The Olympic basketball quarterfinals are less than a day away with the four best teams from each group advancing onto the next round.  The four quarterfinal games are Spain vs. Croatia in the first game,  Lithuania vs China, Argentina vs. Greece, and the United States vs. Australia.

Are you searching the internet to watch the USA vs. Australia game live?  Look no further, if you are in the USA, click here to access NBC Olympics, in Australia, go to au.sports.yahoo.com.  If you are in Europe, you’ll likely find what you want on EuroVisionSports.tv.  If you live outside these regions, click here.

August 20, 2008 Game Times
14:30: Spain vs. Croatia Live Online
16:45: Lithuania vs. China Live Online
20:00: Argentina vs. Greece Live Online
22:15: USA vs. Australia Live Online

In the first game of the quarterfinals pits Spain against Croatia.  Spain (4-1).  In their pool play, Croatia has lived and died by the three thus far.  In their three wins, they’ve shot 62.5% from three (30-48), and only 25% in their two losses (8-32).

The second game features Lithuania, the Group A winner, taking on host China, whom are coached by a Lithuanian, Jonas Kazlauskas.

In probably what will be the toughest matchup in the quarterfinals, Argentina squares off against Greece.  Both teams are excellent defensive teams, as Argentina is second in points against and Greece is third.

After losing to Lithuania, Argentina (4-1) ended the tournament with four straight wins defeating their opponents by an average of 17 points per win.  Manu led Olympic pool play in scoring at19.6 per, while Luis Scola was third in scoring with 19.2 points per game.  As a team, Argentina turned the ball over the least in the tournament.

Greece doesn’t have any players in the top-10 in scoring, as they take a combined approach on both the offensive and defensive side.  They managed three wins in a up-and-down tournament with a couple disappointing losses to Spain and the United States.  Ioannis Bouroussis has been solidly efficient in the middle for Hellas, Vassilis Spanoulis leads them in scoring with 15.4, with solid contributions from Antonis Fotsis, Theodoros Papaloukas, and Nikos Zisis.

Outside of Argentina, the hottest teams in the tournament will be playing against each other.  The United States and Australia will duel in the last game of the Olympic quarterfinals.  The US hasn’t lost a game (5-0), and are the only team to get out of pool play undefeated.  Australia (3-2) lost their first two games, got their act together won their final three games, as they throttled Iran, Russia, and Lithuania, by an average of 28 points.  Bogut has really come alive in the last two, averaging 22.5 points and has shot 5-6 from three.  The Aussies are shooting 52% from downtown and have hit 41 threes in their wins.

Some of you may remember that the Boomers were the ones that gave the Americans their closest game in nearly two years during their final preliminary game on August 6th.  Bogut sat out that game and he watched Patrick Mills, Chris Anstey, and David Barlow challenge the United States before finally falling 87-76.

“What (the USA has) done and where you see them can intimidate a lot of people,” Anstey said. “I think to come into a game intimidated you’ve given up before you start…”

What to say about Team USA?  They’ve steamrolled the competition even with their chief competitors in the same bracket, winning all five pool games by an average of 32.2 points, including a 37-point blowout of Spain and a 49-point destruction of Germany.  They lead the competition in points scored, but not one player has scored more than 22 points in a game.

“I think (the USA is) unbeatable,” said German coach Dirk Bauermann. “I don’t even think it’s going to be close. I would be surprised if anyone can even give them a game.”

Don’t tell that to Chris Anstey and Australia.

Links and Resources: NBC Olympics Live Basketball Coverage (NBC Olympics), Quarter-finals: Argentina vs Greece (Interbasket), Quarter-finals: USA vs Australia (Interbasket), Quarter-finals: Lithuania vs China (Interbasket), Quarter-finals: Spain vs Croatia (Interbasket), German Basketball Coach Says Americans Are Unbeatable (New York Times)