Olympiacos are hosting Virtus Bologna at home in Piraeus, and the red and white team is expected to win this game. With two straight losses in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, Olympiacos must step up to be able to secure a playoff berth in the spring.
Two straight losses put you in a tough spot in this fierce competition they call the Euroleague. That's exactly where Olympiacos are currently. They’ve lost to Crvena Zvezda (73-87) and Paris Basketball (90-96) in their last two fixtures. So it's time for them to step up and beat Virtus Bologna if they want to get into the playoffs. If we take a look at their last four Euroleague fixtures, Olympiacos have lost three of those. In the Greek domestic league, they have won six straight games.
Virtus Bologna have only beaten Olympiacos once ever in the Euroleague. They have faced each other on five occasions in the competition. Bologna sits at the 17th spot in the Euroleague standings. Only Alba Berlin are behind them in the table. Virtus Bologna have a record of only three wins and 12 losses. Bologna won last week versus Baskonia away (82-81). A nice and appreciated win for the club. Before that win, Virtus Bologna were on a six-game losing streak in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Virtus have won eight and lost three games in the domestic Italian League.
Nikola Milutinov is one of the best big men in the Euroleague. The Serbian Giant could have a feast in the paint tonight since Bologna doesn't have any player suited to guard Milutinov. Expect a lot of rebounds from Milutinov tonight. Evan Fournier should hit some shots from behind the arc as Bologna doesn’t defend the three-point line very well. That goes for Sasha Vezenkov as well.
Bologna is the worst team in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague when it comes to making three-pointers. That is a huge problem for the Italian team. Bologna just shot above 30% from behind the arc. They must improve in that area as soon as possible.
OLYMPIACOS VS BOLOGNA
1.63
TOTAL (INCL OVERTIME) - OVER 161.5
