Epic US Comeback vs Serbia | Gold Medal Game Best Bets
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00:00A game in Olympic basketball history that we all shall remember for a very, very long
00:10time. Helping us break down the madness that was the fourth quarter comeback for the United
00:15States yesterday against Serbia and what lays ahead in the gold medal game on Saturday afternoon.
00:21Bill Bender from Sporting News is here on this Friday on the early line on Sports Grid.
00:26Bill, we appreciate the time as always. Thank you for being here for yet another Olympic
00:30assessment entering the final weekend of the games over in Paris.
00:35Yeah, I'm still sweating through my shirt after yesterday's game. What a comeback, what
00:39a fun matchup. You know, Serbia was just hitting. I say that, I think I said that on the show
00:45earlier this week. It's dictated by the three-point game. They hit five threes in each of those
00:51first three quarters. They couldn't miss. My son was losing his mind and USA clamped
00:57down on him on the fourth quarter. What a comeback, what a game, what a moment.
01:01Bogdan Bogdanovic got things started early for the Serbians, scored a team-high 20 points
01:07for Serbia, but cooled off in the fourth quarter and the United States rallied in that fourth
01:12and final quarter. Down by 13, entering the fourth stanza. The Americans win the fourth,
01:1922-15 to come all the way back and continue the chase for a fifth consecutive gold medal,
01:2695-91 over Serbia. Bill, there is so much that we could look back on from yesterday's
01:32game, even in the final 10 minutes that were the fourth quarter. What will you remember
01:37most from the American comeback over Serbia?
01:41LeBron James taking over the game. Obviously Steph Curry, and I think earlier, I missed
01:46him by a game, by the way. The game before I thought he would go off, it was yesterday.
01:52So sorry to the betters out there. I didn't know that he would go for 34 points and not
01:56miss from three and keep them in the game. But LeBron James getting a triple-double and
02:01LeBron James guarding Djokic and LeBron James doing all the things that he does at his age.
02:07You can tell how much this means to him and Kevin Durant, Steph Curry. It's not quite
02:12a passing the torch moment when those guys are carrying the torch for Team USA. And what
02:17a moment it was. And now they go to a gold medal game where, you know, it's another spread
02:23I look at and it's, this is tricky because France has played them tough in the past.
02:28Part of me thinks they're just going to blow them out with the momentum from that game.
02:32But this is a pretty good French team that they're going to play. And then I saw the
02:36analogy yesterday. It's like playing Syracuse and Rochester in the Elite Eight.
02:44Ben loves that. Absolutely. The Syracuse Orange out here. Yesterday, we did see, Bill,
02:49sometimes we see in athletics where you're down, let's just say 15, 17 or 20 points.
02:53You call back and get close, but you can't take the lead, which is what happened with Team USA
02:57yesterday. Then Serbia extends it back up to double digits. That's what I thought was so
03:00impressive. Team USA coming back a second time with that second win and getting that victory.
03:05Now we are going to see the gold medal matchup tomorrow. Team USA versus France,
03:09a 16-point favorite right now at the Fandula Sportsbook and a total of 177.5. The one thing
03:14we love about the French team, back-to-back games as the underdogs in their own building
03:19were able to survive and advance. Are we looking for a closer game at this point? Because I know
03:23you already alluded to it. It might be a blowout. What do the French need to do against Team USA
03:28to hang around? That's the same recipe. They need to hit threes. They can't shoot six of 27 from
03:34three like they did against Germany. If they do, this will be a blowout, in my opinion. They've got
03:40size, obviously, when Benyama is so fun to watch for him. And they do have experience against Team
03:47USA. They played Team USA in 2020. It was a close game. I went back and looked at that box score.
03:53If you remember a guy that could be a guy that you want to hit on a prop in this game,
03:56Kevin Durant had 29 points. Now, granted, that was four years ago, but it was a close game.
