Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana is the hottest team in the 7DAYS EuroCup, and its team captain Jaka Blazic is Cedevita's hottest player.

Who's hot: Jaka Blazic, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana

The All-EuroCup guard ranks just outside the top 10 in scoring with 15.6 points per game and is 10th with an average PIR of 17.9 in addition to 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals.

Blazic has delivered throughout the season, even during the first 10 games of the season, a stretch during which Cedevita won just three games. However, Cedevita has been a different team ever since and Blazic is the main protagonist in that success.

Cedevita has won each of his last six contests to improve its record to 9-7 and in the last five rounds, only three players have scored more points than Blazic. In each of those games, Blazic scored at least 14 points, knocked down multiple three-pointers and accumulated a PIR of 16 or more.

The highlights include 23 points on 4-for-11 three-point shooting with 6 rebounds and 24 PIT in Round 14 home win over Buducnost VOI Podgorica and 18 points on 4-for-9 three-point shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 20 PIR in road triumph over Virtus Segafredo Bologna.

What has changed the most is Blazic's shooting efficiency. The Cedevita guard has averaged nearly 2 points more during the six-game winning streak than he did before it and he also slightly improved his average PIR. However, Blazic significantly improved his percentages from all ranges. That is especially true for his two-point shooting, where he went from making 34.4% of his two-point attempts to 59.4%. Blazic is also shooting the ball better and making more free throws. 

He has been Cedevita's top scorer during the winning streak, leading the charge in turning the team into an offensive juggernaut with 98.0 points per game during its six-game run. Blazic and Cedevita will try to continue the streak on Wednesday when they welcome four-time champion and the second-placed team in Group B, Valencia Basket.

Jaka Blazic - Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (photo Alessandro Scarpa - Reyer) - EC21

Umana Reyer Venice takes on Promitheas Patras in Round 17 and Reyer's Victor Sanders has another chance to play against Promitheas's Kendrick Ray. 

Major matchup: Reyer's Sanders vs. Promitheas's Ray 

Despite his team's road loss in Round 16, Sanders comes off his best game of the season with a career-high 24 points on 7-of-12 three-point shooting and a PIR of 22, matching his personal-best effort. He is averaging 7.1 points and 1.3 steals this season for a PIR average of 4.5. Above all, Sanders is his team's main perimeter defender and should be ready to go against Ray. Sanders played well against Promitheas in Round 8 with 13 points and 4 steals in his team's 68-78 victory. 

Major matchup: Cedevita's Auguste vs. Valencia's Rivero

Auguste comes off a stellar performance against Umana Reyer Venice last week in which he made all of his 9 two-point shots en route to 20 points, 8 rebounds and a PIR of 26. He ranks third in two-point shooting percentage (73.3% 2FG), averaging 8.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and a PIR of 10.3 in 19 minutes per night as a part-time starter. He led Cedevita past Valencia 95-97 in Round 8 with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting inside the arc, 6 rebounds and a PIR of 9. Auguste should be ready for a physical battle in the paint.

Rivero is one of the most athletic big men in the competition and is ready to prove it at Arena Stozice. 'El Papi' is averaging 11.7 points on 69.7% two-point shooting, 4.9 rebounds, 4.0 fouls drawn for a PIR average of 14.4. Per 40-minutes, he ranks third in offensive rebounds (5.3) and sixth in PIR (29.2). Rivero had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a PIR of 9 in Round 9 against Cedevita despite battling severe foul trouble. Rivero knows how to use his body in the paint and should be ready for this very interesting matchup. 

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Valencia Basket (2022-03-30T18:00:00.000Z)

Zach Auguste - Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (photo Miguel Angel Polo - Valencia) - EC21

Hamburg Towers hosts Dolomiti Energia Trento in Round 15 and Jaylon Brown and Cam Reynolds will test their scoring skills against each other. 

Major matchup: Hamburg's Jaylon Brown vs. Trento's Reynolds 

Brown is Hamburg's second-best scorer with 16.0 points per game, which is 10th in the competition. He is fourth in three-point attempts (7.5 per game) and has made 39.0% of them. Brown also averages 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and a PIR of 11.9. He led Hamburg to a 90-99 road victory against Trento in Round 9. He finished that game with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in less than 20 minutes. Brown made the difference with back-to-back triples to seal the outcome in the next-to-last minute. 

