By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Only eight teams remain standing in the Basketball Champions League with the Final Four one step away. The quarter-finals are on the schedule this week as the teams are ready for the first-leg games.
Two games will be played on Tuesday night and other two will be held on Wednesday.
Pinar Karsiyaka – UCAM Murcia
These two teams already met this season. They played twice and both times it was the Turkish squad that was better since Karsiyaka beat Murcia on Day 5 and Day 12 of the Group Stage. It was 96-91 in Spain and 79-72 in Turkey.
This time the stakes are much higher since the aggregate score winner is heading to the Final Four.
Karsiyaka is hard to crack in Turkey as they never lost a game at home in the playoffs in the BCL. Also, their offense is hard to stop. They have made 52.4% of their attempted field goals and 79.7% from the free-throw line, the most in both categories among all BCL teams this season.
The crucial thing for the Spanish side will be to stop D.J. Kennedy as he had combined 16+ points and 7+ rebounds in 11 of his 14 BCL games this season.
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg – medi Bayreuth
The second match on Tuesday night will be between two German teams. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg and medi Bayreuth will face each other at the BCL stage this time.
Ludwigsburg is not a very friendly host. They won 6 out of 8 games at home and all the wins were by +12. Their depth is giving visiting teams a hard time. Their bench players have scored more points than their opponents in 13 of their 16 BCL games this season.
When it comes to Bayreuth their game depends on their production from the paint. Bayreuth has never won a game in which they have been outscored in the paint. Gabe York is in charge of the spreading the floor as he is the best scorer of the team and most of his points are coming from the downtown. Here you can read an interview which Eurohoops made with York.
AEK – Sig Strasbourg
These two teams know each other well. They met twice already this season and in both games, it was the French team who won.
Strasbourg allowed more than 80 points in a three away games this season. They lost two games in which the opponent scored 80+ points the one they won it was against AEK in Greece.
The French team is struggling from the foul line on the road games. They have made 61.6% of their attempted free-throws while playing on the road, the lowest scoring ratio from the line among all teams playing away from home in BCL this season.
Manny Harris has made 28 points (55.8% from the field), 5.7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals per game during his last three BCL games and he is the key player for the Greek squad.
Banvit – AS Monaco
AS Monaco is the team with the most dominant record in the Basketball Champions League. They lost only one game, but the team that beat them was Banvit. In the last two seasons, Banvit and Monaco face each other three times and the Turkish team won two games, including the 2017 semifinal.
The French team is relying on their defense as they steal the ball 11.3 times per game, but their offense is working as well. AS Monaco have scored 80+ points in 13 of their 16 games in BCL this season, the most any team have surpassed that mark. They also have 21.4 assists per game keeping everyone involved.
Statistical categories are showing that Monaco is the favorite in this clash, but Banvit already showed that they are more than ready to take down the French team.