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Oldenburg haven't beaten Brose in over 4 years

In this period, the club from Bamberg has won 10 times. Oldenburg have secured the Final Four place only once (2002). Since this competition format was introduced, they have never been the hosts in the quarter-finals

Oldenburg ended their run of three wins in the worst possible way. They had an away game in Munich this weekend against Bayern, a team they had beaten at home with some conviction earlier this year. This time, Oldenburg suffered their biggest defeat this season. It was all decided within the first 10 minutes of the game. The Bavarians created a 14-point advantage, they were down by -17 by halftime and they had a 30-point lead by half-time. A one-way game in every direction. Suffice to say that Oldenburg had a 9/25 (36%) three-points efficiency, which was radically better than their two-pointers - 8/31 (26%). They had 15 turnovers and only 8 assists. 

- We have to live with this defeat. It's clear we didn't manage to emulate our performance from the first game against Bayern this season. We deservedly lost and the difference reflected what we showed on the court - coach Sebastian Machowski said. 


He had major problems in the paint due to absence of Robin Smoulders. Their main center Adam Chubb has still not recovered and Andrea Crosariol has left the club. Machovski thus had only 8 players in his rotation. Julius Jenkins was the only player who lived up to the expectations (20 points).


Today they have a game against Brose as a part of a German BBL Cup quarter-finals. Whoever gets the first win goes through, which means whoever wins tonight plays at the Final Four that Ulm will host. They played against the reigning champions in early Decemeber last year. It was a similar game like the only in the final series last year - the defense took center stage. Oldenburg held their own decently until the third period when their attack completely falters. They scored a total of 28 points in the second half.


Brose were free from their obligations last weekend. The game against Frankfurt was canceled so the team from Bamberg had one week to prepare for today's match. Last year, Brose were eliminated from the Cup quarter-finals in an away game against Bayern. They also lost in the last Eurocup round when they played an unrecognizable game against Kolejliler, that is, when their defense was far below par.


They had a great start of the game but the second period showed that the Turks will be tricky opponents. Brose played their worst defense in the final period. In 10 games before this one, the allowed an average of 70 points, while they allowed more than 100 against Kolejliler. They got 11 three-pointers out of 20 attempts but the problem was they defended the opposition's perimeter shots very poorly. 


- This season, we haven't played against a club that had such a good shot. We weren't consistent enough in the defense - said coach Chris Fleming.


The best players in his team were Rakim Sanders with 15 points, Casey Jacobsen and D'Or Fischer with 13 each.


So, Brose weren't brilliant in defense against the Turks and this segment could be crucial in today's game against Oldenburg. If you look ate the last six head-to-heads (including the three games in the finals), the offense was a dominant segment only once. In fact, it has been four years since Oldenburg beat Brose. Since then, the club from Bamberg have had a run of 10 wins in head-to-heads. This is the first time these two clubs meet. Oldenburg have secured the place at the Final Four only once (in 2002). Interestingly enough, since this competition format was introduced, they have never been the hosts in the quarter-finals.


- Oldenburg are much better than they were against Bayern a few days ago. Until that game, they had a consistently good season It's obvious that they are well organized. We had enough time to prepare and improve our game. We trained hard and we put the focus on defense as that is the only way to improve our offensive - said Fleming who still can't count on his power forward Sharrod Ford. 

The quarter-finals of the German Cup have only 1 game. Whoever wins the game today goes to the Cup Final Four. Oldenburg haven't taken part in the final tournaments since 2002. Brose were eliminated by Bayern in the quarter-finals last year. Both teams are very much motivated and this is a rerun of last year's final series in which strong, feisty basketball dominated the fixture. In last two seasons, these teams have played six games and have gone over this margin only once in regular time. Brose have won all 6 games, including the one played this season which ended in 73-59. The reigning German champions are not the same team as last year but are much more defensively minded. Looking at last 10 games, they allow 72 points on average in all competitions. They also emphasize defense in their away games in the league. They've won the game against Bayreuth by 69-68, and against Ludwigsburg by 80-69, they've lost against Ulm by 59-72....This is a high stakes game tonight as Brose's coach Fleming emphasizes defense and the general impression is that this game in Oldenbrug will not be too attractive.