in the competition; he has made multiple three-pointers in each of his last four BCL games.
Jhivvan Jackson (Wurzburg) scored 34 points last week against Derthona after never scoring 20+ points in a BCL game previously; he has also made more than five assists in four of his last five BCL games.
Promitheas was asked to the big challenge of hosting Olympiacos during the weekend, but lost 74-77 despite putting up a brave effort; in Germany, Wurzburg has been struggling domestically as well, losing four in a row including their last 102-112 home defeat to Oldenburg despite Jhivvan Jackson's 33 points.
Nanterre 92 (0-1) vs. Falco-Vulcano Szombathely (0-1) - Group L, 20:00 CET
Nanterre 92 lost last week against UCAM Murcia (84-95) but they have not lost back-to-back games in a single BCL season since losing their first two games of the 2018-19 season; they have won their 12 home games in the BCL where they were leading at halftime.
Falco-Vulcano Szombathely have alternated between wins and defeats in their last seven games played as the away team in the BCL, losing the most recent one (69-76 vs. Maccabi Ramat-Gan); they have allowed 100+ points in each of their last two BCL games after allowing that many points in only one of their first 52 games.
Among the teams still in competition, Nanterre (28.0%) and Falco (29.2%) are the two teams that have seen the fewest shares of their total points scored from behind the arc in the BCL this season. Nanterre are even attempting fewer three-pointers per game than any other team (20.6).
Nanterre's Desi Rodriguez has scored more than 10 points in each of his last 16 BCL games, only two players had a longer such run in the BCL history (DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, 20 games & Zeljko Sakic, 17 games). He has always scored 12 or more points in his nine home games in the competition (14.7 on average).
Zoltan Perl (Falco) has scored more than 25 points in his last two BCL games, his first such streak in the competition; only two players have done it in more games in a row (TJ Shorts II, 5 & Kevin Punter, 3) and no one has ever done it when starting those games on the bench.
In France, Nanterre lost to Paris Basketball with former BCL Regular Season and Final Four MVP TJ Shorts II dropping a double-double; without even the slightest of surprises, Falco continued their unbeaten run in Hungary, staying on top of the standings at 17-0.
BAXI Manresa (1-0) vs. La Laguna Tenerife (1-0) - Group K, 20:45 CET
This will be the 5th encounter between BAXI Manresa and La Laguna Tenerife in the BCL, with the Canarias outfit winning three of the previous four; however, Manresa's sole victory happened in the only home game in this matchup, back in April 2023 (85-83).
Manresa have won their last five BCL games but have never won more on the bounce in the competition; Tenerife are undefeated in the BCL in 2024-25 (W7) but have never started a season with a longer winning sequence (also W7 in 2019-20).
BAXI Manresa are averaging 94 points per game in the BCL this season, after never averaging 85 or more points per game in any of their previous three campaigns; Tenerife are allowing 66.4 points per game in 2024-25, their second-best defensive average in a single campaign (64.9ppg in 2016-17).
Tenerife are averaging fewer possessions per game than any other team in the BCL this season (65.7), while Manresa are one of five teams averaging more than 75 possessions per game (75.1); only Unicaja (1.30) are averaging more points per possession than Tenerife (1.29) and Manresa (1.25) this season in the competition.
Marcelinho Huertas (Tenerife) has averaged 24.5 points per game in his last four appearances in the Round of 16 in the BCL; he has also averaged 7.3 assists in his last 12 games in that round.
The rematch of the 2022 BCL Final puts together two winning teams over this past weekend in the ACB. Tenerife had the best of former BCL team Rio Breogan, while Manresa were led by an outstanding Derrick Alston Jr. (29 points) in the upset 92-103 win in Barcelona.