A pattern is emerging in the first season of the new 7DAYS EuroCup format, broadly successful offensive efficiency that could lead to more high-scoring shootouts down the road.

Stats Review: Exciting trends in scoring efficiency

### High-Gravity Matchup

In Round 6, the team most reliant on ball screens to create shots – Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana – took on the team least reliant on pick-and-roll play – Virtus Segafredo Bologna. In a true contrast of styles, fans were treated to an offensive clinic. In one of the highest scoring games of the season so far, Virtus prevailed as both teams surged over the 100-point mark.

Despite the loss, Olimpija found significant success playing out of on-the-ball screens, creating 50 points over 43 possessions while proving opportunistic in the open floor as well. Virtus was similarly effective in creating quality shots but leaned heavily on balance, generating several good looks with off-the-ball motion, post touches, and backdoor cuts while making some crafty plays after offensive rebounds to secure a three-point victory, 101-104.

### What Wins Now

In years past, the Top 16 often represented a major shift in EuroCup efficiency trends. After surviving the regular season, one-dimensional teams often gave way to more balanced ones at the top of the standings in the second phase. While balance is still important in the EuroCup, this season's format eliminates that seismic shift, making it easier to figure out which early trends are on track to shape the playoff picture.

Although several of the EuroCup's most efficient offensive teams failed to qualify for the Top 16 in recent years, four of the five teams now at the top of those rankings currently hold the top two spots in the standings of both Group A and B after six rounds. While some of that can be traced to the fact that these teams are more balanced than their predecessors, only one of the five teams listed above is also differentiating itself significantly with efficiency on the defensive end – Buducnost.

This is a positive development for the EuroCup as Virtus's win over Olimpija provided a glimpse of what this year's postseason may wind up looking like – an exciting showcase of elite shot-making and execution. While there is something to be said for a defensive battle, the ability of this season's premier teams to go shot-for-shot on the offensive end could reshape those drama of the postseason into a compelling test of skill.

Much like the Olimpija-Virtus matchup, each of these teams brings something a little different to the table. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar ranks as the league's most prolific pull-up shooting team; Virtus moves the ball exceptionally well; Valencia creates a huge volume of open catch-and-shoot jumpers; Buducnost is prolific in the midrange game; and Partizan uses aggressive perimeter shot selection to give its finishers significant daylight around the rim.

Since the 2014-15 campaign, an average of three EuroCup teams have finished the regular season and Top 16 averaging over 1.00 points per possession. This year, seven teams have set that pace with league-wide efficiency trending up gradually since the start of the season and nearing a 10-year high. Given the weight offensive performance is carrying not just at the top of the table but across the league landscape, it will be fascinating to see if this thread tracks all the way to the finals or if something different emerges to shake up the standings mid-year.

### Looking Ahead to Round 7

There are five teams in Group B with two wins each, and while things are not dire by any means at this stage in the competition, teams looking to keep up in touch with the leaders at the top of the standings cannot wait long in an 18-game season. Among those teams, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse has a chance to make the biggest leap in Round 7 with a win over the Group's only three-win team, ratiopharm Ulm. The only team with a positive point differential and more losses than wins, Bourg faces a key opportunity to break free from the early gridlock.

Milos Teodosic - Virtus Segafredo Bologna - EC21

Sitting in a press conference room in the Canary Islands on Wednesday, ratiopharm Ulm head coach Jaka Lakovic was at pains to convince the local media that his team's defense was the key to ending Gran Canaria's four-game winning streak in Group B of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season.

Defense decided it, he repeated, despite Ulm scoring 96 points on the road and posting better overall shooting percentages than in any of its 113 previous EuroCup games since 2012.

"We had a good game on offense, very accurate," Lakovic allowed. "Normally, we are pretty good in two-pointers, but on threes we're not used to these percentages. I think it's because of good ball movement leading to shots that were basically open. When we get them, we should hit with good percentages, and that's what happened, so I'm happy. But despite that, I still think defense was the key tonight."

Lakovic was only being honest. Ulm had held the hosts to less than 20 points in each of the first three quarters. In the game's first 17 minutes, just three Gran Canaria players scored field goals. Ulm didn't allow any Gran Canaria field goals at all, in fact, over the last 6:16 of the third quarter. And after the hosts rallied to within 80-86 with under 1:43 left to play, Sindarius Thornwell and Philipp Herkenhoff made steals within the next minute that allowed Ulm to finish the game on a 1-10 run to win 81-96.

