Olympics 2012 Schedule: Early-Round Basketball Matchups You Can't Miss

The 2012 Summer Olympics at London are upon us, which means that the top basketball countries in the world are about to start going head-to-head. 

The United States and Spain are expected to dominate the competition, but there are plenty of other quality squads ready to provide basketball fans with entertaining matchups. 

Play begins for the men on Sunday, July 29 and the group stage continues through Monday, August 6. These are the top six matchups of the opening round. 

You can find the full schedule on USA Basketball's official site. 

Sunday, July 29: USA vs. France

USA's FIBA World Ranking: No. 1

France's FIBA World Ranking: No. 12

Team USA is expected to romp through the Olympics until the Americans face off with Spain in the gold medal game. 

That said, it's only an expectation. USA-Spain is by no means guaranteed to be the championship game. 

The Americans journey through the preliminary round will begin with a showdown against Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum, Ronny Turiaf and the rest of the French national team. 

France is the third-best team that the Americans will play during the group stage, but Parker is sure to keep it at least a bit competitive during the first half. 

Sunday, July 29: Argentina vs. Lithuania

Argentina's FIBA World Ranking: No. 3

Lithuania's FIBA World Ranking: No. 5

Although the USA is easily the top team in Pool A, Argentina and Lithuania are going to be battling it out for the runner-up spot in the group. 

After all, Spain and Team USA are the only squads better in all of the Olympics, according to the FIBA World Rankings. 

Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola are sure to be dominant in London and should help the Argentines advance quite a ways through the competition, but I'm picking Lithuania to win this contest. 

Jonas Valanciunas, an incoming rookie for the Toronto Raptors and a lottery selection in the 2011 NBA draft, is quickly improving and should be a force to be reckoned with during the Olympics. 

Expect this to be the center's breakout game on the international stage. 

Tuesday, July 31: Spain vs. Australia

Spain's FIBA World Ranking: No. 2

Australia's FIBA World Ranking: No. 9

Spain and Australia are the two best team's in Pool B, and they'll face off on Tuesday, July 31 for the first and only time in the 2012 Olympics (unless they play in the elimination rounds). 

This matchup won't be too close as Spain features a much stronger roster. The two Gasol's and Serge Ibaka easily trump Australia's frontcourt of David Andersen and Matthew Nielson. 

Plus, Jose Calderon is far more experienced than Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova. 

Even though it won't be much of a nail-biter, this will be the most Spain is tested before the medal rounds. 

Tuesday, July 31: Russia vs. China

Russia's FIBA World Ranking: No. 11

China's FIBA World Ranking: No. 10

As you can see from the FIBA World Rankings, this is going to be one of the more competitive games of the group stages. 

The Russians have more players with NBA experience, but the Chinese team plays with a good bit of cohesiveness and should be able to hang with the more recognizable names. 

That said, if Timofey Mozgov, Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved all step up at the same time, Russia is going to be tough to match up with. 

Saturday, August 4: USA vs. Lithuania

USA's FIBA World Ranking: No. 1

Lithuania's FIBA World Ranking: No. 5

With Argentina, Lithuania, France and the USA all playing in Pool A, it's fairly clear which pool is superior at the 2012 Summer Olympics. 

Even though the Argentinians are ranked higher than the Lithuanians, this is the matchup in the group stage that I expect to give the Americans the most trouble. 

It's been much publicized by now that Team USA is going to struggle against length and stopping 6'11" center Jonas Valanciunas and 6'8" power forward Linas Kleiza is going to be one of the biggest challenges of the opening games. 

The Americans are going to handle the challenge with ease, but shutting down Valanciunas will be a nice preview for the seemingly inevitable battle with Spain. 

Monday, August 6: USA vs. Argentina

USA's FIBA World Ranking: No. 1

Argentina's FIBA World Ranking: No. 3

It's fitting that the Americans' last game of the group stage comes against their top-ranked competition—Argentina. 

With Luis Scola, Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni and Carlos Delfino all on Argentina's roster, there's a fair number of NBA players to go against the pseudo All-Star team known as Team USA. 

Argentina lacks the elite big men necessary to pose much of a threat to the USA, but if Manu and his Euro step get going, this game could remain close for at least a quarter or two.