FIBA World Cup Betting: Can Canada Go All the Way?
It took everything they had, but Team Canada made it to the quarter-finals of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup – qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the process. Canada mounted a furious comeback to defeat Spain 88-85 in the second round of the World Cup, putting them on top of Group L alongside Latvia at 4-1; Spain and Brazil both go home empty-handed at 3-2.
For a while there, it looked like Canada was going to sail into the quarter-finals unscathed. They swept all three of their preliminary-round games in Group H, but opened the second round with a 69-65 loss to Brazil, putting the Great White North on the brink of elimination. Thankfully, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 points) and Dillon Brooks (22 points) were able to save Canada’s bacon and get them over the hump versus Spain – the two-time and defending World champions.
If Canada barely squeaked into the next round, what hope do they have of winning it all? Actually, as we go to press, our heroes are the second favourites among the eight remaining teams on the FIBA World Cup betting board at Bodog Sportsbook. And they certainly have enough top-end talent to get the job done.
With apologies to Latvia (+7000) and Italy (+5000), let’s take a closer look at the remaining viable World Cup contenders, and how Canada stacks up heading into the Elite Eight:
1. USA (–175)
In theory, Team USA should beat everybody when they’ve got all their best players motivated and working together. But this might not be one of those teams. When Grant Hill took over for Jerry Colangelo as president of USA Basketball, he waived the requirement that players commit at least two consecutive years to the program – and they didn’t hold a training camp in 2022.
You can see the lack of cohesion in their play thus far. This is the first time since they “turned pro” that Team USA hasn’t had a single All-NBA player on the roster; with Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton as their top talents, the Americans dropped their final Group J game 110-104 to Lithuania, leaving them with plenty to think about before they face Italy in Tuesday’s quarter-final.
2. Canada (+350)
With Steve Nash as the general manager and architect, Canada requires all their players to commit for three years, and has kept that requirement in place with Jordi Fernandez replacing Nick Nurse as head coach. Sadly, Jamal Murray isn’t playing in this tournament – he remains on the “extended” roster – but Gilgeous-Alexander is arguably the better point guard of the two.
He might even be the best player left in the tournament. According to FIBA, Gilgeous-Alexander leads all remaining World Cup competitors with an “Efficiency” score of 141.0, just ahead of Slovenia’s Luka Doncic at 139.0 (more on him in a moment). But it’s how well Gilgeous-Alexander blends with the 3-and-D wizardry of Brooks that has Team Canada supporters pumped for Wednesday’s quarter-final matchup with the Slovenes (+8.5), tipping off at 8:30 AM ET. As the best hope to break the USA dominance in the FIBA World Cup betting, Canada will be hoping to go all the way.
3. Germany (+850)
If you’re a fan of the Toronto Raptors, you have to like what Dennis Schroder has brought to Team Germany. Schroder has been their talisman since 2017, and he was at it again during the preliminary round, racking up 30 points, eight assists and four steals in a vital 85-82 victory over Australia. Dirk Nowitzki is their only other player to score 30 or more at a World Cup game.
With Schroder leading the charge, Die Mannschaft swept all five of their games to finish atop Group K, Australia providing their only close shave. Germany features some other NBA-level talent, including Moritz Wagner, Daniel Theis and former Raptor Isaac Bonga; don’t overlook the 2002 World Cup bronze medalists in this tournament, including this Wednesday when they take on Latvia (+9.5) in the quarter-finals.
4. Serbia (+1200)
Everyone’s talking about Serbian basketball these days. That’s what happens when Nikola Jokic finally wins his first NBA title – and when the Raptors hire Darko Rajakovic to be their new head coach. However, like his teammate Murray, the former two-time league MVP isn’t playing at the World Cup; instead of Nikola Jokic, you get Nikola Jovic, a little-used rookie for the Miami Heat last year.
There are only two other NBA players on Serbia’s World Cup roster: Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks), and Filip Petrusev (Philadelphia 76ers), with the latter about to make his NBA debut after starting his pro career in Europe. Their 78-76 second-round loss to Italy left Serbia second in Group I at 4-1, and in need of some inspiration before Tuesday’s quarter-final tilt with the next team on our list.
5. Lithuania (+1600)
Everyone loves Jonas Valanciunas. The ex-Raptors centre is the only current NBA player on Lithuania’s squad – although Lithuanian-Canadian swingman Ignas “Iggy” Brazdeikis (currently with BC Zalgris) did play parts of three seasons with three teams before returning to the Baltics, and center Donatas Motiejunas (AS Monaco) was in the Association as recently as 2019.
As with Serbia, the hope for Lithuania is that their basketball culture will make up for their lack of NBA-level talent. But going 5-0 and beating Team USA for first place in Group J wasn’t enough to shorthorn their FIBA World Cup betting odds; Lithuania is a 1-point underdog at press time for Tuesday’s matchup with Serbia.
6. Slovenia (+2000)
Two words for you: Luka Doncic. As long as Slovenia has Doncic, they have a puncher’s chance, including Wednesday when they face Team Canada for a spot in the semi-finals. And again, it’s all about basketball culture for this former Yugoslav republic; Doncic doesn’t have much of a supporting cast, as evidenced by their 100-71 loss to Germany in Group K, but as they say, anything can happen in international basketball. Keep mashing that refresh button for the latest Canada-Slovenia odds at Bodog Sportsbook, and may the best team win the Cup.
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