Still, there was no ignoring Ulm's stellar shooting: 25-for-35 inside the arc, 10-for-19 on threes, and 16-for-18 at the foul line. Its two-point accuracy (71.4%) was Ulm's second-best ever on the road and its three-point accuracy (52.6%) tied for third. With its 88.9% free throws, that added up to a club-record 66.2% true shooting, which measures how many points a team finishes with vs. the total if all its shot attempts had scored.

The bottom line is that Ulm needed both super shooting and lock-down defense to withstand committing 17 turnovers and allowing 17 offensive rebounds to Gran Canaria. But the visitors did just that, halting red-hot Gran Canaria in its tracks. As such, Ulm has now won three of four games since starting 0-2 and Lakovic believes that the team is just now learning how to put all its capabilities on the court at the same time.

"We have an untested team; that's first," he explained. "Many of the players leading our team are playing for the first time in Europe or in the EuroCup. Only Semaj Christon has that experience. And behind those players, we have a mix of young players who are still working very hard to arrive at the level that the EuroCup demands. For that reason, we've had a lot of inconsistency. For the simple fact of playing a complete game today, I am very happy for them and for the team."

Despite having the club's best shooting night in its 114-game 7DAYS EuroCup history, ratiopharm Ulm also needed stretches of stellar defense in order to end host Gran Canaria's four-game winning streak.

Ulm had great ‘D' and shooting in Gran Canaria

Jaka Lakovic - ratiopharm Ulm (photo Gran Canaria) - EC21

Gran Canaria v ratiopharm Ulm (2021-12-08T20:00:00.000Z)

7DAYS EuroCup legend Errick McCollum recorded the second-highest performance index rating of his career on Wednesday to rally Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar to a narrow win and cinch MVP honors for Round 6. 

Round 6 MVP: Errick McCollum, Lokomotiv

McCollum scored 29 points and dished a career-high 13 assists in a 97-95 victory over Dolomiti Energia Trento. He made 4 of 6 three-pointers and 9 of 10 free throws and did not commit a single turnover in compiling a PIR of 39, which was the most of any player in Round 6. Yogi Ferrell had the second-highest PIR in his EuroCup debut for Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. Ferrell amassed 24 points and 11 assists for a PIR of 38 in a 101-104 loss to Virtus Segafredo Bologna. McCollum’s teammate Johnathan Motley, who already has two MVP of the Round titles to his name this season, was dominant again in Round 6 with 33 points and 11 rebounds for a PIR of 36. Jaron Blossomgame of ratiopharm Ulm helped his team to an 81-96 road win at Gran Canaria with 25 points and just 2 missed shots for a PIR of 32. Rounding out the list of Round 6’s finest performances were Buducnost VOLI Podgorica teammates D.J. Seeley and Zoran Nikolic, each with PIRs of 30. Seeley scored 29 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting and Nikolic posted 20 points and 10 rebounds in leading Buducnost past Promitheas Patras on the road.

### Individual highs: Johnathan Motley of Lokomotiv, 33 points

Motley was Round 6's top scorer with 33 points against Trento. It was a new career-high and matches the 2021-22 7DAYS EuroCup's season-high; Justin Cobbs scored 33 points for Buducnost against Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in Round 5. Motley is also the competition's leading scorer at 24.7 points per game. Kerem Kanter of Slask Wroclaw and Motley led all rebounders by pulling down 11 apiece in Round 6. Kanter is tied for second in the league in rebounding with 8.0 per game and Motley is fifth with 7.3. Vince Hunter of Boulogne Metropolitans 92 leads the EuroCup in rebounds at 9.2 per game. McCollum dished a career-best 13 assists against Trento. Milos Teodosic of Virtus Segafredo Bologna ranks first in assists for the season at 7.6 per night. The 4 steals collected by Julyan Stone of Umana Reyer Venice against Valencia Basket were the most of the week. Aleksa Avramovic of Partizan NIS Belgrade and Andrew Albicy of Gran Canaria are the EuroCup's steals leader with 2.5 per night. Octavius Ellis of Turk Telekom Ankara blocked 3 shots against MoraBanc Andorra and is also first overall at 2.3 per game. Motley, McCollum, Ferrell, Nikolic, Jordan Caroline of Trento and Aleksander Dziewa of Slask Wroclaw each registered a double-double in Round 6.

