Puerto Rico vs USA Prediction & Betting Tips - Men's Olympic Tournament

Prediction published on 02/08/2024, 09:35  by Kennedy Kechula | Modified on 02/08/2024 at 16:59 in Men's Olympic Tournament Predictions

Puerto Rico will meet the USA in their final Group C basketball match at the Paris Olympics. After two matches, the USA sit top and Puerto Rico bottom. Here’s a look into the stats behind this match and our prediction.

Puerto Rico are seeking their first win, to keep alive their hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds. Nelson Colon’s men can earn a best third-placed team spot if they register a big win here. Puerto Rico arrived for the Olympics off the back of four successive losses and that has now progressed to six.

They began the tournament with a 90-79 loss to South Sudan. In their second game, they were outclassed by Serbia 107-66. Against Serbia, they shot just 32% from the field and converted 11 of 37 attempts from 2-point range. Jose Alvarado has anchored the team’s offence and has averaged 14 points a game.

The USA secured their place in the next round after winning both opening matches. They scored over 100 points in each, which has placed them in the leaderboard for points average. Steve Kerr’s men arrived for their 11th successive Olympic appearance after winning all five of their build-up matches.

They are now on a seven-game winning streak and are favorites to win gold again. Team USA were more comfortable against South Sudan last time out than they were in the lead-up to Paris. Six players scored at least 10 points as the record Olympic champions won 103-86.

Surprisingly, Bam Adebayo led the team with 18 points as he replaced Joel Embiid in the starting line-up. Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and LeBron James added 14, 13 and 12 points respectively. The USA have won 28 times in 32 matchups with Puerto Rico and are on an eight-game winning streak in this fixture.