The FIBA Basketball World Cup begins on Friday, August 25th, and the Australian Boomers feature in the first game of the tournament as they take on Finland at 6pm AEST. We preview the matchup and provide our best bet and Same Game Multi below. Good luck to everyone following!
Make sure to check out our Basketball Tips page regularly to find our full game previews and best bets for the key matchups throughout the World Cup, including all of the Boomers games!
Also, Picklebet are running a promotion that gives punters $3.50 odds for either team to hit 2+ three-pointers in the first two minutes. Max bet $100.
FIBA Basketball World Cup Betting Tips
Finland vs Australia
Friday 6pm AEST, August 25th, Okinawa Arena (Japan)
Ranked #3 by FIBA, Australia are one of the key contenders at the World Cup. They finished fourth in 2019 and went one better at the Olympics a year later when they took home the bronze.
The Boomers boast arguably their strongest ever roster at a World Cup, headlined by OKC Thunder star Josh Giddey. Coach Brian Goorjian has handed the 20-year-old the keys to the offense, and his experience playing against the best players in the NBA will hold him in good stead.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Boomers in the warmup games. They suffered a surprise loss in one of their earlier games against Brazil, although finished strong with a win against a fellow gold medal contender in France.
The Aussies first game in Japan will come against #24 ranked Finland. This is just their second time in their history that they’ve been able to qualify for a World Cup, with their only other appearance coming in 2014 when they finished 22nd.
The primary factor Susijengi (The Wolf Pack) qualified for this World Cup is because they have one of the top 20 players in the world on their team in 7’0” power forward, Lauri Markkanen. The Utah Jazz All-Star averaged 26 points and nine rebounds in the NBA this past season.
Susijengi played four warmup games and won their first two, including one against top 10 nation Lithuania, however they got smashed by 37 points in their final exhibition game against Latvia, although it’s important to note Markkanen was rested for that one.
Match prediction: Finland have a couple of sharpshooters that will knock down shots and help space the floor for Markkanen to do damage in the paint, but ultimately a team with Australia’s immense quality should be able to outlast this nation making only their second appearance on the world stage.
Matisse Thybulle also looms as the likely matchup for the Finnish superstar, and he arguably has the best tools of anyone in the tournament to slow him down.
Simply put, the Boomers matchup extremely well with Finland and should be winning their opening group stage game by double-digits.
Australia -9.5
$1.86 (2 Units)
Same Game Multi
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Australia to Win – The class of the Boomers should shine through here. A loss would be a massive upset.
Lauri Markkanen 3+ Assists – The offense runs through this man and for good reason. Although standing at 7’0”, he’s adept at putting the ball on the floor and making plays for others.
Duop Reath 15+ Points – With Landale out with injury, Reath will need to step up in a big way. I expect him to be the starting centre and to be on the end of plenty of Giddey assists.
SGM Odds: $5.25 at BoomBet
