The Team USA Men's Basketball team look to continue their
unbeaten run in the 2012 Olympics this afternoon when they face Nigeria at
5:15pm eastern time on NBC Sports Network. The US are overwhelming 42 point
favorites in the game.
The Nigerians are the 21st ranked team in the world
according to FIBA while the US is #1, but that doesn't even fully illustrate
the gap between the two. The US has complied 852 points in the FIBA ranking
system while Nigeria has just 67.6. The Americans are coming off a game against
Tunisia in which they won by 47, yet failed to cover the spread. In fact,
Tunisia even took the lead on 3 separate occasions.
The talent level between American men's basketball
team and that of counterpart Nigeria is on the high side but that isn't a reason for the Nigerian team to be intimidated.
Ike Diogu, a former lottery NBA draft pick who has played
225 NBA games, spoke after Nigeria's 72-53 loss to Lithuania .
"A lot of us went to school in the U.S. and have played
against those guys. We have no reason to feel overwhelmed''
Another Nigerian
Team-mate Guard Tony Skinn said
"I mean, listen, man, I've been playing ball for a long
time," said Skinn, who was part of George Mason's improbable Final Four
run in 2006. "At some point in time, I played against those guys or seen
those guys play. A lot of us, obviously we're Nigerians, but we play in the
States and I don't think we have that mentality to just come in the game and
just, you know, get our (butts) whooped."
Nigeria faces a well rested U.S. team that did not practice
on Wednesday and will need more than luck, perhaps a one magical touch or a
special player to do the trick against the Americans who are big and bad as
advertised, winning their first two games at the London Olympics by an average
of 37 points, even without playing at their very best.
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