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Round 8 at a glance: Rematch of the 2021 championship game

Round 8 at a glance: Rematch of the 2021 championship game

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14 November 20226 Mins read

Round 8 at a glance: Rematch of the 2021 championship game

Round 8 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague is headlined by a meeting between last season’s champion and regular season standings leader, along with a series of meetings between direct rivals in the battle for a place in the top eight. Let’s check out all the upcoming action.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. FC Barcelona

Improved defense will be the focus for faltering reigning champ Efes (2-5) as it looks to kickstart its season by overcoming high-flying Barcelona (5-2). Efes has allowed at least 80 points in each of its five losses this season and will have to show greater discipline against a Barca team that has won three in a row. The Spanish side has based its success on stellar defense, allowing just 73.4 points per game (second-best in the league) and has Nico Laprovittola in red-hot form with 11 three-pointers in the last two games.

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

Zvezda (1-6) will be hoping for a win against another team struggling for consistency, ASVEL (3-4). To climb away from the foot of the standings, Zvezda will need to spark an offense that has failed to reach 80 points in any of its seven games this season. ASVEL is the best team in the league at forcing turnovers (15.6 per game), with six players averaging at least one steal per game led by Retin Obasohan (1.7 per game), and will look to make life uncomfortable for Zvezda on Thursday.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. Valencia Basket

After winning three games in a row, Valencia (4-3) will look to strengthen its status as this season’s surprise package by overcoming a Virtus team (2-5) that is hoping to win consecutive games for the first time. Last week’s Italian derby victory over Milan was powered by outstanding defense and Virtus will need those qualities again to subdue an inspired Chris Jones, who has averaged 21.3 points and 6.0 assists per game during his team’s winning run. The league’s leading ball thief, Alessandro Pajola (2.1 steals per game) will be key to Virtus’s hopes of slowing down the visitors.

Zalgiris Kaunas vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

Zalgiris (4-3) will look to make it four home wins out of four against a Milan (3-4) team that has slipped into a three-game losing skid. Offensive production has been the problem for Coach Ettore Messina’s men, who rank next-to-worst in the competition with just 71.1 points per game – and just 64.0 points during the current losing run. Zalgiris has helped its cause by averaging 11.9 offensive rebounds per game, with Kevarrius Hayes accounting for 3.4 of those – second-best in the league.

FC Bayern Munich vs. Olympiacos Piraeus

After kickstarting its season with two wins in a row, Bayern (2-5) will aim to maintain its good feelings by overcoming a dangerous Olympiacos (5-2) which is perfect on the road so far this season. The Reds will hope the competition’s top performer Sasha Vezenkov (20 points, 8.3 rebounds, 26.1 PIR per game) can keep on firing and Bayern will feel that star performer Vladimir Lucic is overdue a big performance after only averaging 8.6 points per game through the first seven games.

Real Madrid vs. ALBA Berlin

After winning two games in a row despite several injury absences, Real (4-3) will aim to keep on rolling against an ALBA team (3-4) that needs to rediscover its early-season form after suffering four straight losses. These are the competition’s top two rebounding teams, with ALBA claiming 38.9 boards per game against Real’s 37.1. And the battle of giants will be particularly fierce between Walter Tavares and Christ Koumadje, who respectively rank first and second in blocked shots with 2.3 and 2.0 per night.

AS Monaco vs. Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz

It should be a festival of offensive basketball in the principality on Friday night as Monaco (5-2) meets Baskonia (4-3). The visitor is the competition’s highest-scoring team (89.7 points per game), while the host ranks fourth (83.0). Long-range shooting could be a key factor: Baskonia averages 12.3 three-pointers per game, more than any other team, led by Markus Howard with a league-leading average of 3.9 triples; Monaco, on the other hand, has a league-worst three-point conversion rate of 30.5%.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. Panathinaikos Athens

Table-topping Fenerbahce (6-1) is gunning for victory number seven against an emerging Panathinaikos (2-5), which had six different players scoring in double digits in last week’s big win over Baskonia. In-form Johnathan Motley was named Round 7’s co-MVP after pairing 25 points with 10 rebounds in the victory over Zvezda. On Friday he faces a strong challenge for inside dominance from another outstanding big man, Georgios Papagiannis, who has averaged 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in the last three games.

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

Two teams on the fringes of the playoffs zone meet in Belgrade as Partizan (3-4) hosts Maccabi (4-3). The visiting team has been dreadful on its travels so far this season, losing its two road games by 29 and 15 points, and needs to find defensive consistency after allowing 85.3 points per game, second-worst in the league. Partizan can call upon one of the competition’s hottest players, Mathias Lessort, who averages 12.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots as he heads into this week’s meeting with his former club.