The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup is still going on strong in Spain. The World Cup has gotten through the initial group stage as many weaker teams like Egypt, Finland, South Korea and Puerto Rico are being removed. World Cup betting is available today but the biggest challenge at this point involves whether or not some country is actually going to top the United States. There are a few competitors that might have a shot according to the sportsbook.
Who Can Stop the Americans?
The United States team won all five of its group play matches. The team features many of the hottest names in the NBA including Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, James Harden and Derrick Rose. The loss of Paul George to an injury has not hurt the Americans in the least as they 511 points in their five games. That’s more than any other team in the World Cup. The Americans are 8/18 favorites to win it all.
The significant offensive output of the American team is a big part of why they have such good betting odds. This is the only team to average more than a hundred points per game so far.
Greece Is a Challenger
Greece also won all five of its group play games. The Greeks defeated talented teams from Argentina and Croatia during the group stage. Much of the Greeks’ action has come from the outstanding play of the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. He has been a big leader even at nineteen years of age. Giannis Bourousis has a double-double average for the series as well. Greece has 30-1 odds to win the series.
Spain Is Close
The closest team to the Americans in terms of potentially winning the World Cup is Spain. The Spanish team has betting odds of 6/4 to win it all. Pau Gasol has about 21.5 points per game and is receiving plenty of help from many NBA stars like Jose Calderon, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. The team has been dominant against its opponents with its closest match coming in a 82-63 win over Brazil.
Others To Catch
Lithuania has been led by Jonas Valanciunas and has nearly 34 rebounds per game during the series. The team has 66-1 odds for winning the series.
Meanwhile, France is listed at 50-1 odds for the title. Joffrey Lauvergne has been particularly proficient for the French team as he leads the side in points and rebounds per game while Boris Diaw has been a big figure on the defensive side of the ball.
What About Long Shots?
Outside of the American, Spanish and Greek teams, a majority of the teams that are still in the FIBA World Cup are extreme long shots. For instance, the Dominican Republic has 500-1 odds in spite of Francisco Garcia having 20.2 points per game. Meanwhile, Corey Webster and Kirk Penney have done quite well from an offensive standpoint for New Zealand but that side has 1000-1 odds.
Senegal also has 1000-1 odds for the game. Senegal lost its last game by two points in overtime to the Philippines. Gorgul Dieng has 18 points per game and 11.4 rebounds per game but has not gotten too much support from many of the other players on the Senegalese team.