USA vs New Zealand Prediction & Betting Tips - Basketball World Cup
by Joseph King | in Basketball World Cup Predictions
Saturday in the 2023 FIBA World Cup sees the title favorites tipping off their campaign as the United States takes on New Zealand for this Group C clash. Team USA are heavy favorites to finish atop of this group also containing Greece and Jordan. Additionally, the bookmakers have the Americans at roughly 1.80 odds to win the gold medal in the tournament. The United States were knocked out of the previous iteration of the competition in the quarter-finals by France, ending their hopes of a three-peat. They’ll look to get back to the top of the international basketball world this time around and claim what would be a record sixth FIBA World Cup title. The USA had an encouraging preparation period which saw them win all five of their friendly fixtures. This included wins over seventh-ranked Slovenia, top-ranked Spain, ninth-ranked Greece and 11th-ranked Germany. It was a clear statement of intent by this young USA team, knocking off four teams in the top 12 in relatively straightforward fashion.
New Zealand are the first team tasked with slowing down this high-powered United States squad. The Tall Blacks are 26th in the official FIBA rankings, putting them a massive 24 places behind their opponents today. It hasn’t been the best of preparations for New Zealand who lost four of their five warm-up games. Their lone victory came against a 36th-ranked Japan team by a score of 94-75 back towards the beginning of August. During their span of friendly fixtures, New Zealand would also lose to the same Japan squad, lose by 31 to Canada, suffer a one point defeat to China and finish things off with a loss against Italy. Overall, New Zealand have lost six of their last 10 when going back to their FIBA World Cup qualifiers. There isn’t a whole lot of talent to speak of on this New Zealand squad who are without Steven Adams and Webster brothers Corey and Tai. A heavy defeat looks imminent.
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The Best Betting Odds for USA v New Zealand Match
| Bookmaker | 1 | 2 | Bonus up to |
|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 14 |
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1.01 | 12 |
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USA vs New Zealand Form
USA and New Zealand's standings in the Basketball World Cup
| Teams | Pts | P | W | L | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1
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6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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3
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4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
USA and New Zealand Last Matches
4/6 (67%)
2/6 (33%)
26 Feb 2023 - FIBA World Cup, Americas Qualifiers, Group A
23 Feb 2023 - FIBA World Cup, Americas Qualifiers, Group A
14 Nov 2022 - FIBA World Cup, Americas Qualifiers, Group A
11 Nov 2022 - FIBA World Cup, Americas Qualifiers, Group A
29 Aug 2022 - FIBA World Cup, Americas Qualifiers, Group A
25 Aug 2022 - FIBA World Cup, Americas Qualifiers, Group A
4/6 (67%)
2/6 (33%)
27 Feb 2023 - FIBA World Cup, Asian & Oceanian Qualifiers, Gr. A
24 Feb 2023 - FIBA World Cup, Asian & Oceanian Qualifiers, Gr. A
13 Nov 2022 - FIBA World Cup, Asian & Oceanian Qualifiers, Gr. A
10 Nov 2022 - FIBA World Cup, Asian & Oceanian Qualifiers, Gr. A
29 Aug 2022 - FIBA World Cup, Asian & Oceanian Qualifiers, Gr. A
25 Aug 2022 - FIBA World Cup, Asian & Oceanian Qualifiers, Gr. A
Players list
Substitutes
USA - New Zealand Key Points
- Antony Edwards is the current favorite at odds of 2.75 to lead the United States team in scoring.
- Edwards exploded for 34 points in team USA’s last outing, a 99-91 win over Germany.
- The Timberwolves guard has his best statistical year of his career in the 2022/23 season, averaging 24.3 points per game.
- Team USA’s last two outings have seen Edwards eclipse the 20 point mark.
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Our USA vs New Zealand Prediction
This is expected to be a heavily lopsided win for the United States with some bookmakers not even hanging lines for the point spread or moneyline. The ones that do have this spread at around -34 in favor of the USA. Instead of focusing on the game outcome, we’re going to turn our attention to one of the world’s most exciting young talents in Anthony Edwards. The 22-year-old is set for a huge tournament, with teammates and head coach Steve Kerr praising his tenacity. Edwards is the favorite to lead this team in scoring and we like him to get off the mark with a big opening game. Our USA vs New Zealand prediction is for Edwards to score over 19.5 points.
All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
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