Olympic Basketball 2016: TV Schedule, Live Stream and Odds for Day 8
Age-old sports rivals Brazil and Argentina meet Saturday at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. A chance to get closer to the medal round is at stake.
With so much on the line, Brazil's home crowd is likely to be raucous. Heck, it even booed Argentina during the opening ceremonies.
Croatia and Nigeria will also be in action. And Spain, which has unexpectedly struggled, takes on the group's only undefeated team: Lithuania.
On the women's side, 4-0 Australia will look to continue its dominance in a matchup against 1-3 Belarus. France, which sits at 3-1, can take a step closer to the knockout round with a win over Japan. The women of the host country are still looking for their first win of the tournament.
A complete schedule of Saturday's action, as well as title odds, can be found below.
| Men | ||||
| B | 1:15 p.m. ET | Argentina | Brazil | USA |
| B | 6 p.m. ET | Spain | Lithuania | NBCSN |
| B | 9:30 p.m. ET | Croatia | NIgeria | |
| Women | ||||
| A | 11:15 a.m. ET | Australia | Belarus | |
| A | 2:30 p.m. ET | Turkey | Brazil | |
| A | 4:45 p.m. ET | Japan | France |
| USA | 1-19 |
| Australia | 20-1 |
| Lithuania | 25-1 |
| Serbia | 25-1 |
| France | 30-1 |
| Spain | 30-1 |
| Argentina | 30-1 |
| Croatia | 40-1 |
| Brazil | 50-1 |
| Venezuela | 1,000-1 |
| Nigeria | 4,000-1 |
| China | 5,000-1 |
Full group listings and standings, as well as live streams of all the games, can be found at NBCOlympics.com.
A Rivalry Game in Rio
There may not be another game in group play that will get the local fans as fired up as Argentina/Brazil. The rivalry is mostly tied to soccer, but basketball will get its due Saturday.
There should be an extra dose of intensity attached to 1-2 Brazil's desperation. Another loss would put the host country in serious danger of not getting out of the group. A win would move it into a tie in the standings with Argentina.
Therein lies the motivation for the Argentines: Not only would a win all but knock the Brazilians out, it would move the winner to 3-1 with just one game to play.
The NBA talent on both sides will surely know the implications of the game, so pay close attention to the perimeter matchup between Manu Ginobili and Leandro Barbosa, as well as the post battle between Luis Scola and Nene.
What Is Wrong with Spain?
Before the start of the games in Rio, Spain looked like one of (maybe) two squads that could keep a game with Team USA moderately competitive. Just over a week into competition, Spain looks like a long shot just to get out of group play.
Losses to Croatia and Brazil notwithstanding, Spain's most surprising result was its nine-point win over Nigeria. It wasn't the outcome, but the fact Spain trailed in the second half and couldn't pull away until the waning minutes that should be troubling.
Nigeria doesn't have a single current NBA player on its roster. Spain has seven.
So what exactly is wrong with this roster? Jesus Gomez of SB Nation tried to explain:
"The absences of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka are certainly hurting the team. Pau Gasol is still a difference-maker at the FIBA level but a big man tandem with Felipe Reyes or Nikola Mirotic lacks athleticism. Ricky Rubio is still not an outside threat and Juan Carlos Navarro is not the fearsome scorer he used to be. Rudy Fernandez is still good but there's no depth at the wing, especially with Alex Abrines out with a knee injury.
There are serious holes in that roster. As a result, this version of Spain has, so far, been a team that doesn't get easy, assisted buckets or trips to the line, can't break games open from beyond the arc and struggles to contain perimeter threats.
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All of those problems could be magnified Saturday against an undefeated Lithuanian squad that looks poised to win the group.
Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas are controlling the paint, as Lithuania is second in rebounding behind USA and tied for third in blocks during the tournament. Their willingness to do the dirty work has freed up the likes of Mantas Kalnietis and Jonas Maciulis to score from the perimeter.
The Up-and-Coming Croatians
Because of Dario Saric, 2-1 Croatia has one of the most intriguing young players in the tournament and is on the inside track for a berth to the medal round. The 22-year-old point forward, who will be a rookie for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016-17, is filling up the stat sheet to the tune of 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game.
At 6'10", he has the size and strength to compete with bigs underneath the rim for boards but is also good enough with the ball to initiate actions on the perimeter. Behind his all-around play and Bojan Bogdanovic's scoring (24.7 points per game), Croatia has emerged as one of the better teams in Rio.
"For me it's not something that surprises me," Saric said after his team's win over Brazil, per the AFP (via Yahoo Sports). "This Croatian team have power, talent and energy to play, and we are young. I think we can play with everybody except America."
With the way America's been playing lately, Saric may soon change his mind on that last bit.
Australia Marches On
| USA | 1-12 |
| Australia | 8.5-1 |
| Spain | 14-1 |
| France | 20-1 |
| Serbia | 28-1 |
| Brazil | 33-1 |
| Canada | 40-1 |
| Turkey | 50-1 |
| Belarus | 125-1 |
| China | 150-1 |
| Japan | 500-1 |
| Senegal | 750-1 |
In women's action, Australia will take the court for its fifth game. It has been the second-best team in Rio behind USA.
That's largely thanks to Liz Cambage, the 6'8" Aussie who may be having the best individual performance of any woman in the tournament. She leads all scorers at 23.8 points per game and is second in rebounds at 10.5.
During the second game of the day, host country Brazil will look for its first win when it faces Turkey. Slowing down LaToya Sanders, the tournament's second-leading scorer at 21.8 points per game, will be critical.
Finally, the day will wrap up with a matchup between Japan and France. The former features 6'4" Ramu Tokashiki, who is averaging 18.8 points and 7.0 rebounds.
