Pre-game breakdown
Unofficial “CSKA Days” has started in Madrid. The football team comes here on December 12. Our team is ready to check the ground on the basketball court.
The Red-Blues arrived with dozen of players available. Andrey Vorontsevich and Ivan Ukhov are helping the Russian National Team. Sergio Rodriguez is out with minor injury – he stayed in Moscow for rehab.
Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez are questionable for Real due to injuries.
Pre-game quotes
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:
We play against defending champions, the team that plays good basketball this year and leads the EuroLeague in many statistical categories. They cover each and every position with their deep roster and aggressive style of playing. So we definitely expect a difficult game.
Othello Hunter, CSKA center:
We feel good, we had a long week of practices. Mentally we are focused after the loss we had. I think we are ready to go. It’s special for me because we play a team that plays well. It’s just basketball in the end of the day. We will try to win.
“Relativity” connections
CSKA guard Sergio Rodriguez played for Madrid from 2010 to 2016, and in those six seasons made four Final Four appearances, won the 2015 title and was named 2014 EuroLeague MVP. He was a teammate of current Madrid players Sergio Llull and Felipe Reyes for the entire time there, played five seasons under Coach Pablo Laso and was a teammate for five seasons with Rudy Fernandez and Jaycee Carroll. Rodriguez also played alongside Facundo Campazzo, Gustavo Ayon, Trey Thompkins and Jeffrey Taylor during his years in Madrid.
CSKA big man Othello Hunter played for Real Madrid in 2016-17, helped the team compile the best regular season record and reach the Final Four.
Madrid sharpshooter Klemen Prepelic played under current CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis at Banvit Bandirma during the 2013-14 season.
CSKA forward Semen Antonov and Madrid’s Trey Thompkins were teammates at Nizhny Novgorod when the club made its EuroLeague debut in 2014-15.
Big men Nikita Kurbanov of CSKA and Anthony Randolph of Real Madrid were teammates at Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar during the 2014-15 season.
Important numbers
Coach Itoudis has used 10 different players in CSKA’s starting lineup this season; only Othello Hunter has started in every EuroLeague game.
Andrei Lopatin is the only player on the CSKA roster without previous EuroLeague experience.
Sergio Rodriguez has made at least 1 three-point shot in each of his last 16 EuroLeague games.
Rodriguez is fifth in EuroLeague history with 984 career assists. Barcelona point guard Thomas Heurtel is fourth with 1,057 assists and counting.
Sergio Rodriguez ranks fifth in the EuroLeague in assists this season with 5.6 per game.
Cory Higgins has scored in double figures in 16 consecutive EuroLeague games. He is ranked third in the league in scoring this season with 16.6 points per game.
Alec Peters has made multiple three-pointers in six of his last seven games. He is shooting 18 for 29 from downtown (62.1%) over that stretch.
Nando De Colo has made 17 consecutive free throws in EuroLeague games. He leads all qualified players this season in free throw accuracy at 96.7% and he is the EuroLeague career leader at 93.80%.
Nando De Colo is ranked fifth in the league in scoring this season with 15.0 points per game.
Will Clyburn has scored at least 10 points in six straight EuroLeague games.
Clyburn has collected at least 1 steal in six of CSKA’s last seven EuroLeague games.
Clyburn has made 11 consecutive free throws in EuroLeague games.
Will Clyburn ranks third in the EuroLeague this season in rebounding with 7.0 per game.
Alec Peters leads the EuroLeague this season in three-point accuracy at 62.1%.
Kyle Hines is ranked fourth in EuroLeague history with 190 blocked shots. Ioannis Bourousis is third with 194 blocks.
Hines is ranked 12th in competition history with 1,055 rebounds. Former teammate Victor Khryapa is ranked 11th with 1,070 boards.
