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It’s the final week of the EuroLeague Women regular season, but there’s still much to be decided before the playoffs begin. Let’s go over the competition’s postseason qualification rules and try to make some sense of them.
Per FIBA’s EuroLeague Women Competition System, the top four teams in each group qualify for the EuroLeague Women quarterfinals. The fifth- and sixth-place teams in each group are sent to the EuroCup Women quarterfinals — essentially a chance at consolation prize. The rules for that can be found here.
Because so many EuroLeague Women teams make the playoffs, tiebreakers will be in play. According to FIBA’s rulebook (D.1.3 “Classification of Teams”), head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker, followed by cumulative point differential in head-to-head matchups, and then by total points scored in those matchups.
It’s a complex system for sure, but we’ve got you covered! Here’s what to watch for in the final week of EuroLeague Women games.
Wednesday, February 26
UMMC Ekaterinburg (12-1) vs. Gelecek Koleji Çukurova (3-10)
When: 9:00 a.m. ET
Where: DIVS Sport Hall, Ekaterinburg
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Matchup details: There are a lot of games this week with playoff implications, but this isn’t one of them. Ekaterinburg has gone wire-to-wire as EuroLeague Women’s best team this season (and in case you missed it, they just got even better), while Çukurova has lost eight of its last nine games. Çukurova could technically qualify for the EuroCup Women playoffs with a win, but that’s not very likely to happen.
Nadezhda (8-5) vs. Bourges Basket (8-5)
When: 9:00 a.m. ET
Where: Orenburzhje Sport Hall, Orenburg
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Matchup details: This game figures to be more competitive than the other 9 a.m. one, and there’s certainly more on the line. Both Nadezhda and Bourges sit at 8-5 in Group A and are tied for third place; they’ll both qualify for for the EuroLeague quarterfinals regardless of what happens here, but the winner will avoid facing Group B winner Fenerbahçe, which is plenty of incentive to go all-out in this game.
Dynamo Kursk (6-7) vs. Arka Gdynia (3-10)
When: 11:00 a.m. ET
Where: Sport Concert Complex, Kursk
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Matchup details: Gdynia’s playoff hopes were dashed long ago, so this game’s focus will be on whether Kursk can scoot up into fourth place and qualify for the EuroLeague quarterfinals. In order to do so, Kursk needs to win this game and hope that either LDLC ASVEL Féminin (Lyon) or Famila Schio loses by enough points to break the tie that would result in the standings.
Castors Braine (3-10) vs. ZVVZ USK Praha (11-2)
When: 2:00 p.m. ET
Where: Spiroudome, Charleroi
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Matchup details: For Praha, this is a tune-up game, but for Braine, it’s much more important. Even at 3-10, the Belgian club still has a chance to qualify for the EuroCup playoffs. It will be a tall order, though; Braine will need to win against the Praha powerhouse and then hope TTT Riga loses on Thursday.
LDLC ASVEL Féminin (7-6) vs. Fenerbahçe Öznur Kablo (11-2)
When: 2:00 p.m. ET
Where: Astroballe, Villeurbanne
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Matchup details: Fenerbahçe sits comfortably atop Group B, thus clinching a quarterfinal matchup against the fourth-place finisher from Group B. Lyon is one of three teams fighting for second place in the group (Familia Schio and BLMA being the others) and would love to pull the upset here to hopefully avoid a three-way tiebreaker mess.
BLMA (7-6) vs. Spar CityLift Girona (5-8)
When: 2:00 p.m. ET
Where: Palais des Sports de Lattes, Lattes
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Matchup details: BLMA has fallen off quite a bit, losing three straight, and now finds itself on the cusp of missing the EuroLeague Women playoffs. Obviously, a win here would be crucial, but with this being a do-or-die game for Girona (needing a win and a five-point Sopron loss in order to qualify for the EuroCup Women playoffs), it won’t be easy. The stakes are high in this one!
Thursday, February 27
Reyer Venezia (4-9) vs. TTT Riga (3-10)
When: 11:30 a.m. ET
Where: Stožice, Ljubljana
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Matchup details: As poorly as the season has gone for both Venezia and Riga, if the season had ended yesterday, both would still qualify for the EuroCup Women playoffs. That could still end up being the case, with other EuroCup hopefuls Castors Braine and Çukurova playing top competition this week. Venezia beat Riga in the previous game between the two teams, so Riga would need to win this one by nine points or more in order to leapfrog its opponent in the standings.
Famila Schio (7-6) vs. Sopron Basket (6-7)
When: 2:00 p.m. ET
Where: Stožice, Ljubljana
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Matchup details: There’s a lot riding on the results of this game, so it’s somewhat cruel that it had to be postponed by a day. Schio holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against BLMA, but not against Lyon, so the results of those Wednesday games will loom large here. Meanwhile, Sopron is in the driver’s seat for sixth place in Group B and a EuroCup playoff appearance; it can still make the EuroLeague playoffs, but would need to win this game while hoping that both Kursk and one of BLMA or Lyon lose.