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2021-12-08T16:30:00.000Z)

Errick McCollum - Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (photo Fedor Aebor - Lokomotiv) - EC21

Virtus Segafredo Bologna did not arrive at its Round 6 game against Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in its best shape. Three players (Isaia Cordinier, Kevin Hervey and Nico Mannion) joined Ekpe Udoh and Awudu Abass in Virtus's injured list and Alessandro Pajola played hurt at Stozice Arena. Cedevita showed up with two new players, Alen Omic and Yogi Ferrell.

Any questions about how Virtus would perform while shorthanded or how Cedevita would look with two new starters were answered by what turned out to be a spectacular battle, in which both teams scored over 100 points. It came down to the final second, too, in which former Virtus guard Jacob Pullen missed a shot from downtown that would have sent the game to overtime.

When the dust settled, Cedevita and Virtus were close to breaking a 7DAYS EuroCup record. The teams combined for 33 three-point shots; Cedevita buried 16 and Virtus hit 17. Their total was 1 shy of a record that has stood for over a decade; Cedevita Zagreb and Gran Canaria combined for 34 three-pointers (17 apiece) on February 1, 2011. Cedevita prevailed 114-110 in overtime. It tied the record for most three-pointers in a non-overtime game; Gran Canaria and Promitheas Patras also combined for 33 three-pointers on November 4, 2020.

Cedevita's main contributor from downtown was Ferrell, who buried 5 three-point shots on his way to 24 points. He added 7 two-pointers without a miss, 11 assists and 7 fouls drawn for a PIR of 38. Only Jaka Blazic has had a higher PIR wearing the team's jersey with a 41 against JL Bourg en Bresse on January 27, 2021, and 39 against Frutti Extra Bursaspor on November 9, 2020. Before Cedevita Zagreb and Olimpija Ljubljana merged, Ryan Boatright had a PIR of 51 for Cedevita against Valencia Basket on January 4, 2017.

Omic celebrated his 100th game in the competition in style. He hit his first career three-point shot after missing his previous 4 attempts from beyond the arc. Omic also made 7 of 8 two-pointers, had a PIR of 19 and was serenaded with MVP" chants by the Cedevita faithful. Not a bad way to start his second EuroCup stint with the club in which he started his career in the competition.

Three-point shots aide, Virtus needed to play extremely well and managed to do so, with a lot of character. The Italian powerhouse pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and allowed Cedevita only 9. It dished 26 assists - Milos Teodosic had 9 of those - and committed just 10 turnovers. Cedevita shot the ball extremely well (65.5% 2FG, 45.7% 3FG) and didn't make many mistakes (13 turnovers), but it was not enough to win the game. Its team PIR of 110 was the highest ever in the EuroCup in a losing effort.

Its most experienced players stepped up in crunch time to eventually make the difference in the game. Cedevita got within 89-91 with over 4 minutes left but Marco Belinelli buried an off-balance three-pointer, Teodosic hit a jumper and Kyle Weems did even better with an outstanding four-point play for a 92-100 Virtus lead with 2 minutes remaining. Only the lack of free-throw accuracy (2 of 6 in the final 24 seconds) allowed Cedevita to get a final chance to send the game to overtime.

"We rebounded solid, definitely, in the fourth [quarter]. Then we hit some shots. Unfortunately, we didn't hit free throws," Virtus head coach Sergio Scariolo said after the game. "I think we could have managed to get a little bit more relaxed at the very end, but this is a pretty young team and I assume and know that these kinds of things happen and will happen again. But it is a very important win on the road. Every win is important in this high-level EuroCup - on the road even better, even more."

Belinelli led the winners with 21 points. Teodosic added 19, Mam Jaiteh 17, Weems 15 and Ty-Shon Alexander 10 for Virtus. Seven players struck at least once from beyond the arc in an extraordinary game, an instant classic to look back to when the 2021-22 campaign comes to an end.