Past matchups
Wins-losses: 28-1-16
1962-63 – Euroleague. Final. Real – CSKA: 86-69 (-17)
1962-63 – Euroleague. Final. CSKA – Real: 91-74 (+17)
1962-63 – Euroleague. Final. CSKA – Real: 99-80 (+19)
1964-65 – Euroleague. Final. CSKA – Real: 88-81 (+7)
1964-65 – Euroleague. Final. Real – CSKA: 76-62 (-14)
1968-69 – Euroleague. Group stage. Real – CSKA: 67-69 (+2)
1968-69 – Euroleague. Group stage. CSKA – Real: 78-89 (-11)
1968-69 – Euroleague. Final. CSKA – Real: 103-99 2ÎÒ (+4)
1970-71 – Euroleague. Group stage. CSKA – Real: 73-66 (+7)
1970-71 – Euroleague. Group stage. Real – CSKA: 58-60 (+2)
1976-77 – Euroleague. 2nd group stage. Real – CSKA: 92-111 (+19)
1976-77 – Euroleague. 2nd group stage. CSKA – Real: 113-111 (+2)
1980-81 – Euroleague. 2nd group stage. Real – CSKA: 104-80 (-24)
1980-81 – Euroleague. 2nd group stage. CSKA – Real: 85-80 (+5)
1982-83 – Euroleague. Group stage. CSKA – Real: 90-93 (-3)
1982-83 – Euroleague. Group stage. Real – CSKA: 91-91 (0)
1984-85 – Euroleague. Group stage. CSKA – Real: 85-97 (-12)
1984-85 – Euroleague. Group stage. Real – CSKA: 84-72 (-12)
1994-95 – Euroleague. Group stage. Real – CSKA: 97-81 (-16)
1994-95 – Euroleague. Group stage. CSKA – Real: 84-82 (+2)
1995-96 – Euroleague. 3rd place game. CSKA – Real: 74-73 (+1)
1997-98 – Euroleague. 1st group stage. CSKA – Real: 90-77 (+13)
1997-98 – Euroleague. 1st group stage. Real – CSKA: 101-93 (-8)
2001-02 – Euroleague. Regular season. CSKA – Real: 77-92 (-15)
2001-02 – Euroleague. Regular season. Real – CSKA: 82-86 (+4)
2002-03 – Euroleague. Regular season. CSKA – Real: 90-75 (+15)
2002-03 – Euroleague. Regular season. Real – CSKA: 80-93 (+13)
2004-05 – Euroleague. Top 16: Real – CSKA: 94-95 ÎÒ (+1)
2004-05 – Euroleague. Top 16: CSKA – Real: 89-73 (+16)
2005-06 – Euroleague. Regular season. CSKA – Real: 64-52 (+12)
2005-06 – Euroleague. Regular season. Real – CSKA: 71-80 ÎÒ (+9)
2008-09 – Euroleague. Regular season. Real – CSKA: 54-58 (+4)
2008-09 – Euroleague. Regular season. CSKA – Real: 78-82 (-4)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Top 16. Real – CSKA: 86-78 ÎÒ (-8)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Top 16. CSKA – Real: 81-72 (+9)
2013-14 – Euroleague. Top 16. CSKA – Real: 85-71 (+14)
2013-14 – Euroleague. Top 16. Real – CSKA: 93-79 (-14)
2015-16 – Euroleague. Top 16. CSKA – Real: 95-81 (+14)
2015-16 – Euroleague. Top 16. Real – CSKA: 87-96 (+9)
2016-17 – Euroleague. Regular season. CSKA – Real: 91-90 (+1)
2016-17 – Euroleague. Regular season. Real – CSKA: 95-85 (-10)
2016-17 – Euroleague. 3rd place game. Real – CSKA: 70-94 (+24)
2017-18 – Euroleague. Regular season. Real – CSKA: 82-69 (-13)
2017-18 – Euroleague. Regular season. CSKA – Real: 93-87 (+6)
2017-18 – Euroleague. Semifinal. CSKA – Real: 83-92 (-9)
Short dossier
Real Madrid, Spain
Founded: 1931
Colors: white, blue
Home court: WiZink Center (15,000)
President: Florentino Perez
Head coach: Pablo Laso
Website: www.realmadrid.es
Trophy case:
10-time Euroleague champion (1964, 65, 67, 68, 74, 78, 80, 95, 2015, 18);
ULEB Cup winner (2007);
Korac Cup winner (1988);
4-time Saporta Cup winner (1984, 89, 92, 97);
34-time Spanish champion (1957, 58, 60-66, 68-77, 79, 80, 82, 84-86, 93, 94, 2000, 05, 07, 13, 15, 16, 18);
27-time Copa del Rey winner (1951, 52, 54, 56, 57, 60, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 70-75, 77, 85, 86, 89, 93, 2012, 14-17);
5-time Spanish SuperCup winner (1985, 2012, 13, 14, 18);
4-time Intercontinental Cup winner (1976, 77, 78, 2015)
