USA -43.5 vs. South Sudan.

Only 21% of money is on USA to cover at BetMGM

Team USA favored by 43 over South Sudan....down 14 at Halftime

2H line is -24.5 in far away places

Updated odds to win Men's Olympic Basketball at BetMGM

USA -650
Canada +1100
France +1100
Serbia +1400
Greece +2200
Germany +2500
Australia +3300
Spain +6600

Odds to win Men's Olympic Basketball at BetMGM

USA -550
Canada +1000
France +1400
Serbia +1600
Germany +1600
Australia +2500
Greece +2800
Spain +8000

USA-Serbia Olympics betting at BetMGM

USA open -14.5, now -13.5
▪️ 45% of bets, 48% of money on USA

Total open 184.5, now 182.5
▪️ 73% of bets, 74% of money on Over

Serbia open +600, no movement
▪️ 37% of bets, 7% of money on Serbia

Most bet (tickets) USA-Serbia player props at BetMGM

1. Nikola Jokic over 18.5 points (-145)

2. Stephen Curry over 2.5 three-pointers (-180)

3. LeBron James over 15.5 points (+100)

4. Nikola Jokic over 5.5 assists (-120)

Greece vs. Spain – 5:00 am ET
Spain can be really tough to cover. Willy Hernangomez is a good back-to-the-basket center and Santi Aldama is a forward that can shoot the 3 and put the ball on the floor a little. Those two will be the focal points for Spain offensively. The team also has a bunch of other players that can contribute, including the legendary Sergio Llull who is up there in age but can still be a floor-spacing weapon off the bench. The problem is that Spain really struggles defensively. This team was eaten alive by Jock Landale in a 92-80 loss in its Group A opener, and five Boomers ended up scoring in double figures. Australia shot 50.7% from the floor and went 12 for 24 from behind the 3-point line. That makes it hard not to like Greece in this game.

If guys like Landale, Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels were getting wherever they wanted against this defense, imagine what Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to do. Antetokounmpo should feast in transition and isolation, as Spain doesn’t have anybody with the length, strength or athleticism to cover him. And if Spain overreacts by sending help his way, Antetokounmpo will get the ball out quickly and trust in his guards to knock down shots or find the open man. Greece’s offense might have looked a little wonky in its first game here, but that was against a Canada team that has some real dogs on the defensive end.

Things are going to look a lot better in this matchup and I like Greece’s size on the defensive end. Just getting hands up and being active will be big against this Spain team.

Bet: Greece -4 (-110)

Australia vs. Canada – 7:30 am ET
Canada is really close to being a gold-worthy team, but the group is missing a legitimate center. A player like Zach Edey could have really helped, but the Memphis Grizzlies didn’t want him to play and he seemed fine with that decision. But without somebody that can really throw around some weight in the paint, Canada could struggle to comfortably beat teams like Australia. Landale might not be a player that plays heavy minutes in the NBA, but he has been productive throughout his career and he thrives in an international setting. Landale can score around the basket, make the occasional jumper and also serve as a decent source of playmaking. He’s also just an absolute load around the basket, as he’s strong and plays with intensity. Don’t be surprised if he really impacts this game.

Australia also happens to have some big playmaking wings, meaning the team is built a little like Canada. Sure, nobody on Australia is as good as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the overall group is rock solid. I also like that the Boomers have Daniels to throw on Gilgeous-Alexander. Nobody is really capable of defending him on an island, but Daniels is a good perimeter defender with great length. He’ll make the Oklahoma City Thunder star work for everything. Patty Mills should also make his mark on this game. Canada has some great on-ball defenders, but Australia does a great job of getting Mills quality looks through off-ball actions.

I do think Canada will end up pulling this one out. There’s a pretty sizable mismatch in the talent department, and Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray will be the two best closers on the court in crunch time. But Australia is always tough and should hang around.

Bet: Australia +6.5 (-115)

Germany has moved from -11.5 to -14.5 vs. Brazil.

88% of money is on Germany to cover at BetMGM

Serbia vs. Puerto Rico – 11:15 am ET

I’m pretty torn on how this game will go when it comes to the spread. On the one hand, Puerto Rico has nobody with the size to defend Nikola Jokic around the basket. George Conditt IV is the starting center for Puerto Rico and he’s giving up 50 pounds against the three-time NBA MVP. Jokic should be able to regularly back him down to finish at the rim. He’s also the best passer on the planet. So, if he sees any help coming, he’ll whip the ball out to a shooter. And Serbia has plenty of those. So, if the Serbian role players are shooting well, it isn’t crazy to think this game will get out of hand. But at the same time, I do think Puerto Rico has good enough guard play to make this a game. Jose Alvarado and Tremont Waters can both create for themselves and others somewhat regularly at the international level.

