In a showdown between two teams on the outside of the playoff zone, TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz hosts Olympiacos Piraeus on Wednesday. Baskonia (13-13) has been on a roll recently with four straight wins. Olympiacos (11-15) has slumped with six consecutive defeats. Though the Reds have a winning record on the road this season (7-6), Baskonia is 8-5 on its home court.
Last time they met
Baskonia recorded a valuable road win by downing Olympiacos 76-90 in Round 11 in November. Zoran Dragic led the winners with 18 points and Pierria Henry added 17 points and 11 assists for Baskonia, which led 31-47 at halftime and never looked back. Georgios Printezis and Kostas Sloukas paced Olympiacos with 15 points apiece.
Marquee matchup
Rokas Giedraitis (11.5 ppg.) has found his shooting tough recently and is averaging 13.7 points on 50% from downtown (7 for 14) in his last three games. He will face a tough matchup in this game against Shaquielle McKissic (11.2 ppg.), who has been worth 17.3 points in Olympiacos's last four games, during which he's made at least 3 threes three times. Their showdown on the wings will be important to this game's outcome.
Keys to victory: Baskonia
It is always tougher to win on the road when getting outrebounded and that's good for Baskonia, which has been a superior rebounding team this season. To date, Baskonia has outrebounded its opponents by 3.5 per game on average, while Olympiacos has been outrebounded by 1.2. What's more, Baskonia is third in the league in offensive boards at 10.9 per game. With Hassan Martin sidelined for the Reds, Baskonia will look to Achile Polonara, Tonye Jekiri and Moustapha Fall to control the glass in what could be the key to victory.
Keys to victory: Olympiacos
Turnovers have been an issue for both teams this season; they each average 14.3 per game, which is tied for fourth-most in the league. Baskonia has made up for its turnovers by leading the league in steals (8.0 spg.) and ranking second in assists (19.9 apg.). Olympiacos will not only need to cut down on its turnovers in this game, but increased defensive pressure on the Baskonia backcourt could also make a big difference.