Reynolds will look to pace Trento in its final EuroCup road showdown this season. He is averaging 13.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 13 games, all of them as a starter, for a PIR average of 9.0. Reynolds, however, has struggled to shoot the ball both inside (33.3% 2FG) and outside the arc (34.4% 3FG) until now. He had one of his best games against Hamburg with 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting from downtown, 3 assists and a PIR of 13. Reynolds will try to use his size and athleticism against Hamburg.

Hamburg Towers v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2022-03-30T17:30:00.000Z)

Jaylon Brown - Hamburg Towers (photo Trento) - EC21

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica looks for third place in Group C and Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse fights for a playoff spot. Expect a big battle in the paint between Willie Reed and Alexandre Chassang. 

Major matchup: Buducnost's Reed vs. Bourg's Chassang

Reed was an All-EuroCup First Team selection last season and is also playing well this season, averaging 11.9 points on 58.8% two-point shooting, 6.2 rebounds and a PIR of 13.7 in 12 games this season. He is ranked seventh in offensive rebounding per 40 minutes (4.7). Reed led Buducnost to an 82-86 road victory against Bourg in Round 8 with 15 points, 8 rebounds and a PIR of 23 in 21 minutes off the bench. Reed will try to use his experience, power and post skills to dominate down low. 

Chassang played well against Buducnost in Round 9, posting 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for a career-high PIR of 20. He has been very efficient this season, averaging 7.0 points on 50.0% three-point shooting, 2.8 rebounds and a PIR of 6.5 in less than 20 minutes per night. Chassang is one of the reasons Bourg is the best three-point shooting team in the last eight EuroCup seasons (43.3% 3FG). Bringing Reed out of the paint with his shots from downtown should be one of Chassang's main weapons.

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2022-03-30T17:00:00.000Z)

Willie Reed - Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (photo Jacques Cormareche - Bourg) - EC21

Lietkabelis Panevezys and Turk Telekom Ankara meet again in Round 15, giving a chance to Dovydas Giedraitis and Anthony Clemmons to face each other. 

Major matchup: Lietkabelis's Giedraitis vs. Turk Telekom's Clemmons

At age 21, Giedraitis is in his first EuroCup season and becoming one of the most exciting young players to follow in the competition. He is averaging 8.9 points on 38.5% three-point shooting and 1.9 assists for a PIR average of 5.7. Giedraitis tallied 5 points, 4 assists and a PIR of 6 in his team's Round 8 game against Turk Telekom. It was just his third game in the competition. Giedraitis is a team-oriented combo guard who puts defensive pressure on his opponent. 

Clemmons should use his experience and explosiveness against Giedraitis. He is averaging 11.9 points on 42.6% three-point shooting, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 11 games this season for a PIR average of 15.0. He helped Turk Telekom beat Lietkabelis 65-60 in Round 8, finishing that game with 11 points, 4 assists, 6 fouls drawn and a PIR of 16. Clemmons is used to doing a little bit of everything, helping Alex Perez with the point guard duties or creating advantages on offense due to his one-on-one skills and he figures to have a big role again this week. 

Lietkabelis Panevezys v Turk Telekom Ankara (2022-03-30T16:00:00.000Z)

Dovydas Giedraitis - Lietkabelis Panevezys (photo Karolio Kavolelio - Lietkabelis) EC21

Frutti Extra Bursaspor qualified for the EuroCup Playoffs by downing ratiopharm Ulm 74-86 Tuesday thanks to an impressive first-quarter surge.

Bursaspor played a near-perfect first quarter 

Ulm had several players sidelined, including its two main centers, Cristiano Felicio and Philipp Herkenhoff. Coach Dusan Alimpijevic's game plan was based on looking for Kevarrius Hayes, who used his size, experience and athleticism to make the difference in the paint. Bursaspor was physical from the start of the game with dunks by David Dudzinski and Hayes. That was the start of a 3-14 run which Hayes capped with a three-point play. 

Bursaspor kept looking for Hayes and Dudzinski who kept shining for the visitors. And when the defense adjusted, Onuralp Bitim stepped up with back-to-back three-pointers. By the time Derek Needham made a buzzer-beating jumper, Bursaspor led 15-32 after 10 minutes. 

