Australia is undefeated after three games and will look to keep the good times rolling as the Boomers face Argentina in the quarterfinals. Argentina has won just a game in three games so far in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but it has a chance of moving on to the semis. Which team will advance to the semifinals? Check out our preview of this game below.
Australia topped Group B with a clean 3-0 record. The Boomers started things off by blasting Nigeria in an 84-67 win. Then they edged Italy in a close encounter, 86-83. Australia finished group play with an 89-76 humbling of Germany. The key players are playing big for Australia. They are producing the numbers expected of them so far. Take for example Jock Landale, who’s averaged 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the last two games. Of course, there’s Patty Mills, who’s coming up with 21.7 points, 5.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Australia also has plenty of versatile pieces that are finding several ways to contribute on either side of the floor. Take for example Joe Ingles, who is scoring 10.3 points while also helping out in handling the ball, setting up plays, and playing tight defense. The Boomers will look to make life miserable for Argentina’s offense that is shooting just 29.9 percent from downtown.
Despite absorbing a deflating 118-100 loss to Luka Doncic and Slovenia in the opener and an 81-71 setback at the hands of Spain, Argentina is going to the knockout phase of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics men’s basketball after beating Japan, 87-77 to close out the group play. Luis Scola is proving that age is nothing but just a number, as he is leading Argentina with 19.7 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. Facundo Campazzo is putting up 16.0 points and dishing 6.0 assists per contest. Argentina should get a boost from its productive bench that is scoring 28.7 points per game. Rebounding is another strength of the South Americans, as they are pulling down 44.0 rebounds per game, while Australia is recording just 36.0 per contest. And because they rebound well, the Argentinians are having success pushing the ball downcourt. They are scoring 18.3 points per game in transition.
