Basketball World Cup 2023: How to Watch, Who’s Playing, Who’s Favored and More

AP

11:38 JST, September 6, 2023

Add another entry to the list of big U.S. blowout victories in the late rounds of the Basketball World Cup.

Tuesday’s 100-63 win over Italy in the quarterfinals marked the fifth time since 1994 that a team has won a game this late in the tournament — quarters, semifinals or final — by at least 37 points. And the U.S. has been on the winning end of all of them.

It beat Russia by 46 points in the 1994 final, beat Slovenia by 43 points in the 2014 quarterfinals, beat Greece by 39 points in the 1994 semifinals, beat Serbia by 37 in the 2014 final and matched the 37-point margin on Tuesday.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday

Quarterfinals: Germany vs. Latvia, 4:45 a.m. EDT; Canada vs. Slovenia, 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Thursday

Consolation playoffs: Italy vs. Germany-Latvia loser, TBD; Lithuania vs. Canada-Slovenia loser, TBD.

Friday

Semifinals: Serbia vs. Canada-Slovenia winner, 4:40 a.m. EDT; USA vs. Germany-Latvia winner, 8:40 a.m. EDT.

HOW TO WATCH THE BASKETBALL WORLD CUP

— In the U.S.: The U.S. semifinal matchup against Germany or Latvia will be aired on ESPN2, with the broadcast beginning at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Friday.

— There are streaming options for all games.

BETTING GUIDE

The U.S. remains in the favorite role, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Americans’ odds after beating Italy in the quarterfinals were listed at minus-180 (meaning a $180 wager on the Americans would return $280 total, if they won the gold medal). Canada remained the second choice in the betting at plus-360 (a $100 wager would return $360), followed by Germany (plus-850), Serbia (plus-1,100), Slovenia (plus-2,100) and Latvia (plus-3,500).

On Wednesday, Germany is an 9.5-point favorite over Latvia and Canada is a 8.5-point favorite over Slovenia.

WHAT TO KNOW

What you need to know about the Basketball World Cup, and the U.S. road to getting here:

— U.S. rolls past Italy to make World Cup semifinals

— A preview of the World Cup quarterfinals

— U.S. falls to Lithuania to close second-round play

— Anthony Edwards talks the talk, and more than backs it up for the U.S.

— U.S. rallies past Montenegro to open play in Round 2

— Early U.S. wins: U.S. runs past Jordan to finish perfect in opening group play, U.S. beats Greece in second game, U.S. tops New Zealand in opening game

— The Americans are using lots of depth to their advantage

— For Erik Spoelstra, this trip to Manila is very much like a homecoming

UP NEXT

Quarterfinal-round losers will play Thursday. Semifinals are Friday. Games to decide fifth and seventh place are Saturday and the gold- and bronze-medal games are Sunday.

STAT OF THE DAY

Italy’s starters scored exactly as many points as the U.S. starters did on Tuesday night: 43. The U.S. bench outscored Italy’s 57-20.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We’re the horse turning back to the barn. The horse starts picking up pace when it’s near the barn, and that’s what’s happening right now. Our guys are sensing this is the end of the journey and the energy picked up tonight, the pace, the force. They know what’s ahead. They know what the goal is.” — U.S. coach Steve Kerr.

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