04:02They're at home. I mean, you can't be any more home than they're at. It's going to be
04:06an electric atmosphere. I'm interested to see how the crowd cheers, right? Because we're in Paris,
04:13but it's Team USA. So is this going to feel like one of those, I always use the analogy,
04:18Game 7 when I was at the Cubs Cleveland World Series, that everybody was cheering every play
04:25because the stands was 50-50 in this World Series game. And I think that's the type of
04:29atmosphere we're going to have this weekend. 3.30 p.m. Eastern Time. Here's Stateside,
04:36the gold medal match between the United States and France. Team USA looking for its fifth
04:41consecutive gold medal. That streak really means nothing in comparison to the United States women's
04:47basketball team hoping for 60 consecutive wins in Olympic competition and a berth in a gold
04:54medal match today as well. They will take on Australia in the semifinal. Bill, the United
05:01States a 14.5 point favorite. The total 161.5 against the Australians. They are seeking 60.
05:10That would be 60 wins in a row in the Olympic Games dating back to the 1992 Summer Games
05:17in Barcelona. First, will it happen outright? And then how decisive of a margin out of the
05:23United States are you expecting today against Australia? I mean, this is another tricky spread.
05:29Yes, I think they're going to get to 60. What an amazing accomplishment. I think they're going to
05:34ride the formula of A.J. Wilson and Brianna Stewart. They dominated inside. They dominated
05:39in the quarterfinals. They when you have that size advantage scoring and the things that they have
05:45there now granted Australia six WNBA players. It's not like they don't have players that can play.
05:51It's just you mentioned that streak. A couple other streaks. I saw team Australia 0 and 20
05:56against Team USA 0 and 8 in Olympic play against Team USA. So they have they've done this plenty
06:03of times. I was going to make didn't the Washington generals wear green and green and gold. I can't
06:08remember. I mean, I don't want to drop that reference because as soon as I do, Team USA will
06:14lose. But I like Team USA to cover the number. It could be close. You know, I think they're going to
06:20win by 18 to 20 points. I think that inside dominance will matter. And you want to take over
06:26on the points of A.J. Wilson. There's nothing wrong with that. She continues to dominate in
06:29these games. If we take a look and have a little fun with these two matchups here, obviously,
06:33it's not the gold medal round just yet for the women's team, USA going up against Australia,
06:37but going up against Australia, but some minutes of not losing for that long.
06:41You know, we can forget about the whole Caitlin Clark drama. They've been that good no matter what.
06:47A.J. Wilson, highest points props in this game, 21 and a half. She had 20 and 11 to lead the
06:54United States past Nigeria, a tight game against the Nigerians, who were a 26 and a half point
07:01underdog, easily covering that margin, only losing by 14. The host nation, France, in women's
07:07basketball in the second semifinal of this Friday over in Paris. They're a four and a half point
07:15point favorite against Belgium. Could it be the Americans and the French in both of the
07:19basketball gold medal games? It seems there is a good chance of that. Now, Bill, we go to soccer
07:27where Team USA in women's soccer is looking for a gold as well over a two dollar favorite minus 215
07:35for the gold medal match tomorrow morning. They were supposed to take on Spain, but the Brazilians
07:41pulled off a huge upset earlier this week in that semifinal. Less than a minute left in this segment.
07:48Should the Americans come home with gold and women's soccer? Yeah, it could be Marta's retirement
07:54party for Brazil. These two have been the most consistent in terms of getting to the medals.
07:59Love how Team USA has spread out the scoring between Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Trinity
08:05Rodman. Three goals each in this. Brazil's had trouble scoring. I think Team USA wins two nothing.
08:12I think it's a fun game and they're gonna have to play well, but I'm gonna go with the Americans here.
08:17It's supposed to kick off around 11 a.m. Eastern time. By the way, Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith,
08:23and Mallory Swanson, they want their nickname to be for the trio up front for the Americans,
08:29Triple Espresso. So just remember that, Triple Espresso tomorrow for the team to lead the
08:34United States. Bill Bender of Sporting News, we appreciate the time as always.