The game everyone is waiting for

20.03.2018

Cory Higgins and Kyle Hines (photo: M. Serbin, cskabasket.com)

CSKA fans have many reasons to be anxious to see every game against Olympiacos. The team also have something to prove.

Pre-game breakdown

The Army Men can clinch first place in the EuroLeague Regular Season by defeating any of their next 4 opponents.

Pavel Korobkov and Mikhail Kulagin remain out for CSKA.

Dimitris Agravanis is likely out for the season with an ACL injury. Kostas Papanikolaou is also expected to miss the next game due to foot injury.

Olympiacos is desperate to bounce back from a tough home loss to Barcelona last week. The Piraeus side won at Real Madrid and at Panathinaikos in its last two road games and will be keen to claim another big-name scalp in a battle of giants.

Pre-game quotes

Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:

It will be another tough road game for us. We have to be focused and determined whole game because Olympiacos is a team that has many weapons, and this is the way we prepare for it.

Kyle Hines, CSKA center:

It is going to be a big game for both teams. We are coming out important road victory, Olympiacos plays well on the road recently. We are looking forward to keep the momentum, to bring it to playoffs. It’s the end of the regular season, we have a week of back-to-back games and all teams will try hard. We want to take it as a statement win and to finish the regular season on a high note.

“Relativity” connections

Olympiacos coach Giannis Sfairopoulos was an assistant coach with CSKA Moscow during the 2011-12 season, during which CSKA reached the EuroLeague championship game, but lost to Olympiacos. Three current CSKA players remain from that squad: Nikita Kurbanov, Andrey Vorontsevich and Victor Khryapa.

Kyle Hines spent two seasons with Olympiacos from 2011 through 2013 and helped the Reds win back-to-back Euroleague titles. He was a teammate there of four current Olympiacos players: Vassilis Spanoulis, Georgios Printezis, Kostas Papanikolaou and Vangelis Mantzaris.

Spanoulis spent four seasons (2005-06, 2007-10) with Panathinaikos when Dimitris Itoudis and Andreas Pistiolis worked on the team’s coaching staff.

Leo Westermann and Olympiacos forward Kim Tillie were teammates at ASVEL Villerbaunne for two seasons, from 2010 to 2012. The two also teamed up playing for the French national team.

Westermann and Olympiacos center Nikola Milutinov were teammates at Partizan Belgrade for two seasons, from 2012 through 2014.

Othello Hunter played with Olympiacos for two seasons, from 2014 to 2016, and was a teammate of most players on the Reds’ current roster.

CSKA forward Nikita Kurbanov was a teammate with Olympiacos sharpshooter Janis Strelnieks; the two played together at Spartak St. Petersburg during the 2012-13 season.

Olympiacos guard Brian Roberts and Hines were teammates at Brose Bamberg during the 2010-11 season.

Important numbers

Coach Dimitris Itoudis has used 11 different players in the CSKA starting lineup so far this season. No player has started every game.

Nando De Colo has scored in double figures in 11 of his last 12 EuroLeague games.

De Colo has recorded at least 1 steal in five straight EuroLeague games.

Nando De Colo is ranked second among qualified EuroLeague players this season in average performance index rating with 20.3 per game, third in scoring with 16.8 points per game, tied for fourth with 1.4 steals per game, third in free-throw accuracy at 95.1%.

De Colo is the EuroLeague career leader in free throw accuracy at 93.64%.

Cory Higgins has scored in double figures in nine of his last 10 EuroLeague games.

Higgins has recorded a performance index rating in double figures in 10 of his last 11 EuroLeague games.

Nikita Kurbanov has made 19 consecutive free throws in EuroLeague games.

Sergio Rodriguez is second in the EuroLeague this season with 2.7 three-pointers made per game.

Sergio Rodriguez is seventh on the all-time EuroLeague assists charts with 883. Next on the list is his former Real Madrid teammate Sergio Llull with 902.

Kyle Hines is fourth on the all-time EuroLeague charts with 435 offensive rebounds for his career. He needs 4 more to catch Ioannis Bourousis (439) for third place.

Hines needs 1 more rebound to become the 13th player in competition history with 1,000 boards.

Hines is fourth all-time with 180 career blocks. Anadolu Efes center Bryant Dunston is third with 181 blocks and counting.

Othello Hunter is fifth in the league in offensive rebounds with 2.5 per game.

Khryapa is ranked eighth on the all-time charts with 241 career steals. Khryapa’s former teammate J.R. Holden is seventh with 247.

Khryapa is seventh on the all-time charts with 161 blocks for his career. He needs 1 more to catch Mirza Begic, who has 162 in sixth place.

Past matchups

Short dossier

Olympiacos Pireaus, Greece
Founded: 1925 (1938 – basketball section)
Colors: white, red
Homecourt: Peace and Friendship Stadium (10.845)
Presidents: Panagiotis and Giorgios Angelopoulos
Head Coach: Giannis Sfairopoulos
Website: www.olympiacosbc.gr
Trophy case:
- 3-time Euroleague champions (1997, 2012, 13);
- Intercontinental Cup winners (2013);
- 11-time Greek champions (1949, 1960, 1976, 1978, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2012, 2015);
- 9-time Greek Cup winner (1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1994, 1997, 2002, 2010, 2011)