MUNICH (Germany) - This season's FIBA Europe Cup has been whittled down to the final eight teams as the road to the Finals gets closer to its destination.
The four Quarter-Finals - beginning on March 5 - will be played over two legs, with the highest-seeded team granted a home game in the second leg.
Let's explore the Quarter-Final encounters and how they match up, while you can also predict the winner of each matchup below.
Tofas Bursa vs Bilbao Basket
First Leg: Wednesday, March 5 - 20:00 CET (Bilbao, ESP) Second Leg: Wednesday, March 12 - 18:00 CET (Bursa, TUR)
Heading into the Second Round, both Tofas Bursa and Bilbao Basket were unbeaten after six games. They were good money to possibly go to the Finals, perhaps even facing each other. However, despite qualification to the Quarter-Finals, it hasn't been smooth sailing for either team - having suffered defeats and having to sweat a little to make it this far.
Tofas finished the Second Round with a 4-2 record and topped their pool in the process, but that mainly came from a solid start where they won their first three games but finished by losing two of their final three. They qualified with a buzzer-beater from Alex Perez to beat Zaragoza.
The Turkish outfit is not short on offensive firepower. They are the competition's leading scorers at 92.6 points per game and boast one of the FIBA Europe Cup's most electrifying players, Marcquise Reed, who averages 18.5 points per game but he will need support going into this Quarter-Final matchup.
By contrast, Bilbao only lost once in the Second Round, but they had to work hard for their victories, winning their five games by an average of just 7.8 points instead of a whopping 29.6 points margin in their Regular Season adventures.
Despite everything, Bilbao has continued winning and come into their Quarter-Final matchup with Tofas with a deep roster that can all do damage on their day with no less than seven players averaging 7 points or more, led by 22 year old Thijs De Ridder, who posts 11.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Key matchup: Marcquise Reed (Tofas Bursa) vs Melwin Pantzar (Bilbao Basket)
Stats don't lie: It will be the best offense against one of the best defenses in the competition, as Tofas' 92.6 points will look to fight through Bilbao's 62.3 points against.
The Spanish side will look to lock in defensively on Reed over two legs as the majority of the offense runs through the American. Reed is the only player to have taken more than 100 field goal attempts (145 FGA). Sealing Reed off and Bilbao could be looking at a Semi-Final place.
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg vs JDA Bourgogne Dijon
First Leg: Wednesday, March 5 - 20:00 CET (Dijon, FRA) Second Leg: Wednesday, March 12 - 19:30 CET (Ludwigsburg, GER)
Two teams that have already squared off in the Regular Season meet again in the Quarter-Finals, and while recent history favors MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, JDA Bourgogne Dijon will have added motivation on their side.
The German side came out on top in their two previous encounters. The first game saw MHP RIESEN prevail as 80-77 winners at home, as a David Holston three to take the game to overtime missed the mark. They fared better on the road as Ludwigsburg secured a second win 93-81, led by 33 points from Justin Simon.
The two losses won't be weighing heavy on Dijon's mind, but at the same time, they can use both games for added encouragement. They were a whisker away from toppling Ludwigsburg on their home floor and the game in France came when both teams had already advanced. This time, the stakes will be higher.
Key matchup: Joel Scott (MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg) vs Christian Sengfelder (JDA Bourgogne Dijon)
Stats don't lie: MHP RIESEN head into this two-legged affair as the hottest team in the FIBA Europe Cup - winning their last eight games by an average winning margin of 17 points.
But, since their two games in the Regular Season, Dijon has shown tremendous character in their victories in the Second Round. The French side is ranked second in the competition in field goal percentage at 52.3 percent and will need to execute to that level in order to advance to the last four.
PAOK mateco vs Fribourg Olympic
First Leg: Wednesday, March 5 - 19:00 CET (Fribourg, SUI) Second Leg: Wednesday, March 12 - 19:15 CET (Thessaloniki, GRE)
The matchup between PAOK mateco and Fribourg Olympic will be intriguing. On its day, Fribourg can beat any team, but their issue has been consistency, this will make them a tricky opponent for PAOK, who qualified for the Quarter-Final relatively early but didn't take their foot off the gas en route.
Fribourg has been a tough team to predict, but they have been one of the more exciting sides to watch this season. A big part of that has been Eric Nottage, who leads the team in points and assists (16.7 PPG, 5.7 APG).
However, PAOK has multiple players who can cause havoc, with Shavar Reynolds leading the way with 14.2 points per game.
Key matchup: Shavar Reynolds (PAOK mateco) vs Eric Nottage (Fribourg Olympic)
Stats don't lie: PAOK's four leading marksmen: Reynolds, Devonte Upson, Frank Bartley, and Jackson Krueser make up 195 of the team's total 307 field goals, so they will be heavily used over the two legs.
Fribourg have won their seven games by an average winning margin of 19.7 points. But conversely, they have lost their other five games by a losing margin of 10.8 points. You never know which Fribourg team will show up on the night.
Cholet Basket vs Casademont Zaragoza
First Leg: Wednesday, March 5 - 20:00 CET (Zaragoza, ESP) Second Leg: Wednesday, March 12 - 20:00 CET (Cholet, FRA)
Cholet Basket knows what it takes to reach the Finals, and the 2023 runners-up are on the right path to going one better this season - having lost just once in the FIBA Europe Cup. On the flip side, Casademont Zaragoza will be a strong opposition, though, with an unselfish group of players that all play together.
The French outfit leans on the partnership of Stefan Smith and Bastien Vautier, who both average 13 points per game - with Smith, a deadeye three-point shooter, connecting on 42.1 percent of his attempts and Vautier shooting 63.7 percent from the field.
Zaragoza is led by Trae Bell-Haynes, who is averaging 14.4 points per game and coming off a solid international window with Canada, helping them qualify for this summer's FIBA AmeriCup. They have been a no-nonsense side this season, quietly going about their business as they aim to progress further than they did last season.
Key matchup: Stefan Smith (Cholet Basket) vs Trae Bell-Haynes (Casademont Zaragoza)
Stats don't lie: Cholet Basket has been a free-scoring team in the FIBA Europe Cup this season; scoring 90.7 points, with only Tofas Bursa averaging more. They are also second in field goal percentage: shooting 52.3 percent. Not far behind them, though, are Zaragoza, who shoot 51.1 percent. Execution on the offensive end could come down to how the coaches run their sets and if they can do it at the right time.
FIBA