Match Preview
Besiktas and Valencia are the only two teams in the EuroLeague to have claimed two victories on the road so far. The Turkish side are considered underdogs heading into this clash against Hapoel Tel Aviv, who are searching for consistency.
Hapoel Tel Aviv Searching for Consistency
After starting their EuroLeague campaign with a surprising 86-84 loss to Bayern Munich, Hapoel Tel Aviv responded with two consecutive victories, beating Crvena Zvezda 81-80 and Real Madrid 102-98 as underdogs in both matchups.
Their two-game winning streak came to an end last week in Spain, where they were unable to slow down Valencia and lost 93-82, missing seven of their 17 free-throw attempts. Antonio Blakeney was outstanding, scoring 30 points and knocking down 8 of 11 three-point attempts.
Dimitris Itoudis' side returned to winning ways last weekend, beating Hapoel Beer Sheva 95-82 in the Israeli Premier League, with most of their star players rested. Daniel Oturu was named man of the match after scoring 20 points.
Besiktas Strong on the Road
Besiktas have looked competitive since returning to the elite division after 13 years, securing two victories in four rounds, with both wins interestingly coming on the road.
After narrowly losing their opener to Valencia 96-94, the Black Eagles caused an upset by beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 109-93 on a neutral court in Belgrade. However, they failed to find their rhythm and suffered a convincing 95-82 home loss to Barcelona in the third round.
Last week, Dusan Alimpijevic's side faced Baskonia in Vitoria. They trailed by a couple of points at halftime but ground out a 92-84 victory, shooting an impressive 51%. Scottie Wilbekin was the hero with 24 points.