Nigeria vs Argentina Prediction & Betting Tips - Basketball World Cup

Prediction published on 01/09/2019, 08:28  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 01/09/2019 at 09:28 in Basketball World Cup Predictions

Nigeria need to bounce back after losing their first FIBA World Basketball Cup group match to Russia by 82 points to 77. Russia got off to a good start in that game winning the first quarter 18-13. The score were level in the second quarter but Nigeria put themselves back in the game by winning the third quarter by five points. With just the final quarter remaining. the scores were tied at 58-58 and it was all to play for. It looked as if the Nigerian comeback was on as they built an eight-point lead in the final quarter and there was less than six minutes of the game remaining. The Russians made a great comeback though winning the next ten points and eventually getting a five-point win. Top scorer for Nigeria was Josh Okogie who recorded 18 points in the match. They will need more from him if they want to avoid a second defeat in this match.

Argentina are ranked fifth in the world and are the hot favourites to win this match. That would almost certainly take them into the next stage with Russia fully expected to defeat South Korea. The Argentiniana finished 11th at the last World Cup tournament in 2014 but had been in the top five for the three before that. They made a strong start to these championships with a 95-69 point win over South Korea. They showed their superiority right from the start with an 11-point lead built up in the first quarter. Nicolas Laprovittola was their top scorer with 17 points. They can make it two wins out of two with a victory over Nigeria.