Rio Olympics: Quarterfinals Preview- Who Will Take Gold?

Group play concluded at the Rio Olympics on Monday. The bracket for the remainder of the men’s basketball tournament could finally be set. The quarterfinals feature the top four teams from each group.

Group A’s pecking order was determined easily. The United States finished 5-0, but was tested in each of its final three games. Australia ended group play with a 4-1 record, their lone defeat coming by ten points to the Americans. The Nuggets’ Joffrey Lauvergne and France lost to Australia in the tournament’s opening game. After clinching a spot in the quarterfinals, France sat their captain, Tony Parker, against the U.S. and lost a close game. Nikola Jokic and Serbia defeated Venezuela, then lost to Australia, France and the United States before upending China and qualifying for the quarterfinals.

Entering the final day of group play on Monday, all six teams in Group B had an opportunity to advance to the quarterfinals. However, only four would end up doing so.

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In the first game of the day, the hosts, Brazil, pulled away from Nigeria and kept alive their hopes of advancing. The second game of the day pitted Spain against Argentina, with Brazil needing Argentina to win in order to advance.

Pau Gasol and the Spaniards did not help out the hosts, as they net a 19-point victory — leap-frogging both Brazil and Argentina into first-place in Group B. Argentina’s loss temporarily moved them into second-place. Brazil was eliminated.

Monday’s final game saw 3-1 Lithuania take on the 2-2 Croatia squad, but following Argentina’s loss, both teams knew they would advance to the quarterfinals. This game determined seeding only. With a win, Lithuania would claim the top spot in Group B — despite their embarrassing 50-point loss to Spain last Saturday. A Croatia victory would send the tournament’s seeding into chaos, as the top four teams in Group B would all have beaten each other, feature 3-2 records and possess eight points. Various tie-breaking procedures would have to be exercised to determine seeding for the quarterfinals.

Unfortunately for organizers in Rio, Croatia pulled out the 90-81 victory forcing the four-way tie and myriad scenarios into play. The following tweet from NBA.com advanced stats writer, John Schuhmann, breaks down how the tie-breaker shook out.

Croatia’s loss to sixth-place finisher, Nigeria, did not end up costing the Croatians the top spot in Group B. They will advance to take on their Balkan brothers — Serbia — and the Denver Nuggets’ Serbian sensation, Jokic, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Spain’s second-place finish in Group B means that they will take on their European rivals — France — on Wednesday. Lauvergne and France will look to defeat the defending silver medalists and advance to the semifinals.

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With the loss to Croatia, Lithuania slipped down to third-place in Group B. Lithuania faces the “Boomers” of Australia in their quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday.

Finally, after losing to Spain, “El Alma Argentina” take on the favored, but vulnerable United States. Argentina was the last team to defeat Team USA during Olympic play — all the way back in 2004 at Athens.

Check out the men’s basketball bracket for the quarterfinals and beyond here. The schedule for Wednesday can be seen in FIBA’s tweet below.

All eight teams could lose on Wednesday and all eight teams could go on to win the gold medal, as well. This year’s tournament appears wide-open after three consecutive underwhelming performances by the overwhelmingly favored U.S. squad.

must read: Rio Olympics: Lauvergne, France put scare into U.S.

Both of our Denver Nuggets still have a shot at a medal and they each hope to bring gold back to the Mile High City. They are golden Nuggets after all.

Stay tuned to Nugg Love to keep up with our pair of Nuggets playing in Rio, as well as other news and notes from around the Association.