EuroLeague playoffs race: who will make Top 8? / News - Basketnews.com

With two weeks left until EuroLeague's regular season, Fenerbahce got dragged into the EuroLeague playoffs race.

Credit: T.Adanali, A.Arrizabalaga, S.Stevanovic - Getty Images, D.Lukšta | A.Zaikauskas/BasketNews illustration Credit T.Adanali, A.Arrizabalaga, S.Stevanovic - Getty Images, D.Lukšta | A.Zaikauskas/BasketNews illustration

With two weeks left until EuroLeague's regular season finale, there are at least a few unknowns left.

One of them is probably the most important – who will make the playoffs?

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (19-13), Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (18-14), Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (18-14), and Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (16-15) hold the best record among 6 teams fighting for what seems like four remaining spots.

Crvena Meridianbet Belgrade (15-17), EA7 Emporio Milan (14-18), Valencia Basket (14-18), and Virtus Segafredo Bologna (13-19) were officially eliminated after Round 32.

With the help of Darius Garuolis, BasketNews takes a look at the EuroLeague playoff races.

According to Darius Garuolis data, Zalgiris have the easiest remaining schedule among all remaining teams that still fight for the playoffs berth.

This data shows the winning percentage of remaining opponents that a particular team will face, including their opponents' home and away forms.

For example, if we know that Maccabi is a great team at home (14 wins out of 19), the data shows that the club which hosts Maccabi will have a greater chance of winning.

Schedule difficulty for EuroLeague playoffs contenders

Team Opponents win % Remaining games Home Away Zalgiris 40.6 1 1 Efes 59.4 1 1 Baskonia 54.8 1 1 Partizan 50.0 1 1 Maccabi 68.8 1 1 Fenerbahce 48.4 1 1

10. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (15-16)

Efes won both double-round week games, securing victories against Olimpia Milan and Virtus.

However, the back-to-back EuroLeague champions find themselves in a really difficult spot, with their chances of reaching the Top 8 looking slim.

Efes would need to see Baskonia losing both games against ASVEL and Olympiacos, while Zalgiris must suffer at least one loss against Maccabi or Bayern.

After a loss against ALBA, head coach Ergin Ataman didn't show much hope.

"Now, 99 percent we will be out of the playoffs," Ataman admitted after defeat.

Efes are yet to play Fenerbahce and Monaco. Far from easiest opponents and even then, both victories might not be enough.

9. Zalgiris Kaunas (17-15)

Zalgiris keep continuing to do what they're supposed to do. The Lithuanian powerhouse beat Monaco and Valencia in the double-round week, strengthening their chances of reaching the playoffs.

However, Baskonia have a tie-break advantage over Zalgiris, therefore, Kazys Maksvytis squad remains in 9th seed.

In the upcoming week, Zalgiris will host Maccabi in a crucial game. Zalgiris will likely need to win both remaining games, but even then it might not be enough.

8. Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (17-15)

After suffering a 3-game losing streak, Baskonia have no business throwing away their ticket to the playoffs.

In the double-round week, Baskonia beat ALBA and blew out Fenerbahce, clinching another tie-break. The Spanish team has secured tie-breaks against all EuroLeague playoffs contenders except Partizan, which gives them a massive advantage.

7. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (18-14)

Before facing a 3 home games stretch against Olympiacos, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, many thought it will be a make-or-break moment for Partizan's season.

Zeljko Obradovic's squad finished this stretch with a 2-1 record, losing only to Barca and massively improved their chances of reaching the playoffs.

In their remaining games, Partizan will face Monaco and Panathinaikos. Both wins will definitely clinch a spot in the playoffs, but Partizan should be good with at least one victory in two remaining contests.

6. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (18-14)

What happened to Fenerbahce? Dimitris Itoudis' squad suffered 4 losses in the last 5 games, and there's a legitimate concern that Fener might not make the playoffs.

When it seemed that Fenerbahce were in control against Baskonia by having a 9-point lead, the Turkish powerhouse completely collapsed, losing the 4th quarter 11-32.

To make things worse, the remaining schedule is far from easy. Fenerbahce will finish the regular season with games against Anadolu Efes and Crvena Zvezda. Even though Zvezda were eliminated from playoffs contention, there's no doubt they will want to finish their EuroLeague campaign with a win at home.

What seemed a matter of time a couple of weeks ago, now Fenerbahce are fully dragged into a bloodbath of the EuroLeague playoffs race.

5. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (19-13)

At the moment, Maccabi is a team to beat. The Israeli powerhouse holds a 6-game winning streak and all the cards to reach the Top 8. However, Baskonia's win over Fenerbahce delayed the celebrations.

Moreover, the remaining schedule for Maccabi is not the greatest. They are to face Zalgiris in a sold-out Zalgirio arena and Real Madrid.

There's a scenario in which Maccabi wouldn't qualify with 19 wins. In case Maccabi, Zalgiris, and Baskonia finish with 19 wins, the Israeli team would be out if they lose to Zalgiris by 2 points or more.

Sounds crazy but it's this year's EuroLeague for you!

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It seems that 19 is definitely a safe number, but knowing how many teams are still in the race and how complicated head-to-head matchups could become, 18 victories could be enough.

Anyway, the upcoming EuroLeague weeks will be wild!

EuroLeague standings

Pos Team GM W L HW HL STR 1 Olympiacos Piraeus 32 23 9 13 3 +2 2 FC Barcelona 32 22 10 12 4 +4 3 Real Madrid 32 22 10 12 4 -1 4 AS Monaco 32 21 11 13 3 +1 5 Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 32 19 13 14 2 +6 6 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 32 18 14 11 5 -2 7 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 32 18 14 11 5 +1 8 Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 32 17 15 13 3 +2 9 Zalgiris Kaunas 32 17 15 12 4 +2 10 Anadolu Efes Istanbul 32 16 16 10 6 +2 11 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 32 15 17 9 6 +3 12 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 32 14 18 8 8 -2 13 Valencia Basket 32 14 18 8 8 -3 14 Virtus Segafredo Bologna 32 13 19 8 8 -4 15 FC Bayern Munich 32 11 21 8 8 -5 16 Panathinaikos Athens 32 11 21 8 8 -1 17 ALBA Berlin 32 9 23 5 11 -2 18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 32 8 24 4 13 -11 Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.