FIBA World Championships 2010: USA-Russia Live Blog, Stats, Analysis

Welcome to the quarterfinal round of the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championships. The winners of today's contests will join Serbia and Turkey as the four semifinalists, heading into the championship round on Saturday and Sunday.

The first game on tap is USA-Russia. These two met in the Olympics 38 years ago to the day, with the then-Soviet Union escaping with a controversial one-point victory en route to claiming the gold medal.

Now, Kevin Durant, Chauncey Billups, and Mike Krzyzewski and Co. get their chance to offer a little payback.

While most of the players in today's game don't have a direct connection with the ramifications of the Soviet Union toppling the U.S. in the '70s, the coaches certainly do. And the war of words already has one.

Krzyzewski and Russian coach David Blatt have exchanged barbs over the past few days, starting with Blatt stating that the U.S. wasn't cheated out of the gold in '72 and the Soviets were the true winners.

Coach K responded by saying that Blatt, who has dual American-Israeli citizenship, is a Russian and "he probably has that viewpoint, and his eyes are clearer now because there are no tears in them."

Whenever the U.S. and Russia get together in any international competition, there's a little extra magic in the air. Today promises to be no different.

Check back before tip-off with last minute news and starting lineups, and follow along with B/R throughout the game for live updates and analysis.