Real Madrid-Fenerbahce: EuroLeague playoff place in sight
The Whites could be the first team to qualify for the title play-offs if they beat the Turkish outfit at the WiZink Center (8:45pm CET).
Real Madrid host Fenerbahce at the WiZink Center in round 28 of the EuroLeague this evening. Chus Mateo's boys, who top the competition standings, could clinch mathematical qualification for the playoffs today with a win against the Turks, who they lead by six victories with seven games to go. The madridistas will also be aiming to equal their best ever Regular Season, which stands at 23 wins in the 2016/17 and 2022/23 seasons.
A huge game is in store at the WiZink Center. Madrid will be looking to delight their fans once again and get back to winning ways at home, where they have won 13 of 14 games. The team is within touching distance of securing a place in the playoffs. Achieving the home-court factor will be the next step. Madrid are currently five wins ahead of Virtus Bologna, who are in fifth place.
Fenerbahce are currently in seventh place, but are only two wins away from second place, meaning that it will be a stern test for our team. Jasikevicius' team are physically strong, rarely committing turnovers and boasting a strong outside threat: Calathes and Madar at the point guard position, and the Wilbekin-Dorsey-Guduric trio on the wings. They possess the second best three-point percentage in the EuroLeague (38.4), just three tenths more than Madrid (38.1). On the inside, the versatility of Hayes-Davis and three big centres in Papagiannis, Sanli and Motley deserve special mention.
Chus Mateo's charges will need to take advantage of the form Yabusele is in (21.2 in PIR in the last four games), and Tavares, who is getting better and better (double-double against Morabanc Andorra with 14 points and 12 rebounds). However, Madrid certainly have plenty of depth in their squad. Musa is the team's top scorer (13.7 points).
Victory on the last five Turkish visits
This will be the 35th time the two teams have gone head-to-head in the EuroLeague. In the first leg, Madrid lost in overtime 100-99 in a game where Campazzo failed to be rewarded for his 33 points. But on our home court, Fenerbahce have been defeated in their last five visits. Madrid are three wins away from a record in a Regular Season in the current format. This evening, they will be hoping for their 23rd.