Play-In – Basketball Champions League 2023 Wednesday game preview

MIES (Switzerland) – Week one of the Basketball Champions League play-ins continues Wednesday, Jan. 4 with four more exciting matchups as teams look to take the lead in their respective series.

Here’s a look at all four of Wednesday’s meetings:

Match 1: D2 Bahcesehir College (3-3) – C3 Filou Oostende (3-3)

Where: Istanbul, Turkey

When: 18:00 CET

• Bahcesehir lost their last home game, 92-60 against Surne Bilbao, their biggest loss in BCL, after winning their previous two home games; they always trailed early in the fourth quarter in each of their three home games.
• Bahcesehir’s Jerry Boutsiele has collected more than five rebounds in each of his 12 BCL games; He is one of only three players to have averaged more than 9 rebounds and scored more than 13 points per game in the history of the competition (min. 10 games, with Babacar Toure and Vladimir Stimac).
• Oostende have won their last two games in the BCL and will try to win three in a row for the first time since December 2019-January 2020 (3-0); they won their last trip to Turkey 91-85 against Galatasaray this season, having lost each of their previous five away games.
• Oostende scored 21.7% of points in counter-attack situations, the highest percentage in the BCL in 2022-23; however, Bahcesehir have conceded more than 10 points from the counterattack in just one of their last five league matches.
• Keye van der Vuurst de Vries has scored more than 10 points in his last two BCL meetings with Oostende, but has never had such a long run in the competition; she averaged 7.8 points and 7.0 assists per game in her four BCL trips to Turkey.

Match 2: B2 AEK (3-3) – A3 Tofas Bursa (2-4)

Where: Athens, Greece

When: 18:30 CET

• AEK have won their last two matches in the BCL, as many victories as in their previous 10 meetings; they led early in the fourth quarter in only one of their last 17 BCL games.
• AEK allowed 6.7 points per game on a fast break and 7.2 in second chance situations, both best defensive averages in the BCL in 2022 -23; AEK have conceded fewer than eight points on the break in four of their six league games this season.
• Tofas won their last away game in the BCL (77-64 against Falco Szombathely) after losing the previous five; however, six of their last seven away league defeats have ended by margins of five points or less.
• Tofas have lost 31.8 points per game in the first half, fewer than any other team in the BCL this season; they are the only team to concede under 16 points per game in the first quarter (15.8).
• Tofas’ Rob Gray scored 25-plus points in three of his six BCL games; only TJ Shorts II has had more such bouts this season (5); however, Tofas is yet to win a game as Gray scores 20+ points.

Game 3: C2 Hapoel Atsmon Holon (4-2) – D3 Igokea M:tel (3-3)

Where: Holon, Israel

When: 20:00 CET

• Holon have won their last eight home games in the BCL, however their last home defeat was in last season’s first play-off match, against Besiktas (73-72).
• Holon has scored over 80 points in each of their last six home games after scoring that many points in only two of their previous 13 home games.
• Holon made 87.1% of his free throws, the highest ratio in the BCL this season; on the other hand, Igokea has the lowest shooting percentage from the shooting line (64.4%).
• Joe Ragland is 10 assists away from becoming the fifth player to reach 300+ assists in BCL history; He has over 10 assists in each of his last two games for Holon, but has never had such a long run in the competition.
• Igokea made (22.3) and attempted (43.5) the most two-point shots per game in the BCL this season; it is also the team that has scored the most points per game in the paint (39.7).

Match 4: F2 SL Benfica (4-2) – E3 Darussafaka (2-4)

Where: Lisbon, Portugal

When: 8.30pm CET

• Benfica lost their last match in the BCL (79-59 at home to Limoges CSP) but are yet to lose consecutive games in the competition; both BCL losses came on home field, each by margins of 19 points or more.
• Benfica’s Toney Douglas has scored more than 10 points in five of his six BCL games, including his last four; Douglas hit a three-pointer and recorded a steal in each of his six league appearances.
• Darussafaka have lost their last two BCL meetings, their longest losing streak since a three-game losing streak in December 2021-January 2022 which included the first game of last season’s play-ins (83-78 away against San Pablo Burgos).
• Darussafaka have won the first quarter in eight of their last nine BCL matches and have conceded just 0.96 points per possession, the best defensive ratio in the BCL in 2022-23 – only they and Surne Bilbao (0.98) have conceded fewer 1 point per possession in the league this season.
• Dogus Ozdemiroglu had 16 points and 17 points in his last two BCL games for Darussafaka, but has yet to score more than 15 points in consecutive games; He has more than 2 steals in each of his last four BCL games.