Join Panos Kostopoulos as ALBA Berlin (5-24) faces Real Madrid (23-6) in Round 30 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Real Madrid survives stiff ALBA challenge, 79-86

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EuroLeague Live Blog: ALBA Berlin vs. Real Madrid.

Los Blancos finished the game on a 2-9 run to clinch home-court advantage in the playoffs

ALBA Berlin v Real Madrid (2024-03-19T19:00:00.000Z)

Zalgiris's bench helped it end skid

Zalgiris Kaunas can still dream of the post-season after it registered an impressive 96-81 home victory over Virtus Segafredo Bologna thanks to great performance from the bench.

Zalgiris gave up 49 points in the first half but changed the game around after halftime as it conceded just 32 points in snapping a three-game losing streak to improve to 12-18.

"In the second half we were almost perfect. I am extremely happy for my players,” Zalgiris coach Andrea Trinchieri said. “The situation was not the best. We played with a great sense of urgency and responsibility.  We bounced back and won against a great team.”

Game News

A big reason was the performance from the bench as the reserved scored 53 of the team's 96 points.

Edmund Sumner scored a game high 16 points, Kevarrius Hayes picked up 13 points and 6 rebounds and Lukas Lekavicius added 9 points and great defense on Virtus point guard Alessandro Pajola.

It was the fourth time that Zalgiris’s reserves scored 55 percent of the team’s points this season. But it was just the second victory. The other game was a 74-73 win over FC Bayern Munich and it needed a game winner in the final seconds.

Game Videos

“Big shout-out to Ed, he had a huge game. And hopefully there will be another big game for him on Thursday,” said Keenan Evans, who scored 14 points with 7 assists.

The whole bench did their part.

Tomas Dimsa hit 2 big three-pointers, big man Danielius Lavrinovicius also knocked down a triple, Arnas Butkevicius played a solid game at both ends and even 21-year-old Nedas Montvilla scored his first points in the EuroLeague.

The Lithuanian champs got 53 points from their reserves to beat Virtus

Zalgiris Kaunas v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2024-03-19T18:00:00.000Z)

Join Zoran Milosavljevic as Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. (16-13) comes up against LDLC ASVEL (7-22) in Round 30 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Live Blog: Baldwin leads Maccabi over ASVEL 98-90

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EuroLeague Live Blog: Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

Star guard posted highest PIR by a Maccabi player since 2006

Baldwin leads Maccabi over ASVEL 98-90

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2024-03-19T19:05:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas beat Virtus Bologna 96-81 in Round 30 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Zalgiris rallies past Virtus, 96-81

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Edmond Sumner of Zalgiris Kaunas is guarded by Iffe Lundberg of Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Round 30 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

The Lithuanian champs dominated the second half 53-32

Anadolu Efes S.K. defeated Olympiacos B.C. 85-72 in Round 30 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Anadolu Efes keeps play-in hopes alive by beating Olympiacos, 85-72

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Will Clyburn of Anadolu Efes Istanbul looks to get past Moustapha Fall of Olympiacos Piraeus in Round 30 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Coach Mijatovic's side impressed on both ends of the floor to end the Reds' six-game winning streak

Efes keeps play-in hopes alive by beating Olympiacos, 85-72

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Olympiacos Piraeus (2024-03-19T17:30:00.000Z)

With the regular season hurtling towards a finish, teams are aiming to take part in the postseason, one way or another. Here are the teams with possibilities to reach some postseason goal this week.

Postseason possibilities: Virtus, Panathinaikos can guarantee Play-In Showdown spots

With the regular season hurtling towards a finish, teams are aiming to take part in the postseason, one way or another. Here are the teams with possibilities to reach some postseason goal this week.

### Real zeroes in on home-court advantage

The only team qualified so far to the top six, and therefore the best-of-five playoffs,  is league leader Real Madrid. The defending champs can add to that accomplishment this week by guaranteeing their spot in the top four, which comes with home-court advantage in the playoffs.

To assure at least two home games in the playoffs, Real (23-6) needs only to win on the road on Tuesday against basement-dweller ALBA Berlin (5-24).

Even without winning, Real can reach its goal on Wednesday if Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (18-11) loses at home to FC Barcelona (20-9) or Panathinaikos Aktor Athens (18-11) falls on the road at  Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (10-19).

If home-court advantage historically means a 75% chance of reaching the Final Four, then Real has proven even better with it plays Game 1 at home. Real made the playoffs the last nine seasons consecutively and broke through to the Final Four seven times, including all six when it held home-court advantage. 

