Rio 2016 Odds: USA vs Serbia Men's Basketball

It wouldn’t be the biggest upset in Olympic men’s basketball history, but it would be a stunner if Serbia were to knock off the United States in the gold medal game in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday afternoon — tip-off at 2:45 p.m. ET — in the final major event of these Summer Games, which close on Sunday night. Team USA is a 14.5-point favourite on Sports Interaction Olympic odds with a total of 181.5.

Team USA Men’s Basketball Odds

Team USA are currently the -2000 favorites to win the gold medal.

The second-best team in the Olympics was considered to be Spain, led by NBA All-Star Pau Gasol, now of the San Antonio Spurs. Team USA had beaten the Spaniards in the gold medal game in the previous two Olympics, but they faced off in the semifinals in Rio on Friday. The Americans prevailed 82-76, more proof that this USA team is far from unbeatable like the past two versions (and the original 1992 Dream Team) were.
Golden State sharpshooter Klay Thompson led the Americans with 22 points against Spain. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan added nine points, 16 rebounds and four blocks as he controlled the paint. The Warriors’ Kevin Durant added 14 points and eight rebounds’ it still feels odd saying Durant plays for the Warriors now. The Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony, who is looking to become the first four-time gold medalist in Olympic men’s basketball history, had an off night in hitting 2-for-11 from the field for seven points.

Sunday will be Anthony’s final Olympic game. Ditto for Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who will go back to focusing on his Duke NCAA basketball team. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich will take over the Team USA coaching duties going forward (2020 Games in Tokyo). Under Coach K, the Americans have won 24 straight Olympic games and 75 international games in a row overall, including exhibitions. Team USA last lost in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship against Greece.

But the Americans have been pushed to the limit three times in this tournament. That hasn’t happened in the Olympics since the USA won the bronze at the 2004 Games in Athens. That disappointing result led to an overhaul of Team USA.

Serbia Men’s Basketball Odds

Serbia is currently the +729 underdog to win the gold medal.

Serbia advanced to the gold medal game with an impressive 87-61 win over Australia — the Aussies played Team USA extremely tough in the group stage, losing by 10 points in a game that was closer than the final score. For NBA fans, the two best-known Serbians are the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and the Nets’ Bojan Bogdanovic, but they were not Team Serbia’s best players against Australia. They came off the bench vs. the Aussies and had nine points and six points, respectively. Milos Teodosic was the star for Serbia against Australia with 22 points and five assists. The Aussies had beaten the Serbs 95-80 in the group stage and were solid betting favourites in Friday’s matchup.

Sunday’s game is a rematch of the 1996 gold medal game in Atlanta back when Serbia was part of Yugoslavia. The Americans won that one easily, 95-69. More relevant, these countries played in the group stage in Rio and Team USA won 94-91. The Serbs’ Bogdanovic missed a wide-open 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining to potentially send the game into overtime. The Americans had jumped out to a 24-7 lead and didn’t trail before sweating at the end. The Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving was Team USA’s top scorer with 15 points. Jokic scored a team-best 25 points for the Serbs.

Team USA Vs. Serbia Prediction

The Serbs will win their country’s first basketball medal since becoming an independent nation in 2006. But it will be silver. Take the points, however.