Eighthfinals predictions: Dreamland Gran Canaria vs. Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul

The defending champs and their ambitious visitors have both been up-and-down, making this matchup harder to predict.

It's do-or-die time under the new format in the BKT EuroCup. The postseason's first round, the eighthfinals, is a win-or-go-home affair, carrying all the drama and pressure that suggests. With that in mind, the EuroCupbasketball.com editors who have been following the regular season round-by-round until now are ready to put their expertise on the line now by weighing in on which team they believe will win each elimination game. Check out their choices for Wednesday's eighthfinal matchup, Dreamland Gran Canaria vs. Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul.

Gran Canaria gets back on track

by Geoff Gillingham

This is a meeting of two teams who lost form at the worst possible time. Gran Canaria lost three of its last four EuroCup games to drop to third in Group B and missing out on a direct route to the quarterfinals, while Besiktas suffered three straight defeats to close the regular season sixth in Group A. That makes this game even more unpredictable, but I believe Gran Canaria simply has too much quality and know-how for Besiktas. The large majority of this Gran Canaria squad won the EuroCup last season, so I would be stunned if we saw anything other than a Gran Canaria win here. That's not to say it will be easy, though, as Besiktas can count on some really impressive players in Jonah Mathews, Angel Delgado and Derek Needham, as well as Kyle Allman and Matthew Mitchell. But, Gran Canaria has a plethora of options who have been there and done it: Andrew Albicy, A.J. Slaughter, Ferran Bassas, Nico Brussino, Miquel Salvo, John Shurna… As they say, never count out the champ – and I'm not about to start here. My pick: Gran Canaria.

Besiktas will stop a historic quest

by Igor Petrinovic

Reigning champion Gran Canaria, on a quest to become the first back-to-back EuroCup winner, had massive struggles in the second leg of the regular season. After starting 10-0, the islanders lost six of their last eight games, including the last three at home. No, Besiktas did not finish the regular season in style, either, losing its last three games by more than 20 points. But this Besiktas team has won four road games this season, including the season-opener in Badalona, and it is the only team to have beaten Paris Basketball, holding it to 63 points in the French capital. I think that head coach Dusan Alimpijevic and his team will put that disappointing end to the regular season behind them and be ready to go all-in in this one. They enjoy being discounted and underdogs. And whether it will be by stopping Gran Canaria's offense, or putting its own offense, which scored 88 or more points in three of the last four road games, on display, I believe Besiktas will find a way to pull out a big upset and end Gran Canaria's historic quest. My pick: Besiktas.

The champs advance

by Frankie Sachs

Champs don't go down easily. And lest we forget, Gran Canaria is the defending champion. It's not so long ago that Granca was 10-0 and the clear favorite to win its group. There is no denying that since Round 11, things have not been the same. However, there is no denying the talent, depth and experience Gran Canaria has. Respect must be paid to 2021-22 EuroCup Coach of the Year Dusan Alimpijevic and to his Besiktas stars such as Derek Needham, Kyle Allman and Angel Delgado. Even so, Gran Canaria seems to be in better shape; it defeated Turkish Airlines EuroLeague side Baskonia Gran Canaria 98-80 at home on Sunday, while Besiktas lost in the Turkish League. Add in the home-court advantage and I can see only one outcome. My pick: Gran Canaria.

Gran Canaria holds most of the cards

by Frank Lawlor

As stated, these two wildly up-and-down teams make for difficult prognosticating. Gran Canaria's swoon since midseason was unexpected, but Besiktas's best wins came before the end of November, too. Besiktas fell hard of late, but against powerful opponents, much like Gran Canaria. Falling back to depth and experience, the hosts have edge in numbers, with no less than 12 players putting up 5.6 points per game or more. The visitors have a compact but powerful group, with four double-digit scorers to Gran Canaria's one, led by power player Angel Delgado, who can often dominate inside, which would change this game. If he can't dominate, however, especially on the offensive glass, Gran Canaria's breadth of contributors and tested veterans like Andrew Albicy, AJ Slaughter, John Shurna and Miquel Salvo make predicting an upset here a bridge too far, at least for me. My pick: Gran Canaria.