### Two teams can guarantee at least the Play-In Showdown

No other teams can join Real in the playoffs in Round 30 due to the potential tiebreaks down the road. But two more teams can clinch top-10 finishes, and therefore guarantee themselves at least one postseason game, something Real, FC Barcelona, AS Monaco, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Olympiacos Piraeus have done so far.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna (17-12) has first crack at that opportunity on Tuesday if it can win on the road at Zalgiris Kaunas (11-18). Should Virtus not succeed, it may still grab a Play-In Showdown spot if Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (13-16), who hosts Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (16-13) on Tuesday, and Valencia Basket (13-16), who welcomes FC Bayern Munich (13-16) on Wednesday, both lose those home games.

Panathinaikos may not have to wait to beat Zvezda on Wednesday to reach the Play-In Showdown, because that's just one of four results that can put the Greens in the postseason. The first is if Olympiacos Piraeus (18-11) wins on the road at Anadolu Efes Istanbul (12-17) in Tuesday's first game. Later that night, a Partizan loss to Baskonia would suffice for the Greens to advance. Its own win on Zvezda’s court is the third go-through possibility for Panathinaikos. And if none of the previous three chances work, Bayern losing to Valencia in the last game of Round 30 would also put the Panathinaikos in the Play-In Showdown, at least.

Check out some bold predictions from EuroLeague.net staff members for Rounds 30 and 31 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Bold predictions for Rounds 30 and 31

### Partizan to stop its slide with back-to-back wins

#### *by Geoff Gillingham*

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade has gone 3-8 so far in 2024 and 1-5 in its last six games, which has seen Zeljko Obradovic's side drop to 10th place, the last spot for the Play-In Showdown. The interesting part is that Partizan is 3-1 over that stretch when it is the home team, but a dismal 0-7 on the road. Fortunately for Zeljko and co., it has back-to-back home games in this double-round week – and I think they have what it takes to win both, first against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and then against Real Madrid, despite not having Zach LeDay available due to personal reasons. Expect a raucous atmosphere on Thursday night as Real returns to Stark Arena for the first time since last year's drama-filled playoff series.

### Zalgiris storms back into the Play-In mix

#### *by Igor Petrinovic*

Three consecutive defeats have derailed Zalgiris's (11-18) chances for the postseason, but not all is lost yet. The team from Kaunas is still just two wins away from 10th place, the last Play-In Showdown spot, and Zalgiris has four of its last five games at home. Two of those come this week, first against Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Tuesday, then hosting Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz two days later. I believe Zalgiris, led by Keenan Evans, will give its fans in traditionally sold-out Zalgirio Arena plenty to cheer about and win twice this week. Yes, head coach Andrea Trinchieri's side will be missing starting power forward Rolands Smits, but that just makes my prediction a bit more bolder.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna-Zalgiris Kaunas | Round 1 | Highlights

### Fenerbahce will have a perfect double-round week

#### *by Javier Gancedo*

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul scored 100 points or more at home against all the Spanish teams it played: Real Madrid, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and Valencia Basket. It is the hottest team in the competition, and seeing them have a perfect double-round week is logical despite playing two of the deepest and strongest teams out there. I predict a high-scoring game at home against second-ranked FC Barcelona in which Fener will get the tie-breaker, winning by nine points or more, and another success on the road against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Nigel Hayes-Davis is in a sweet moment but so are Fenerbahce's shooters, Scottie Wilbekin, Marko Guduric, Tyler Dorsey and Tarik Biberovic. That's my prediction: Fenerbahce wins twice and makes the race to reach the home-court advantage in the playoffs even tighter. 

### Monaco will finish the week in second place

#### *by Frankie Sachs*

No team in the EuroLeague is hotter than AS Monaco, which has won eight in a row and sits in third place with a 19-10 record. Head coach Sasa Obradovic's team plays four of its remaining five games at home and the lone road game is at French League rival LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. But enough about the rest of the season. Monaco hosts two teams with losing records this week: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (12-17) on Wednesday and Valencia Basket (13-16) on Friday. In the meantime, second-placed FC Barcelona (20-9) plays four of its remaining five games on the road. This week it faces two tough opponents on the road: Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (18-11) on Wednesday and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (18-11) on Friday. Even with Ricky Rubio finding his form, I say Barca drops a game this week and Monaco does not. And since Monaco has already swept Barcelona this season, that would send Monaco into second place.

