betprepare.com

Olin allow an average of 13 points more than Banvit

An attractive game is expected in Edirne, between two teams who score 82 and 85 points on average. Banvit are lonely at the top with 10-1, while Olin beat Telekom in Ankara in the last round

Olin (5-6) are meeting the leading team of the championship at home, going against the away team from Bandirma in a very good mood and with no pressure at all. Their last two wins vs Tofas and vs Telekom in Ankara launched Cem Akdag's team all the way to the play-off zone, awaiting the 12th round game ranked 8. in the Beko league. Taking over the team this summer Akdag clearly stated the team will shift focus from defense to offense. They have made it so far, playing an attractive game, but even more importantly - winning.

Realistically speaking, the match they have coming in three days, vs the new team of the league Selcuk, is much more important to them than today's clash with Banvit, who are at 10-1 and with a roster worth twice their budget. It is therefore not impossible that, should the game head in an unexpected direction and Banvit take off to an early lead, Akdag spares his main players such as point guard Washington or center Francis. The two of them played 37 minutes on Saturday in Ankara and brought Olin the victory. Washington missed 5 of his 6 three point shots but still scored 27 points and is still the leading scorer of the Beko league. Along with 17 points (6/8), Francis also booked 10 rebounds. Although they shot only 8/24 for three points and had only 6 offensive rebounds, the key segment was on defense, where they managed to close the paint and allowed Telekom to fire as many three pointers as they like - they scored 9 of 38.

Although Türk Telekom managed to score only 28 points in the second half of the game, we should not give the Olin Edirne defense more credit than they're due. This was more a case of Telekom missing a heap of shots than Olin playing such good defense. However, some credit is due to defense. After allowing Aliağa Petkim to score 102 points in what was then a derby of the bottom-ranked, they crunched down on Tofas and now managed to do the same to Telekom. Leaving both of those teams below 80 points is a great success for Olin. Today they are meeting a team stronger than both Tofas and Telekom that averages 85 points in the Beko league. Banvit scored 935 so far, with Karsiyaka at 911 and Olin Edirne at 904 trailing behind them. The difference is that Banvit allow their opponents 73.2 points per game while Olin allows 86.6, meaning Olin conceded 148 points more than Banvit over 11 rounds.

With Telekom they took a calculated risk in allowing them to shoot three pointers freely. Today they will not be able to do that, as Banvit have one of the best shooting lineups in the league, having Rowland, Mejiao,
Prepelič and Simmons. Each of them can score in series, with TED Ankara being proof of that a few days ago, although they are usually a good team on defense. Banvit were at 76 points after three quarters, and the game ended at 95-71, with them scoring 11/23 for three points and 26/41 for two. Rowland didn't even have to play for long, only 15 minutes, Marković had 7+5+6 in 22 minutes, Prepelič shot 6 of 8 for three points, Simmons scored 24 in 22 minutes.

Ankara were a collateral casualty after a-14 loss in Riga, where they were defending a +19 win from Bandirma in order to advance to the next stage of the Eurocup. In the end a loss was better than a win for them, due to the second stage schedule. Had they won, they'd be placed with Siena and Himki, as things now stand they are grouped with Hapoel from Jerusalem, Olimpia and Budivelnik. They will be opening the second stage at home on January 7th vs Budvelnik.

If they rise to what they've been displaying in the last rounds of the Beko league, they should have little trouble vs Olin today. Simply put, they have too much width for Olin, who depend  on a few players while Banvit have a well assembled team with plenty of options in all positions.

-We want to continue our successful season both in the national league and in the Eurocup, we want to advance from the group and I think we have a team capable of achieving that- said club president Özkan Kilič.

Banvit are a better team than Olin, no doubt about it. Olin's best and league top scorer Washington, will meet fitting opponents today with Rowland and especially Marković, who is strong on defense and getting more and more time from coach Itoudis. The inner line of Banvit with Davis, Catenkin and Kuq, and with Simmons as a great forward, is too much for the thin rotation Olin can put up against them. They lost to Karsiyaka at home by -23, -7 vs Besiktas and -8 vs Usak. Banvit are better than any of those teams, and seem to be playing great in the league. Itoudis seems to have found the right rotation with Cantekim, Kuq and Veyseloglu of his locals, whom he combines with high quality foreign players like Rowland, Mejiao, Prepelič, Simmons, and Marković. Olin cannot follow that, and if their scoring also fails, or if Banvit put up the defense they usually do in the league so far, I would not be surprised by a 15 point loss.