The frenzy triggered by basketball returns to the beautiful court of the Dakar Arena as eight teams split across Groups B and D begin their journeys for a ticket for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

In the build-up to Groups B and D competing from the 25-27 February, here are some key figures and statistics worth knowing ahead of the basketball bonanza.

Can Gasana break Nwora's record?

Jordan Nwora established his name in the game, at least continentally, in 2018 when he dropped an incredible 36 points in a 93-53 annihilation of Mali.

Nwora made It look so easy hitting five three-pointers to pick up the record for the most points in a single African Qualifiers fixture.

But Nwora's record could've been shattered by Rwanda's Kenny Gasana who dropped a mouth-watering 33 points even as his side lost 77-69 to the Central African Republic.

Gasana has been breathing down Nwora's neck and is seemingly endowed with the ammunition to surpass the Nigerian's record.

After all, during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers, the veteran guard scored 20 or more points in three different fixtures and could be heading to Dakar with the same zeal cognizant that this could be his last shot at a world cup spot.

Senegal the winning host

Senegal will return to the court with the lofty ambition of securing a third consecutive place at the World Cup as the host of Window 2 of the African Qualifiers.

The five-time African champions finished the 2019 African Qualifiers on a 10-2 slate, winning all three games they played as the host nation.

There's little doubt that spurred by a great number of fans, Youssoupha Ndoye, and his mates will want to maintain their unbeaten run at home in the Qualifiers.

Three years ago, Senegal posted 3.5 blocks per game, the second-best tally behind the Democratic Republic of Congo who prevented opponents 4.5 times per game.

In Senegal's most recent outing at the 2021 FIBA AfroBasket, they scored an unprecedented 87.5 points per game and it is this ruthlessness that the host will be bringing on to the court of the Dakar Arena.

DUO OF DEBUTANTS

Kenya and South Sudan will both be appearing in the competition for the first time.

Both neighbouring East African nations, despite their inexperience, must not be written off as they've got the sort of potential that can stun their foes.

The Kenyans racked a stupendous 52.3 boards a game at the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 and their ability to play a tight-knit unit should not be taken for granted.

When you’re the youngest country in Africa, few people expect you to pull up trees but South Sudan play with their hearts.

The South Sudanese made 13.8 turnovers per game at the 2021 continental showpiece, the least made by any outfit in the tournament, and converted 70.4% of their free-throw attempts in the competition to rank third-best side on the charity line.

CLASH OF ONE-POSSESSION

Remember how Cameroonians gnashed their teeth and blamed Tunisia for not qualifying for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019? Well they weren't wrong after all.

On February 25, Cameroon will play Tunisia for the third time in the run-up to the planetary showpiece and on two previous occasions, the fixtures were decided on one possession.

In November 2017 in Yaounde, Tunisia edged Cameroon 67-66 and in July 2018, they scrapped a narrow 56-53 lead.

Could the third game end in a similar fashion?

Cameroon have never lost a game by more than seven points while Tunisia's two defeats in the 2019 season came in their last two games.

Both Tunisia and Cameroon are part of a trio that scored the most points per game from turnovers in the 2019 African Qualifiers. Tunisia converted 21.1 points per game while Cameroon trailing Nigeria with 21 points per game scored 18.7 points.