Bursaspor shines in the opening 10 minutes

Bursaspor connected on 10 of 11 two-pointers (90.9%), 3 of 5 three-pointers (60%) and all of its 3 free throws attempts in the opening 10 minutes. It also finished the first quarter with 3 blocks, 8 defensive rebounds, 7 assists and just one turnover. At that point, Bursaspor had a team PIR of 48 compared to Ulm's 5. 

Ulm trailed the rest of the night after that. Hayes had 11 of his 25 points in the first quarter and added 11 rebounds for a double-double and 6 blocks for the 2021-22 EuroCup-high by any player. And Bursaspor cruised to a big win, its fourth in a row, to open the door to the knock-out stage. 

Tarik Sezgun - Frutti Extra Bursaspor (photo Larry Langer - Ulm) - EC21-RS17

ratiopharm Ulm v Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2022-03-29T17:30:00.000Z)

Joventut Badalona cruised to a 97-79 home victory against Slask Wroclaw to finish the regular season with a competition-best 12-4 record thanks to the stellar play of its big men.

Joventut's frontcourt made the difference 

It was a close game for 14 minutes as Slask managed to hang around as was trailing 31-29. Joventut needed answers and found them through its frontcourt. Vladimir Brodziansky made his trademark jump hook, Ante Tomic scored in the low post and Derek Willis did a little bit of everything, banking in a close shot and adding a put-back layup and a jumper. 

That trio helped Joventut build a double-digit margin, 48-35, at halftime. All of Joventut's frontcourt players had important moments in the game - Tomic scored a lot early, Willis extended his team's gap before halftime, then Simon Birgander and Brodziansky dominated in the second half. 

Ante Tomic, Simon Birgander and 2 others Highlights vs. Slask Wroclaw, 03/29/2022

Joventut relies on its big men against Slask

Their importance was shown in the stats at the end of the game. Birgander, Brodziansky, Willis and Tomic combined for 49 points - and all of them scored in double digits. Together they shot 18 for 22 on two-point shots, a fantastic 81.8% inside the arc. They found a perfect complement in Albert Ventura, who had an on-fire moment early in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 16 points in as many minutes. He made all 3 of his shots inside the arc and 3 of 5 from downtown. 

Now Joventut can look ahead knowing it can rely on its frontcourt's expert combination of experience, power and effectiveness in the knock-out rounds.

Simon Birgander - Joventut Badalona - (photo David Grau - Joventut) EC21-RS17

Joventut Badalona v Slask Wroclaw (2022-03-29T19:00:00.000Z)

Lahaou Konate is not known as an offensive force, but he stepped out of character and guided Boulogne Metropolitans 92 to a 74-83 victory over MoraBanc Andorra with a career-high 19 points.

Konate stepped up offensively in Andorra 

The 30-year-old French forward has made a name for himself in Europe at the defensive end. But on Tuesday, he drained 5 three-pointers in scoring 19 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal for a performance index rating of 25. In addition to his personal best in points and triples made, the PIR was also a new career-high for Konate, who had previously had 14 points and an index rating of 19 against Hamburg Towers in Round 14 a couple of weeks ago.

Konate was feeling it early against Andorra with back-to-back three-pointers midway through the first quarter. He added another triple early in the second quarter after Andorra had trimmed a double-digit deficit to just one point as part of a 5-15 run.

Lahaou Konate scored a career-high 19 points against Andorra 

In the fourth quarter, Konate knocked down a jumper and three-pointer early once again after Andorra had pulled within 1. And he ended up being the game-winner when he made a driving layup for a 70-78 lead and then knocked down a dagger three-pointer at the end of the shot clock for a 72-81 cushion with just 68 seconds left.

Konate’s only two double-digit scoring games in the EuroCup this season have come this month. With the knock-out rounds just around the corner, maybe it's the perfect time for Konate to take on a bigger scoring role for his team.

Lahaou Konate - Boulogne Metropolitans 92 (photo Dragana Stjepanovic - Partizan) - EC21-RS21

MoraBanc Andorra v Boulogne Metropolitans 92 (2022-03-29T18:00:00.000Z)