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Slovenia vs Australia may be the best matchup in the second round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. It is a rematch of when Australia defeated Slovenia in a tough battle for the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Luka Doncic carried Slovenia in that game but came up short against Patty Mills and the depth of the Australian squad. Both teams competed hard and clearly wanted the medal. Doncic and Slovenia will be looking for revenge.
It will be a battle of two of the most talented teams in the World Cup, and Slovenia will try to stay unbeaten in the competition. It will be a big step up in level from their group stage opponents.
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Meanwhile, Australia needs the win to keep up their hopes to advance to the quarterfinals. With their loss to Germany, they have less margin for error in the standings to advance to the knockout round.
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The game tips off at 8:10am ET from Okinawa Arena in Okinawa City, Japan. Both teams played their group stage games at the site. It can be streamed on ESPN+ and Courtside 1891.
Slovenia vs Australia Game Preview
Luka Doncic is leading the tournament in scoring. He is averaging 30.0 points per game. The Dallas Mavericks star will need another big game to lead Slovenia to the win against the deep Australia squad, who carries nine NBA players on their squad.
Patty Mills outdueled Doncic in the bronze medal match in Tokyo, He dropped 42 points to help Australia to the win while Doncic put up 22 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds in a hard-fought defeat. In the postgame, Doncic was visibly exhausted but emotional. The desire to win a medal for Slovenia was clear and he will no doubt be in another gear to try and punch the Australian squad for the pain they inflicted a couple summers ago.
Australia’s star in this tournament has been Josh Giddey. The youngster from the OKC Thunder showed off his complete game with 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the win against Finland. He also led the team with 26 points in the win against host nation Japan.
Slovenia will need to try and keep the ball out of Giddey and Mills’ hands to stay in this one. Otherwise, Doncic will have to switch to superhero mode to single-handley outscore the Boomers.
Game Odds
Spread: Australia (-6)
Total (O/U): 178
Moneyline: Australia (-250) vs Slovenia (+205)
Game Prediction
This could be the game of the World Cup so far. Doncic will be hungry for the win and will go toe-to-toe with Giddey, Mills and the rest of the Aussies.
Doncic should continue his scoring ways. He scored more than 30 in his last two games and will need to hit that mark again to spring the upset for Slovenia. His team will also need a great defensive night, and it should also be a physical match and late fouls may go uncalled.
The 24-year-old star has been heroic in this tournament and expects it to continue. He will not be scared of any of the NBA talent on the other side and will carry his team to a close win.
Slovenia 91 - Australia 90