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan-AS Monaco | Round 6 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

### Bayern will keep its momentum going

#### *by Frank Lawlor*

With five games left to play, 10th place is looking like a wild three- to five-team race to the finish. One team I expect to stay in that race through this last double-round week is FC Bayern Munich. First, I think Bayern can break its tie at 13-16 with host Valencia, which is hobbled by injuries to its beg men, where Bayern has numbers and experience. If the visitors can take advantage, Bayern will have swept both Valencia and Partizan (13-16). A win in Valencia will give Bayern extra confidence to go home on Friday to face Maccabi (16-13), whose strong suit is perimeter offense. The thing is, Bayern's perimeter defense is among the best, and it has the bodies to match up inside, too. Maccabi won their Round 7 game by 3 points, but this is a new Bayern in many ways. With Barcelona and Panathinaikos visiting Munich next, then a season finale at Monaco, Bayern has a tough schedule. But after this double-round, they may well be holding a Play-In Showdown spot, at least temporarily.

FC Bayern Munich v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2024-03-22T19:30:00.000Z)

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2024-03-22T19:30:00.000Z)

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens v FC Barcelona (2024-03-22T19:15:00.000Z)

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2024-03-22T18:00:00.000Z)

AS Monaco v Valencia Basket (2024-03-22T18:00:00.000Z)

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v Real Madrid (2024-03-21T19:30:00.000Z)

Olympiacos Piraeus v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2024-03-21T19:15:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas v Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2024-03-21T18:00:00.000Z)

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v ALBA Berlin (2024-03-21T17:30:00.000Z)

Valencia Basket v FC Bayern Munich (2024-03-20T19:30:00.000Z)

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2024-03-20T19:00:00.000Z)

AS Monaco v EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2024-03-20T18:00:00.000Z)

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v FC Barcelona (2024-03-20T17:45:00.000Z)

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2024-03-19T19:30:00.000Z)

Trademarks: EuroLeague Power Rankings Vol. 5

Five games before the end of the regular season, things in the rankings could not be more dramatic in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.

Except for Real Madrid who was, is, and will be unmoved from the top, nothing is given in the remaining privileged positions that give direct qualification to the playoffs with home advantage (1-4), or without it (5-6), or at least qualification to the Play-In Showdown (7-10).

[MORE...](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/1645814/euroleague-power-rankings-vol-5/)

Eurohoops presents the fifth and final edition of the EuroLeague Power Rankings as the regular season has just five rounds left.

EuroLeague Power Rankings by Eurohoops: Vol. 5

Defensive momentum is like gold dust, especially in the postseason, and these teams are building theirs now.

Stats review: What defenses are tightening the screws

The postseason push is upon us as just five more rounds remain in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. At this stage of the season, teams have had their ups and downs, have made and faced adjustments, offensively and defensively, and are looking to build momentum and maximize their playoff prospects. Momentum is a difficult thing to achieve at this level, but several teams have been thriving over the second half of the season.

The table above looks at the teams that have been playing the best defense, in terms of points per possession, since the calendar turned to 2024. FC Barcelona and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens have held steady towards the top of the overall defensive leaderboards all season but have stepped up over the last two months to distance themselves from the rest of the teams near the top of the standings.

For Panathinaikos, the formula has changed in some subtle ways. The Greens have slowed down the pace of games and made some adjustments to how they defend off-the-ball in pick-and-rolls. The result has been more effective rim protection and limited spot-up opportunities for their opponents. 

FC Barcelona has stuck to their strengths, as well, allowing the fewest transition points in the EuroLeague and doing a tremendous job with their rotations off the ball and against quick hitters.

Among the top five teams in defensive efficiency from the first half of the season, Panathinaikos and Barcelona are the only two to have improved in the new year, although AS Monaco deserves credit for being consistent throughout. 

Steals and blocks in 2024 by Panathinaikos and Barcelona

Steals and blocks by Panathinaikos and Barcelona

The top two defensive teams from the beginning of the season, Real Madrid and Valencia, also appear on this list. But after averaging 0.88 and 0.93 points per possession, respectively, at the end of 2023, Real Madrid and Valencia have fallen back to the 1.00-point-per-possession mark – which is the EuroLeague average. That has allowed Barcelona and Panathinaikos to close the gap on Real, which still leads the EuroLeague in defensive efficiency for the full season, but only by a slim margin that continues to shrink.  

While Madrid is a near-lock to finish first in the standings, whether its defense can get back on track is something to monitor, especially given how dominant Los Blancos were until the end of 2023. Since then, letting opponents run in transition has been the culprit behind Real's defensive inconsistency. Over the regular season's final month, the defending champs have no opponents currently ranked higher than eighth in the standings, so whether they can revert to their earlier defensive dominance in time for the postseason will be an interesting theme to watch.

Barcelona's defense will take on a fascinating test during the double-round week when they visit Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, among the EuroLeague's most efficient offensive teams in 2024, before heading to Athens to take on Panathinaikos.