Final Wednesday Regular Season Games Preview

MIES (Switzerland) - The final week of the regular season in the Basketball Champions League concludes on Wednesday December 21 with the final eight games from Groups A, B, D and H. The final spots in the Play-In and Round of 16 will be determined after this slate of games.

Here's a look at the final seven (not including the Game of the Week) games of the regular season on Wednesday:

Game 1: Falco Vulcano Szombathely (1-4) v SIG Strasbourg (4-1) - Group A

Where: Szombathely, Hungary

When: 18:00 CET

Szombathely have been eliminated from the competition, while Strasbourg have clinched first in the group and advanced to the Round of 16.

Szombathely have lost their three previous BCL encounters against Strasbourg but haven't lost more against any other team in the competition; Szombathely have won just two of their last 11 games in the BCL, but those wins happened at home. Boris Barac scored 17 points in the last game against Strasbourg, the most of any Szombathely player in that game and the most by Barac in any of his 30 BCL appearances; he has scored in single digits in each of his last three BCL games but has never had a longer such streak. Strasbourg have won four of their five games in the BCL this season; four of their five games in 2022-23 ended with margins of five or fewer points, including the last game against Szombathely (81-78). Strasbourg have made 22.6 shots per game from two-point, tied for the most in the BCL this season (also Igokea m:tel); Szombathely, on the other hand, have conceded the most two-pointers per game in the league this season (22.6). DeAndre Lansdowne has scored 19.7 points per game against Szombathely, his highest average against any team in the league; two of his five 20+ points BCL performances were against Szombathely. [/unordered]

Game 2: Tofas Bursa (2-3) v UCAM Murcia (3-2) - Group A

Where: Bursa, Turkey

When: 18:00 CET

 

Tofas will finish:
second, with a win by three or more points;
third, with a defeat or a win by two points or less.

Murcia will finish:
second, with a win or a defeat by up to two points;
third, with a defeat by three or more points.

Tofas have won two of their last three games in the BCL after losing their previous five; Tofas scored 72 points in the last game with Murcia (75-72), the fewest for them in a BCL game this season. Murcia have won their last five games against Turkish teams in the BCL, including the last game against Tofas (75-72); Murcia have lost their most recent game (82-70 at Strasbourg) but haven't lost consecutive games in the league since January – March 2018 (0-4). Murcia have grabbed 16.8 offensive rebounds per game, the most in the BCL this season; Tofas have allowed their opponents to grab 15.6 offensive rebounds per game, the highest average in the league this season. Rob Gray has scored 18+ points in three of his five games with Tofasin the BCL, including in his last two; however, he had his lowest scoring game against Murcia in the last game (12 points). Murcia's Travis Trice has scored 15+ points in each of his last three BCL games, his longest such scoring streak; however, he scored only seven points in the last game against Tofas, his lowest scoring game this season. [/unordered]

Game 3: AEK (2-3) v Pinar Karsiyaka (2-3) - Group B

Where: Athens, Greece

When: 18:30 CET

AEK will finish:
second, with a win;
third, with a loss, if Telekom Baskets Bonn defeat UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia;
fourth, with a loss, if UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia defeat Telekom Baskets Bonn.

Karsiyaka will finish:
second, with a win;
third, with a loss, if Telekom Baskets Bonn defeat UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia;
fourth, with a loss, if UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia defeat Telekom Baskets Bonn.

AEK have scored 66 and 68 points in their last two home games in the BCL but have never scored fewer than 75 in more consecutive home games in league history; AEK won their most recent league game (68-59 v UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia) and will try to win consecutive games for the first time since January –
March 2021 (3-0). Karsiyaka have lost their last four away games in the league while never scoring more than 71 points in any of those encounters; if Karsiyaka wins this game this will be their 40th victory in the
competition, becoming the ninth team to reach that mark. AEK have conceded just 6.6 points per game from second chance situations, the fewest in the BCL in 2022-23; AEK have allowed six or fewer offensive rebounds in three of their five games this season. Akil Mitchell has scored 12+ points in each of his five games with AEK in the BCL this season, including 19 against his former team Karsiyaka; Mitchell also grabbed nine rebounds in the last game, tied for his highest in the BCL. Errick McCollum has scored 18+ points in each of his two away games in the BCL, while also averaging nine assists per game on the road; McCollum scored 29 points in the last game against AEK. [/unordered]

Game 4: UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia (2-3) v Telekom Baskets Bonn (4-1) - Group B

Where: Reggio Emilia, Italy

When: 18:30 CET

Bonn have already clinched first place in the group and advanced to the Round of 16.

Reggio Emilia will finish:
third with a win;
fourth with a defeat.

