Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse is currently sitting atop the standings in Group A of the 7DAYS EuroCup with a record of 7-3, but it could lose its place as the sole leader on Tuesday night, with the 6-4 Umana Reyer Venice eyeing a big road win at Ekinox.
When these two met in Venice in Round 2, Bourg leaned on a 29-point fourth-quarter outburst to down Reyer and advance to 2-0. Reyer, meanwhile, found itself 0-2 after coming into the season with a lot of hopes and expectations.
Now, heading into this Round 11 matchup, both teams recorded wins last week after suffering back-to-back defeats heading into the new year break. Last Wednesday, Bourg went on the road and beat U-BT Cluj-Napoca 79-88, capitalizing on Joventut Badalona's defeat one night before to open up a one-game lead at the top of Group A, whereas Reyer got back on track with an 89-69 win at home to ratiopharm Ulm, which saw it rise to second spot.
Isiaha Mike was a key factor in the first meeting between Bourg and Reyer, finishing with a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double, and he enters Tuesday's game in good form after averaging 14.0 points in his last three contests. Jordan Floyd and James Palmer both got into double digits in scoring in Round 2, combining for 31 points, and they began 2023 with 16 and 12 points, respectively, against Cluj.
The hosts can also call upon Frantz Massenat, who has scored an average of 12.3 points in his last four games. That average would be even better if Massenat had not gone scoreless in Round 9, as he has scored at least 13 points in Rounds 7, 8 and 10.
Reyer, on the other hand, saw Mitchell Watt and Jayson Granger impress in its home defeat to Bourg, with the former scoring 19 points and the latter contributing 15. Since then, Reyer has gone 6-2 in the EuroCup to rise up the standings, yet it has relied on a series of players coming to the fore on different nights.
In Round 10, for example, Reyer had four players score a double-digit number of points – Watt (19), Derek Willis (17), Amedeo Tessitori (15) and Jordan Parks (14) – but it also has the likes of Marco Spissu, Allerik Freeman, Michael Bramos and Granger who can catch fire on offense.
Curiously, Bourg has a better record on the road than it does at Ekinox, as it is 4-1 on its travels and 3-2 at home. It also lost its last home game against Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in Round 9 and is 1-2 in its last three contests there. Conversely, Reyer has gone 4-2 at home and 2-2 away from Venice, while it lost on its last road trip, which came against Joventut Badalona in Round 8.
The two teams' contrasting fortunes should make for a fascinating contest, with Bourg having the chance to extend its lead at the top of the standings while Reyer can join Tuesday's hosts as co-leaders with a win. History indicates that Bourg is the favorite, with a 4-1 all-time record against Reyer, but this is the EuroCup, where anything can happen. Make sure to tune in from 19:30 CET to see how it plays out!
