Each team in the Olympic men’s basketball tournament have only played two games each, but we are already starting to see who might be the medal contenders. It is already a foregone conclusion that the USA will take home the gold, barring some sort of miracle, but that means that the silver and bronze are still very much there for the taking. The American have, not surprisingly, romped to victory in their opening two games of the tournament, but it looks as though they might actually get a little bit of a sterner test on Wednesday night when they face an Australia team that has also won their opening two games. This is not to say that the US is going to be in any kind of trouble, but it may prove to be a better workout that the first two games of Group A have proven to be. As always when the US men’s basketball team plays, the Olympic betting lines you should be focusing on are the point spread and the point total, unless of course you believe that the Aussies can spring a major upset.
Taking a Closer Look at USA vs Australia Rio 2016 Men’s Basketball Expert Pick
Final: USA 113, VEN 69@Yg_Trece with a game-high 20 points on 6-of-7 field goals.
Recap: https://t.co/gtLy1VfDrN pic.twitter.com/gIGKjmUJh7
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 9, 2016
When: Wednesday, Aug 10 at 6 PM EST
Where: Carioca Arena, Rio
TV: NBCSN
Olympic Basketball Odds: USA -34 (Opening Line)
Why Bet on the USA?
Thig s have gone exactly as expected for the latest version of the Dream Team in Rio. They have won their opening two games of the tournament against China and Venezuela, and have done so with an average winning margin of 50.5 points. Their game on Monday night versus Venezuela got off to a bit of a slow start, but once they got rolling, the outcome was never really in doubt. The 113-69 win was perhaps a little less dominating than some people expected, but you have to save some energy for the later rounds, especially with all the key players coming off a long NBA season. Australia will be a tougher opponent for the US, which might make this game a little more fun to watch.
Why Bet on Australia?
If the Australians can continue to play as well as they have been during the first two games of the tournament, they should be able to safely move on to the quarter-final stages. They opened up their gold medal quest with an 87-66 win over France, and then went on the beat Serbia 95-80 in their second game. This is a team that is showing that they can put points on the board, and while they are not likely to spring the surprise in this one, they may be able to make things a little more uncomfortable for the US men. Look for the Aussies to try and jump out early if the US gets off to another slow start.
My Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
This will be another win for the USA, with the only real question here being the final margin of victory. I expect this one to be a little closer than the first two games of the tournament, but still a convincing win.
USA 101 Australia 72