The thing I feel best about here is that the game will be a little lower scoring than expected. Playing through the Joker should be successful for Serbia, but it also takes some time. Jokic eats a lot of the clock in backing opponents down and surveying the floor. That usually lends itself nicely to low-scoring games. So, even though Serbia gave up 110 last game and Puerto Rico allowed 90 against South Sudan, I think this game will go Under. The fact that these teams both got lit up last game means they’ll come out with some renewed focus and intensity defensively.

South Sudan vs. USA – 3:00 pm ET

When these teams met in the USA basketball showcase, South Sudan was a 43.5-point underdog and nearly won outright. Team USA was trailing by a point late in the fourth quarter and went up one on a tough bucket at the basket by LeBron James. South Sudan then missed a floater to win the game on the other end.

Of course, Team USA probably didn’t play that game with any real motivation. After all, that was an exhibition game. Team USA has responded since then and the team looked awesome in a win 110-84 win over Serbia at the start of group play. But South Sudan’s length and overall athleticism allowed the team to disrupt USA’s offensive rhythm. South Sudan also plays with a real togetherness and purpose on offense. That’s something that tends to give the Americans trouble, as they’re consistently trying to find it themselves. Having a bunch of superstars is undoubtedly a luxury, but each game comes with some rough spots. Guys will over-pass and defer to one another out of fear of being bad teammates.

When looking at this game, I don’t think we’ll see as sloppy of a performance out of Team USA. The players have noted that they have “appropriate fear” for the opponent now. Team USA also has some of the best coaches on the planet to dissect the film from that exhibition game. However, it still feels like South Sudan is getting too many points. South Sudan is nowhere near the bottom tier at the Olympic Games, and a 90-79 win over Puerto Rico in group play solidified that. And overall this team is a lot more talented than people might think. JT Thor, Carlik Jones, Wenyen Gabriel and Marial Shayok have all spent time in the NBA. And Nuni Omot and Bul Kuol are both solid players. The team even has five-star Duke commit Khaman Maluach coming off the bench. Outside of Jones, all of these guys have big bodies and real length. That allows them to contest shots and play passing lanes. They also play with a ton of heart, as they’re new to this and are looking to make some noise. Playing with a nonstop motor is big against Team USA, which has stretches in which the energy can get a little low.

Overall, I think we saw that South Sudan is capable of avoiding embarrassment the last time these teams played. And Team USA would have to absolutely embarrass them in order to cover this number. A 25-point win is a massive blowout and wouldn’t be good enough for the Americans to cover.

Brazil vs. Japan – 5:00 am ET

A lot of people are going to be quick to back Japan after the team’s near-win over France last game. However, this is still a team that is very undersized, and the group had the worst odds of anybody to win the gold before play began. I don’t think one poor performance from France should be enough to mean Japan is now a better team than Brazil. Both of these teams are obviously 0-2 and it was Japan that was more competitive in one of the losses. But Brazil has better guard play than Japan, and the team also happens to have some forwards that can impact the game on both ends of the floor. So, while Japan has Rui Hachimura, a legitimate NBA rotation player, and Yuta Watanabe, a sniper that had a cup of tea in the league, I actually believe Brazil’s wings will be more impactful in this game. Brazil should also win the battle on the glass and get more production out of its bigs.

Greece vs. Australia – 7:30 am ET

Australia has played two games that have surpassed the total for this game. The Boomers earned a 92-80 win over Spain in their first game. They then lost 93-83 against Canada. Australia’s simply looking like a good Over team at these Olympics. That comes with having multiple players that can handle the rock, with Patty Mills, Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels and Dante Exum all being players that can push the ball up the floor. Jock Landale is also an offensive-minded big that will impact games offensively but allow some easy buckets on the other end. I don’t see that changing against Greece.

Look for Giannis Antetokounmpo to have his way with Australia in this game, even with Daniels being a good wing defender and likely handling that assignment. Daniels is just giving up a little too much size there. And if he does guard Antetokounmpo, that would leave some of Australia’s lousy perimeter defenders on some of Greece’s struggling guards. That could be exactly what they need to get going.

I also think that the point differential here is interesting. Not only does Greece need a win, but the team also needs to do so by a good margin in order to try and steal one of the final spots in bracket play. That could force Greece to play a little sloppy in trying to score, opening up opportunities on the other end. We saw a lot of that in the In-Season Tournament.

Bet: Over 167.5 (-105)

Germany vs. France – 3:00 pm ET

France was viewed as the biggest threat to USA before this competition began. However, the team has looked pretty miserable thus far. It took France a while to wake up in its win over Brazil to open group play, and the team should have lost to Japan in the second game. France got some good calls late in the game, including a soft four-point play that allowed Les Bleus to send the game to overtime. Well, France was able to overcome shaky play against weaker competition. The team won’t be able to do that against Germany.

Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert make for an intimidating frontcourt. Absolutely no one wants to see those two when driving to the basket. But France is really lacking perimeter firepower and quality guard play. That’s where Germany should have a real edge. Dennis Schroder is going to be the most effective guard on the court in this game, whether he’s looking to create offense for himself or his teammates. And Franz Wagner is going to have his fingerprints all over this game on the wing. That duo is really why I like Germany’s chances here. Germany runs a ton of its offense through both, giving them the two best on-ball creators on the court. When you combine that with the fact that Germany has a bunch of capable bigs — including Mo Wagner, Daniel Theis and Johannes Voigtmann — I think this team is capable of going into a tough road environment and clinching Group B.

Bet: Germany ML (-148 – 1.5 units)

Brazil vs. Japan – 5:00 am ET

A lot of people are going to be quick to back Japan after the team’s near-win over France last game. However, this is still a team that is very undersized, and the group had the worst odds of anybody to win the gold before play began. I don’t think one poor performance from France should be enough to mean Japan is now a better team than Brazil. Both of these teams are obviously 0-2 and it was Japan that was more competitive in one of the losses. But Brazil has better guard play than Japan, and the team also happens to have some forwards that can impact the game on both ends of the floor. So, while Japan has Rui Hachimura, a legitimate NBA rotation player, and Yuta Watanabe, a sniper that had a cup of tea in the league, I actually believe Brazil’s wings will be more impactful in this game. Brazil should also win the battle on the glass and get more production out of its bigs.

Greece vs. Australia – 7:30 am ET

Australia has played two games that have surpassed the total for this game. The Boomers earned a 92-80 win over Spain in their first game. They then lost 93-83 against Canada. Australia’s simply looking like a good Over team at these Olympics. That comes with having multiple players that can handle the rock, with Patty Mills, Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels and Dante Exum all being players that can push the ball up the floor. Jock Landale is also an offensive-minded big that will impact games offensively but allow some easy buckets on the other end. I don’t see that changing against Greece.

Look for Giannis Antetokounmpo to have his way with Australia in this game, even with Daniels being a good wing defender and likely handling that assignment. Daniels is just giving up a little too much size there. And if he does guard Antetokounmpo, that would leave some of Australia’s lousy perimeter defenders on some of Greece’s struggling guards. That could be exactly what they need to get going.

I also think that the point differential here is interesting. Not only does Greece need a win, but the team also needs to do so by a good margin in order to try and steal one of the final spots in bracket play.

Germany vs. France – 3:00 pm ET

France was viewed as the biggest threat to USA before this competition began. However, the team has looked pretty miserable thus far. It took France a while to wake up in its win over Brazil to open group play, and the team should have lost to Japan in the second game. France got some good calls late in the game, including a soft four-point play that allowed Les Bleus to send the game to overtime. Well, France was able to overcome shaky play against weaker competition. The team won’t be able to do that against Germany.

Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert make for an intimidating frontcourt. Absolutely no one wants to see those two when driving to the basket. But France is really lacking perimeter firepower and quality guard play. That’s where Germany should have a real edge. Dennis Schroder is going to be the most effective guard on the court in this game, whether he’s looking to create offense for himself or his teammates. And Franz Wagner is going to have his fingerprints all over this game on the wing. That duo is really why I like Germany’s chances here. Germany runs a ton of its offense through both, giving them the two best on-ball creators on the court. When you combine that with the fact that Germany has a bunch of capable bigs — including Mo Wagner, Daniel Theis and Johannes Voigtmann — I think this team is capable of going into a tough road environment and clinching Group B.

USA vs. Puerto Rico – 11:15 am ET

This opened with Team USA laying 33.5 points and it has since moved quite a bit. I fully expect this to be a lopsided game. However, I don’t think that there’s going to be much of a drive for Team USA to wipe the floor with this team. Steve Kerr and Co. have no incentive to continue trying once this game gets ugly. They’ll be 3-0 and win Group C with a victory. So, I think we’ll see the Americans come out with a ton of intensity in the first half, putting this game out of reach for Puerto Rico relatively early on. But in the second half, it’d be surprising if Team USA continues to play with intensity on both ends of the floor. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico will likely play hard until the final buzzer to show some pride before getting bounced.

Puerto Rico also happens to have a lot of quality guards on its roster. Jose Alvarado and Tremont Waters start for the team, but there are a bunch of solid offensive options off the bench. That’s crucial because those are the guys that should get good looks when Team USA’s defense takes a step back.

Odds to win Men's Olympic Basketball at BetMGM

USA -550
Canada +800
Germany +1100
Serbia +1400
France +2000
Greece +4000
Australia +4000
South Sudan +10000

Most bet (tickets) USA-Puerto Rico player props at BetMGM

1. LeBron James over 5.5 assists (-155)

2. Jose Alvarado under 1.5 three-pointers (-185)

3. LeBron James over 14.5 points (-120)

4. Anthony Edwards over 12.5 points (-135)