Pre-game breakdown
A pair of red-hot teams with major goals line up in this one. CSKA has won six games in a row and sits alone in second place. With the teams directly above it and below it meeting the night before, a CSKA win could either vault it into contention for the top spot or help it close in on wrapping up second. Milan has won its last five games to charge up the standings into sixth place.
These teams are the top two offensive forces in the league with CSKA leading the way at 88 points per game and Milan next at 87.5. Mike James leads all players in scoring (20.0), Nando De Colo is second (14.9).
Mikhail Kulagin (foot) remains out for the Army Men. Daniel Hackett (eye contusion) is probable for the game.
The Milan lineup has been in flux recently with Arturas Gudaitis getting hurt, Dairis Bertans leaving to New Orleans, James Nunnally arriving from the NBA, Kaleb Tarczewski and Nemanja Nedovic returning from injuries.
Pre-game quotes
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:
Milan is a team that plays good basketball right now, they are second in EuroLeague in scoring average. They have several players who can create situations by themselves, it is not only James who carries the ball well but also Jerrells, their new addition Nunnally, Micov and Nedovic. Those are the guards who handle the ball well, make plays for themselves and their teammates. In their frontline they have athleticism and knowledge, they can play in different ways. Overall in the second leg they are now 6-3 and they grabbed the sixth spot, one of playoff spots. They are definitely very dangerous team. Lot of things will play a big role in how we control our game on defensive end, how we will make stops and contain their main creators.
Nikita Kurbanov, CSKA forward:
Olimpia is a very good team and dangerous opponent, this is one of the best offensive teams in the league. They have many changes in comparison to our first game but the style of the team remains the same. We have to take care of our defense, to stick to our game plan and use our home court as an advantage.
“Relativity” connections
CSKA guard Daniel Hackett played with Milan for a season and a half. Hackett joined Milan in December of 2013 and stayed there until the summer of 2015. Hackett was a teammate there of Curtis Jerrells.
Vladimir Micov played for CSKA Moscow for two seasons from 2012 to 2014, during which he reached a pair of EuroLeague Final Fours and won a pair of VTB League titles with the club. He was a teammates there of current CSKA players Andrey Vorontsevich and Kyle Hines.
Alec Peters and Mike James defended Phoenix Suns colors last season.
Important numbers
Coach Itoudis has used 11 different players in CSKA’s starting lineups this season; no player has started in every EuroLeague game.
Will Clyburn has recorded a performance index rating in double figures in 19 of his last 20 EuroLeague games.
Will Clyburn is fifth in the EuroLeague in average performance index rating with 18.5 per game this season and ranks fourth in rebounding with 7.0 per game.
Nando De Colo has made at least 1 three-pointer in 11 of his last 12 EuroLeague appearances.
De Colo has made 24 straight free throws in EuroLeague games. He ranks second in free-throw accuracy this season with 95.77%. De Colo is the EuroLeague career leader in free-throw accuracy at 93.88%.
Nando De Colo ranks second in the league in scoring this season with 14.87 points per game. Cory Higgins is fourth with 14.85.
Higgins leads the league in three-point accuracy this season at 54.2%.
Andrey Vorontsevich has made 11 straight free throws in EuroLeague games.
Sergio Rodriguez ranks fourth in the league in assists this season with 5.0 per game.
Kyle Hines last week became only the fourth player in EuroLeague history to reach 200 career blocked shots. Hines ranks fourth all-time with 201 blocked shots. Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv big man Alex Tyus is third with 207 and counting.
Hines is third in EuroLeague history with 484 offensive rebounds.
Hines is 11th in competition history with 1,095 rebounds. Mike Batiste is 10th with 1,117.
Sergio Rodriguez ranks fifth on the EuroLeague all-time charts with 1,050 assists for his career; Milos Teodosic and Barcelona point guard Thomas Heurtel are tied for third with 1,126 career assists.
Rodriguez is 10th all-time with 353 three-point shots made; Dimitris Diamantidis is ninth with 372.
Daniel Hackett needs 5 assists to reach 500 for his EuroLeague career.
Past matchups
Wins/losses: 10-6
1965-66. European Champions Cup. Semifinal. CSKA – Olimpia: 57-68 (-11)
1982-83. European Champions Cup. Final Round. Olimpia – CSKA: 94-86 (-8)
1982-83. European Champions Cup. Final Round. CSKA – Olimpia: 79-78 (+1)
1996-97. Euroleague. Preliminary Round. Adecco – CSKA: 87-74 (-13)
1996-97. Euroleague. Preliminary Round. CSKA – Adecco: 70-55 (+15)
2008-09. Euroleague. Regular Season. CSKA – Armani Jeans: 90-64 (+26)
2008-09. Euroleague. Regular Season. Armani Jeans – CSKA: 80-79 (-1)
2010-11. Euroleague. Regular Season. CSKA – Armani Jeans: 73-88 (-15)
2010-11. Euroleague. Regular Season. Armani Jeans – CSKA: 71-65 (-6)
2014-15. Euroleague. Top 16. CSKA – EA7 Milan: 97-75 (+22)
2014-15. Euroleague. Top 16. EA7 Milan – CSKA: 79-88 (+9)
2016-17. Euroleague. Regular season. EA7 Milan – CSKA: 64-79 (+15)
2016-17. Euroleague. Regular season. CSKA – EA7 Milan: 101-64 (+37)
2017-18. Euroleague. Regular season. CSKA – AX Olimpia Milan: 93-84 (+9)
2017-18. Euroleague. Regular season. AX Olimpia Milan – CSKA: 81-107 (+26)
2018-19. Euroleague. Regular season. CSKA – AX Olimpia Milan: 85-90 (+9)
Short dossier
AX Olimpia Milan, Italy
Founded: 1936
Colors: red, white
Home court: Mediolanum Forum (11,200)
Owner: Giorgio Armani
President: Livio Proli
Head coach: Simone Pianigiani
Website: www.olimpiamilano.com
Trophy case: 3-time Euroleague champions (1966, 87, 88), 3-time Cup Winners Cup champions (1971, 72, 76), 2-time Korac Cup winners (1985, 93), Intercontinental Cup winners (1987), 28-time Italian champions (1936, 37, 38, 39, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 72, 82, 85, 86, 87, 89, 96, 2014, 16, 18), 6-time Italian Cup winners (1972, 86, 87, 96, 16, 17), 2-time Italian SuperCup winners (2016, 18)