Despite Virtus missing three players to injury and Cedevita introducing two newcomers to its lineup, the two teams put on an offensive showcase for the ages on Wednesday in Ljubljana. 

Short-handed Virtus survived three-point battle

Michele Ruzzier - Virtus Segafredo Bologna (photo Ales Ferves - Cedevita) - EC21

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2021-12-08T19:00:00.000Z)

With a masterful road show, ratiopharm Ulm stopped red-hot host Gran Canaria in its tracks for an 81-96 win in Group B on Wednesday. Ulm lifted its record to 3-3 while Gran Canaria fell to 4-2 with a second home loss bracketed around a four-game winning streak. Ulm trailed for just one possession, in the first quarter, and was ahead by as many as 15 points in each half, including at the end. 

Ulm dominates, 81-96, in Gran Canaria

Jerome Blossomgame missed just 2 shots on his way to 25 points to lead the winners. Semaj Christon followed with 18 and 5 assists. Sindarius Thornwell celebrated his EuroCup debut with 17 points and Philipp Herkenhoff came off the bench for 12 more. AJ Slaughter scored 18 points and Dylan Ennis 17 for Gran Canaria, while Chris Kramer added 15 and Miquel Salvo 10. Gran Canaria narrowed the difference to 80-86 with a late run before Ulm used a 1-10 finish to pick up a good-as-gold road win. 

By the numbers: Super shooting saved Ulm

Ulm was accurate enough to score 96 points, its third-highest total on the road, without overtime, and post a team PIR of 114, its fourth-highest away from home and eighth-best overall. All of that coming on the court of a group leader with a four-game winning streak showed that head coach Jaka Lakovic's team was prepared for anything on Wednesday.


Cristiano Felicio - ratiopharm Ulm (photo Gran Canaria) - EC21

This is what the protagonists of the game had to say after such a close deal down the stretch.

Post-Game Quotes: Gran Canaria 81-96 Ulm


### Jaka Lakovic, ratiopharm Ulm

"I think the key was our defense and our character. We didn't let go at any moment. Gran Canaria, in the fourth quarter, made a run, came to within 8 points, and the guys just didn't panic. They executed well on offense, but especially we got stops in the fourth quarter on defense, and that gave us the win."

"It was a good game. I thought we played good throughout 40 minutes. The key for the game was our defense, for sure. And maybe the only bad thing in the game were the offensive rebounds of Gran Canaria. They got 17 offensive rebounds. I can't see yet how many points there were after the offensive rebounds, but this was the only negative thing from my team. All the players deserve a lot of praise because they were strong and had great effort and intensity throughout 40 minutes. I think this was the key for the win."



### Porfi Fisac, Gran Canaria
"They played better than us. We played without energy. In offense, we didn't move the ball. It was a poor game today."



### Jaron Blossomgame, ratiopharm Ulm
"We're feeling very good. You know, we traveled a long way here. We wanted to come out and put on a good showing, and I'm glad we did that. Some of the guys helped us get going early. Sindarius had a good start and we kind of kept rolling off of his energy all night."


Small forward Sindarius Thornwell made his EuroCup debut almost a month after signing on November 13, but the wait was well worth it. His very first shot was a strike from the three-point arc, but his hustle from the start is what proved infectious to his team. 

Thornwell debuted in style for Ulm

He would finish with 17 points that included 8-for-9 free throw shooting and grab 6 rebounds. Thornwell also set the defensive tone with an early block and made a huge steal near the end when Gran Canaria was rallying. He can be forgiven 5 turnovers in a new setting, especially since he and Jaron Blossomgame provided a one-two punch that Ulm's opponents will now have to work hard to counter as the season progresses.

Sindarius Thornwell - ratiopharm Ulm (photo Gran Canaria) - EC21

Ulm had quite a few key performers to pull of such a big win against the group leaders coming into the game, but every time Gran Canaria came within striking distance, Jaron Blossomgame slammed the door shut. 

Blossomgame was near-perfect for Ulm

The shooting forward finished with 25 points while making 5 of 7 two-pointers, 4 of 4 threes and 3 of 3 free throws on the night. He also pulled 6 rebounds, as much as anyone in the game, and had a higher PIR than anyone, 32, while playing almost 36 minutes. In other words, fingerprints were all over Ulm's upset.