Reggio Emilia scored 88 points in the last game against Bonn (88-84), with that being their only game with 80+ points scored in the BCL; four of their previous five games ended with single digit margins. Bonn are on a four-game winning streak, their longest in BCL history; the German side have scored 80+ points in each of their last 12 games at home in the competition, the best such streak in the history of the competition. Bonn have scored 23.6 points per game in the third quarter, the most amongst all teams in the BCL this season; Reggio Emilia, on the other hand, have scored the fewest points per game in that period (14.8). Reggio Emilia's Osvaldas Olisevicius has scored 10+ points in each of his last three BCL games but hasn't had a longer such run since January 2019 (4 games); he scored 20+ points only once in 34 BCL games: 24 against Bonn at home with Neptunas Klaipeda in January 2020. Bonn's TJ Shorts II has scored more than 25 points in each of his five BCL games this season, no other player has done it more than two times; in fact, this is already the most for a player in a single BCL season (previously Keith Langford, four games in 2019-20 and Kevin punter, four games in 2017-18). [/unordered]

Game 5: Surne Bilbao (4-1) v ERA Nymburk (1-4) - Group D

Where: Bilbao, Spain

When: 20:00 CET

Bilbao have clinched first place in the group and advanced to the Round of 16.

 

Nymburk have been eliminated from the competition.

Bilbao have won four of their five games in the BCL this season, including the last game against Nymburk (68-54), however, their only defeat came in their most recent home game (84-81 v Igokea m:tel). Nymburk have lost their last three away games in the BCL but have never lost more in a row on the road; they won two of their previous three away games against Spanish teams in the competition. Bilbao have conceded only 15.4 points in the fourth quarters of their games in the BCL this season, tied for the lowest alongside Limoges; Bilbao are the only team this season to have never conceded 20+ points in a fourth quarter. Jeff Withey has scored more than 10 points in each of his last three BCL games, making 76.5 percent of his field goals, after averaging 3.5 points in his first two games - including two points in the last game against Nymburk - and making only 30 percent of his field goals; Withey has also grabbed 5+ rebounds in each of his five games in the competition. Nymburk's Marek Klassen has three double-doubles with points and assists in four games played this season in the BCL, more than any other player; he could equal the record of double-doubles in points and assists made during a single season, four games, achieved three times previously (Chris Wright and Marcelinho Huertas in 2019-20, Chris Kramer in 2016-17). [/unordered]

Game 6: Igokea m:tel (3-2) v Bahcesehir College (2-3) - Group D

Where: Laktasi, Bosnia and Herzegovina

When: 20:00 CET

Igokea will finish:
second, with a win;
third, with a loss.

Bahcesehir will finish:
second, with a win;
third, with a loss.

Igokea have won their last two games in the BCL and will attempt to equal their best winning run in the competition (3-0 in December 2021-January 2022); they have lost their last four games against teams from Turkey in the competition, including the last game against Bahcesehir (70-67). Bahcesehir have lost their two away games played in the BCL, conceding at least 79 points in each of those games; they had their fewest number of points scored (60) and their highest points conceded (92) during their last BCL game, against Bilbao. Igokea are scoring 22.6 two-pointers per game in the BCL this season, more than any other team, and are also scoring the most points in the pain per game (40). Igokea's Nikola Tanaskovic has averaged 13.8 points and 10.8 rebounds in his last four BCL appearances, however, he never scored more than six points and never grabbed more than four rebounds in any of his three previous BCL games against teams from Turkey. Bahcesehir's Jerry Boutsiele is the only player to have grabbed 8+ rebounds in each of the first five gamedays in the BCL this season; Boutsiele will face Igokea for the fourth time, scoring more than 10 points in each of the previous three and even registering a double-double in each of the most recent two. [/unordered]

Game 7: Bnei Ofek Dist Herzliya (2-3) v Peristeri bwin (2-3) - Group H

Where: Hadera, Israel

When: 20:00 CET

 

Herzliya will finish:
second, with a win,
third, with a loss, if Lenovo Tenerife defeat Rytas Vilnius,
fourth, with a loss, if Rytas Vilnius defeat Lenovo Tenerife.

Peristeri will finish:
second, with a win, if Lenovo Tenerife defeat Rytas Vilnius,
third, with a win, if Rytas Vilnius defeat Lenovo Tenerife,
fourth, with a loss.

Herzliya won their last game (101-90 v Rytas Vilnius) but are yet to win consecutive games in the BCL; four of their five games in the competition ended with a margin of greater than 10 points. Peristeri have lost their last three BCL games but have never lost four in a row in the competition; they have conceded more than 80 points in each of their last four BCL games after conceding only 70 points in their first game this season, in the last game against Herzliya (86-70). Herzliya are conceding 1.19 per possession in the BCL this season, while Peristeri have conceded the third most points per possession (1.16). Maurice Kemp has averaged 23.8 points in his four BCL games with Herzliya after averaging 11.4 points per game in his previous five BCL appearances, with Montakit Fuenlabrada; he registered his first double-double in the BCL in the last game against Peristeri (24 points, 11 rebounds). Peristeri's Sylvain Francisco has scored only 12 percent of his three-pointers in his last two BCL games (2-of-17) after making 50 percent of his three-pointers in his first three games this season (9-of-18); he has scored 10+ points in his last six BCL games but never had a longer such streak in the competition. [/unordered]

Game of the Week: Rytas Vilnius (2-3) v Lenovo Tenerife (4-1) - Group H

For the Game of the Week preview, click here.