Italy vs Australia prediction for Wednesday’s Olympic games men’s Basketball clash at Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo. After beating Germany in their first match, Italy will meet Australia who in turn beat Nigeria on matchday two of Group B. Read along for our free prediction and betting tips.
Italy going into their second match with great confidence
The small-ball lineup paid off for Italy in their opening match as they had a great shooting performance against Germany with 50% field goals. A 12-0 run at the end of the game secured the Italians their first win of Group B and they are looking to repeat that performance against a strong and favored Australian side.
Coach Sacchetti’s team was very decisive in their shooting and had a great defensive game as well with 11 steals and forcing Germany to commit 14 turnovers. It will be tougher against the Aussies though who have the size advantage on their side. Sacchetti has to prepare well in case his small ball tactic doesn’t work out.
Italy Key Stats
Australia looking a very solid team
The Boomers are on a six-match winning streak including a friendly match win against the USA ten days ago. Australia is playing in the Olympics for the 15th time. They finished fourth on four occasions as their best result in the games.
In their first match, the Aussies beat Nigeria by 17 points. It was a close match for the first three quarters. But a fourth-quarter run saw the Aussies outscore the Nigerians 26-15. Patty Mills of the San Antonio Spurs was the best scorer of the game with 25 points and helped his teammates with six assists. Australia are the favorites to go far in this competition.
Australia Key Stats
Italy vs Australia Prediction
It will be a close encounter considering both teams had relatively impressive first-round wins. Italy have very good shooters from the arc and so does Australia. Their leading stars are NBA players thus the level is very high.
Australia’s defense was below par but coach Brian Goorjian will fix that against Italy since the Aussies have a better size and aim to win the group. Joe Ingles and Patty Mills are the ones coach Goorjian depends on and the duo has not let him down in recent matches.
An Australia win has odds of 1.29 at Vbet. We expect a quick start by the Boomers and win the first quarter. The total points scored at Vbet is offering 1.84 for under 172.5 points.
Italy vs Australia Betting Tips
Under 172.5 Total Points 1.84 at Vbet
Australia to win the first quarter 1.60 at Vbet