USA vs. Serbia Men’s BB Pick
The United States Men’s basketball closes out the 2016 Rio Olympics looking to win gold when they face Serbia today at 2:45PM ET.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the U.S. is a -1400 favorite to win the game straight up, while Serbia is getting +800 odds. The spread for the contest has the U.S. as a -14.5-point favorite against Serbia. Today’s gold-medal game takes place at 2:45PM ET from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The United States has yet to lose in these Olympics, opening up pool play with a 5-0 record and a +117 point differential. That included a 94-91 win over Serbia. In tournament play, the United States beat Argentina 105-78 and then defeated Spain by a score of 82-76.
Serbia is a surprise finalist, as they were just 2-3 in pool play, but still managed to qualify for the tournament. They defeated Croatia, 86-83 in the quarters and then defeated Australia, 87-61 in the semifinals.
The first meeting between these two was back on Aug. 12, with Serbia putting on a strong fourth quarter to make it interesting after the U.S. jumped out to a 27-15 lead after one. Serbia shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the loss while the United States struggled from the arc, going 7 of 20. The United States should be up for this game, as it is the end of their journey. Though they have struggled at times, they should be able to find something today to win handily over Serbia. They have faced tougher opponents already in this Olympics and performed better.
RIO SUMMER OLYMPICS PICK: UNITED STATES -14.5