FIBA World Cup 2014: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket Predictions for Day 9
The 2014 FIBA World Cup quarterfinals kick off on Tuesday, and by the conclusion of Day 9, only six teams will remain in contention. The United States is in action against a Slovenian team looking to find a way to slow the Americans down. Lithuania will take on Turkey in a battle of teams that squeezed through the quarterfinals with close wins.
Needless to say, we have some compelling basketball on the way.
There's plenty at stake on Tuesday, as the winners will face off in the semifinals for the right to advance to the tournament's final game. In single-elimination play, anything can happen. Before we are underway from Spain once again, let's first look at the day's schedule and predict the outcome for each contest.
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| Lithuania vs. Turkey | 11 a.m. | NBA TV |
| Slovenia vs. United States | 3 p.m. | NBA TV |
The full tournament bracket can be viewed at FIBA.com.
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Day 9 Predictions
Lithuania vs. Turkey
This should prove to be a very highly contested game. Lithuania sneaked past New Zealand in the quarterfinals, winning a close one by a score of 76-71. Turkey has a similar result against Australia, narrowly winning 65-64.
Lithuania has some nice size on its roster. That was apparent in the quarterfinals when the 6'11" Jonas Valanciunas dominated the interior. The center racked up a team-leading 22 points and the game's only double-double with 13 rebounds.
The Toronto Raptors tweeted their center's numbers:
While Valanciunas looked good in the paint, New Zealand still came away with 37 rebounds—exactly the same number as Lithuania. Don't expect that to happen again in the semifinals versus a slightly undersized Turkish team.
Turkey's biggest player, 7'0" center Omer Asik, has a tremendously big role on the team; however, while he's been a big part of the game plan, he sometimes takes a back seat to the team's perimeter shooting.
The team was lucky to come away with a win against Australia after accumulating 30 boards and allowing its opponent to rack up 44, while Turkey shot just 40 percent from the floor. The Aussies shot 49 percent.
Due to Lithuania's high-percentage shooting and prowess in the paint, it will come away with the win over Turkey in the semifinals.
Prediction: Lithuania 72, Turkey 66
Slovenia vs. United States
The United States takes on Slovenia in Tuesday's second contest. Slovenia looked good in its first elimination game, remaining resilient against a surging Dominican Republic team to earn a 10-point victory.
While Slovenia shot 58 percent from the floor and collected 38 boards in that contest, the same result simply cannot be expected against a remarkably dominant American squad.
Before the FIBA World Cup began, the United States met Slovenia in the teams' final exhibition game. A rout ensued, and the Americans won in decisive fashion by a score of 101-71 thanks to dominating performances by Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried.
After the game, Davis made this statement to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com, "We just try to make sure that whatever we do, we do together, because we know it's going to be tough in the tournament."
Here's what Coach K has to say about the rematch, via the NBA Twitter account:
It appears as though the team jelled quite nicely, as it has been crushing each opponent it has faced to this point in the tournament.
In the United States' last performance against Mexico in the quarterfinals, the team dominated in all phases of the game, shooting 48 percent from the floor, 45 percent from three-point range and accumulating 45 rebounds.
Expect a similar result once again, as Team USA continues to roll.
Prediction: United States 94, Slovenia 74
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