By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Eurohoops chooses the match of the week, lists the full schedule of both days and stands out things you need to know about the eighth round.
Euroleague’s eighth round is certainly the most important one so far in the season! Until the next one? For some teams yes, for some teams no, because if they lose, they will probably be eliminated from the competition! The same goes for Maccabi Tel-Aviv, as the squad will play against Dinamo Sassari in a ‘do or die’ match, and Real Madrid, with the Whites finding themselves in a must-win situation for the first time so early in the season, when they welcome the leaders of group A, Fenerbahce.
With six clubs having already qualified to the next phase, this week several teams are expected to secure their place in the top-16 and the combination of the outcomes will determine whether clubs like Cedevita, Anadolu Efes, Zalgiris Kaunas, Crvena Zvezda, Strasbourg, Bayern Munich, Darussafaka and Panathinaikos will have better or fewer chances to qualify.
By having a look at the standings in Euroleague’s Game Center, you will understand how important the eighth round is for several teams and certainly for the last two European champions (Maccabi, Real Madrid), with both clubs being on the brink of a painful elimination.
Game of the week: Real Madrid vs Fenerbahce
December 3 CET: 20.45 (Barclaycard Center)
Real Madrid (2-5) faces a shocking situation in the Euroleague, has the worst defence in the competition, as they concede 86,1 points per game and knows that if they lose to their opponents, they will be closer to Eurocup, than to the top 16! Starsbourg, Crvena Zvezda and Bayern Munich have earned three victories, while the Whites have lost in France and will also visit Munich to face Bayern.
It will be very interesting to see how the defending champions will react, while they will also play without Rudy Fernandez, who has a back injury, whereas Zeljco Obradovic and his players (6-1), who have already qualified, have great motivation to eliminate Real Madrid. Apart from the offensive tempo and the shooting percentage, Pablo Laso’s team must drastically enhance its defensive performance! There is no alternative for the Madrid squad, because if they play at the same poor standards defensively, both in the range and inside the paint, then the elimination will be closer than ever.
December 2
Zalgiris Kaunas vs Karsiyaka
CET: 18.45
Zalgirio Arena
December 3
Dinamo Sassari vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
CET: 19.00
Palaserradimigni
Cedevita vs Anadolu Efes
CET: 19.00
Drazen Petrovic Zagreb
Laboral Kutxa vs Limoges
CET: 20.00
Fernando Buesa Arena
Brose Baskets vs CSKA Moscow
CET: 20.45
Brose Arena
Olympiacos vs Emporio Armani Milano
CET: 21.00
SEF Stadium
December 4
Lokomotiv Kuban vs Zielona Gora
CET: 18.00
Basket Hall
Crvena Zvezda vs Khimki
CET: 20.00
Pionir
Darussfaka vs Unicaja Malaga
CET: 20.00
Volkswagen Arena
Strasbourg vs Bayern Munich
CET: 20.30
Rhenus Sport
Panathinaikos vs Barcelona
CET: 20.45
OAKA
Things you need to know…
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Zalgiris Kaunas has the worst offence in the Euroleague with 65.6 points per game and Karsiyaka has the worst three-point shooting percentage with just 27.2%.
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Cedevita’s James White has played the most minutes in the Euroleague so far! He has played a total of 234:18 minutes, with an average of 33:28 per game.
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Anadolu Efes has the best three-point shooting percentage in the competition with 47,98%!
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CSKA Moscow has Euroleague’s best offence, averaging 89.9 points.
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Othello Hunter is first in the offensive rebounds in the entire competition with 3,2 rebounds per game.
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Lokomotiv Kuban has Euroleague’s best defence, as they concede only 66.4 points and is also first in the steals with an average of 9.6.
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Barcelona has won Panathinaikos nine straight times and they have a 35-23 record in total against the Greens.