Week 2 Wednesday Play-In Games Preview

MIES (Switzerland) - Week two of the Basketball Champions League Play-Ins continues on Wednesday January 11 with four more games, as teams who won Game 1 are going for sweeps, but the teams trailing 0-1 want to force a Game 3 in their respective series.

In three of the four games, the home team is looking to avoid elimination.

Here's a look at the four games on Wednesday:

Game 1: Pinar Karsiyaka v UCAM Murcia (Murcia lead series 1-0)

Where: Izmir, Turkey

When: 18:00 CET

In Game 1, Murcia won 97-92.

 

Karsiyaka won their only previous Play-In game played at home in the BCL, it was against a Spanish team, Lenovo Tenerife last season (88-80); they have lost their last four BCL games, including the last game in these Play-Ins (97-92), their longest losing streak in the competition. Braian Angola scored 41 points for Karsiyaka in the first leg, the most by a player in the BCL in 2022-23; however, Angola has never scored more than 15 points in consecutive games in the league (26 appearances). Murcia have only lost three of their last 17 BCL games, however those defeats happened in three of their last four away games in the competition; they have won their last three trips to Turkey in the BCL, including the last time they visited Karsiyaka (79-65 in March 2018). Murcia have both won (26.6) and conceded (25.4) the most fouls per game of any team in the BCL in 2022-23; they are also the team that shoots (29) and scores (23.7) more free-throws per game this season. Murcia's Thaddus McFadden has scored a total of 134 shots from behind the arc in BCL history and needs to score three more to reach the third place in the all-time three-point scoring list, overtaking Vojtech Hruban (136); he has made 3.3 shots per game from beyond the arc in his three BCL trips to Turkey. [/unordered]

Game 2: Darussafaka v S.L. Benfica (Darussafaka lead series 1-0)

Where: Istanbul, Turkey

When: 18:00 CET

In Game 1, Darussafaka pulled off the upset on the road, 89-76.

 

Darussafaka have lost their last two home games in the BCL, each by 20+ points margins, after winning seven of the previous eight; they registered their biggest win in the BCL during the Play-Ins last season, at home against San Pablo Burgos (85-66). Darussafaka's Dogus Ozdemiroglu has recorded a double-double in each of his last two BCL games but no player has yet made three consecutive double-doubles in the league this season; he is averaging 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game in his last four appearances in the BCL. Benfica have lost their last two games in the BCL after winning four of the previous five; however, they have won each of their three away games in the competition by an average margin of eight points. Benfica have conceded just 7.9 points from second chance situations, the fewest of any team in the BCL in 2022-23; Darussafaka scored only two points from those situations in the first leg, tied for the fewest by any team in the league this season – they have made eight or fewer offensive rebounds in their last two games after grabbing an average of 14 in their previous four. Toney Douglas scored 24 points in the first leg of these Play-Ins, the most for a Benfica player in a BCL game; Douglas has recorded 17+ points and 6+ assists in two of his three away games in the competition. [/unordered]

Game 3: PAOK mateco v Rytas Vilnius (Rytas lead series 1-0)

Where: Thessaloniki, Greece

When: 18:30 CET

In Game 1, Rytas won 85-62.

 

PAOK have lost their three Play-In games in the BCL, including the last game, 85-62, but they lost their only previous home game by the narrowest margin (80-79 v Strasbourg last season); PAOK have lost seven of their last 10 home games in the BCL, trailing at halftime in each of those 10 games. PAOK have made 9.9 steals per game, tied for the most in the BCL this season, alongside Benfica; on the other hand, Rytas have made the fewest of any team (4.3 per game). PAOK's Jalen Riley has scored 15+ points in seven of his last eight BCL games, including in each of his last four; he is averaging 21 points and 4.0 made three-pointers per game in his last six BCL games at home. Rytas have won four of their last five BCL games after winning only two of the previous eight; they won their last away game 82-71 v Peristeri but are yet to win consecutive away games in the competition. Rytas' Elvar Fridriksson has scored 10+ points in each of his last five games in the BCL; however, the Icelandic guard has scored 17.3 points per game at home but only 6.7 when playing on the road. [/unordered]

Game 4: Limoges CSP v MHP RIESEN (RIESEN lead series 1-0)

Where: Limoges, France

When: 20:30 CET

In Game 1, RIESEN won 85-81.

 

Limoges registered their biggest win in the BCL during their last home game in the competition (80-53 v VEF Riga); however, they are yet to win consecutive home games in the BCL. Limoges have seen their opponents scoring only 38.9 percent of their attempted field goals, the best defensive ratio of any team in the BCL in 2022-23; they have also conceded the fewest points per game in the league this season (69.9). RIESEN have won each of their last four away games in the BCL, only the second time they won 3+ away games in a row and were the team with the most away wins in the BCL in 2022 (6); they have scored 90+ points in each of their last two away games, as often as in their previous 25 away games in the competition. RIESEN have conceded the fewest three-pointers per game in the BCL this season (5.6), while forcing their opponents to score only 26 percent of their attempted threes, the best defensive percentage in 2022-23; the Germans have conceded fewer than 10 shots from behind the arc in each of their seven games this season. Jhonathan Dunn has scored 17 or more points in three of his last four games with RIESEN in the BCL, including 29 in the first leg of these Play-Ins; Dunn has made 22 shots from behind the arc, while only Sasu Salin and Jalen Riley have made more than him in the BCL this season (both 24). [/unordered]