Team USA Basketball: Power Ranking Group A Opponents with Potential to Upset US

Team USA basketball begins group play on Sunday, July 29, and finishes its fifth and final game before the knockout rounds, beginning Wednesday, August 8.

They will play contests again Argentina, France, Lithuania, Nigeria and Tunisia in Group A, while Group B showcases Spain, China, Russia, Brazil, Australia and host nation Great Britain.

Only the top four total teams, regardless of group affiliation, will advance to the semifinal knockout round.

Let’s take a look at each opponent that the Americans will face in preliminary matchups and predict which team will pull an upset.

No. 5—Tunisia

This team won the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship and earned a spot in the Olympic games. However, they aren’t a solid unit and do not have the size, skill or athleticism to keep up with Team USA.

Tunisia’s first Olympic appearance will be a brief one, and they are lucky just to be playing the Americans.

They certainly won’t be lucky enough to make this a close game.

No. 4—Nigeria

Nigeria is another African nation with little chance to actually even keep a game close against the NBA superstars.

This group has a current NBA roster player in Al-Farouq Aminu and a former lottery pick in Iki Diogu, but Team Nigeria isn’t a threat. They just don’t have the ability to run with the Americans or many of the other elite teams in the tournament.

No. 3—Lithuania

This will be a real challenge for Team USA. NBA players Linas Kleiza and Jonas Valanciunas lead the Lithuanians at London 2012, and their team should be a real force despite the lack of notable names filling the rest of the roster.

They recently won a bronze medal at the FIBA Championship in 2010 and have the pieces in place to make a run in 2012.

While the Lithuanians likely won’t beat the Americans, they have a chance to provide a real scare when the two match up.

No. 2—France

Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum, Boris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf are the NBA-caliber starters on Les Bleus.

If they play their best, Parker and Batum are capable of matching their positions against Team USA; Diaw is a unique big man that can handle the rock, pass and create matchup problems; and Turiaf is a massive body that can box out and grab boards.

Unfortunately, France's lack of size and having most of its skill at positions opposite America's best defenders will doom Les Bleus and keep them from pulling an upset.

No. 1—Argentina

This is going to be the team that upsets Team USA.

Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni and Carlos Delfino are the top players on the roster and have the chemistry, size and skill to beat the best team in the world.

They played to an 86-80 American victory on July 22 and would have won had Kevin Durant not gone 7-11 from beyond the arc.

If the Argentinians can keep U.S. scorers from going bananas, continue to dominate the paint and exploit Team USA's defensive mistakes, the South Americans will get a group-stage win in the matchup.