The 2001-02 regular season saw 32 teams drawn into 4 groups of 8. Only the best 4 teams would advance to the next phase, the brand new Top 16, so competition was hard from the very beginning, guaranteeing thrilling games all over the continent. Benetton Treviso won Group A with an 11-3 record, edging Maccabi and Olympiakos, that finished with 10-4. Efes Pilsen almost reached the next round at 9-5. Defending champion Kinder Bologna dominated Group B with a 12-2 record. Barcelona, Ulker and Union Olimpija advanced. SuproLeague champion Panathinaikos won Group C also with a 12-2 record. Real Madrid, Skipper Bologna and CSKA Moscow survived a tough group in which Krka Novo Mesto and Pau-Orthez also kept their options alive until the final game. In Group D, Tau was first due to its tie-break advantage against AEK. Ural Great and Scavolini advanced in a three-way tie with Asvel, that just as Opel Skyliners in Group D, could not make it despite a 8-6 record. Alphonso Ford of Olympiakos was the regular season top scorer (24.6 ppg.), Mirsad Turkcan of CSKA its best rebounder (13.9 rpg.) and Michael Hawkins of Idea Slask led this phase in assists (5 apg.).

STANDINGS

GROUP A
	*Benetton Treviso	11-3	+64
	*Maccabi Elite	10-4	+80
	*Olympiakos	10-4	+107
	*Efes Pilsen	9-5	+27
	Unicaja	6-8	+2
	Slask Wroclaw	4-10	-60
	Alba Berlin	3-11	-88
	Spirou Charleroi	3-11	-132
*Qualified to Top 16

GROUP B
	*Kinder Bologna	12-2	+194
	*FC Barcelona	10-4	+161
	*Ulker	9-5	+53
	*Union Olimpija	9-5	+114
	Opel Skyliners	8-6	-23
	Zalgiris	5-9	-43
	Peristeri	3-11	-100
	London Towers	0-14	-356
*Qualified to Top 16

GROUP C
	*Panathinaikos	12-2	+103
	*Real Madrid	9-5	+88
	*Fortitudo Bologna	8-6	+42
	*CSKA Moscow	8-6	+32
	Krka Novo Mesto	7-7	+23
	Pau-Orthez	7-7	+12
	Buducnost	3-11	-149
	KK Zadar	2-12	-151
*Qualified to Top 16

GROUP D
	*Tau Ceramica	9-5	+162
	*AEK Athens	9-5	+50
	*Ural Great	8-6	+6
	*Scavolini Pesaro	8-6	-13
	Adecco Asvel	8-6	+12
	Partizan	6-8	-53
	Cibona	5-9	-55
	BC Oostende	3-11	-109
*Qualified to Top 16

POINTS
	A. Ford 24.6
	G. Giricek 22.7
	J. Lakovic 20.9
	G. Fucka 20.7
	V. Scepanovic 19.7

REBOUNDS
	M. Turkcan 13.9
	M. Skelin 9.7
	Q. Lollis 8.7
	M. Kakiouzis 8.7
	G. Fucka 8.3

ASSISTS
	M. Hawkins 5.0
	D. Phelps 4.0
	V. Karasev 4.0
	M. Popovic 4.0
	T. Edney 4.0

STEALS
	M. Ginobili 2.5
	M. Jaric 2.3
	R. Huggins 2.2
	D. Marcelic 2.2
	D. Phelps 2.2

BLOCKS
	G. Khizhniak 3.2
	M. Mikhailov 1.6
	E. Struelens 1.5
	M. Goree 1.5
	A. Savrasenko 1.2

FREE THROWS
	H. Mrazek 100%
	M. Smodis 100%
	J. Golemac 95.6%
	S. Petrov 94.4%
	S. Djordjevic 94.1%

2P SHOTS
	A. Capin 81.8%
	B. Sekulic 76.0%
	Z. Savic 73.4%
	D. Desy 70.8%
	S. Djordjevic 70.1%

3P SHOTS
	C. Pilutti 72.2%
	A. Papadatos 60.0%
	I. Iturbe 57.1%
	N. Canak 56.1%
	M. Brisker 55.1%