The third and fourth playoff match can sometimes get a bad rap in sports. When you lose a semi-final, the last thing you want to do is be wheeled out for another match when you know a day later that the winners of your semi-final will be battling it out for the glory and the Gold Medal.
However, this is exactly what is facing Lithuania and France on Saturday and for the French, it may seem as though they haven’t been off of the court. The French side lost out to Serbia in a gripping semi-final on Friday night and they are back on court in the early evening in Madrid. Yes, less than 24 hours will have passed since the gut-wrenching loss and the French side will find themselves back in court. This could go a number of ways. Some experts think the French will be so demoralised that they will put up no fight against Lithuania, allowing a straightforward win for the Lithuanians. There are also some people that say the French will continue straight from where they left off, and they had a scintillating final quarter against Serbia. There could be a great start from the French before tiring later on if their exertions catch up with them but at the moment, it is far too early to predict what will unfold in the third and fourth match.
Jonas Valanciunas has been a main man for Lithuania, at least since the end of the group stages, and the Toronto Raptors man could be a key player in Saturday’s game. Even in the loss to the USA, he managed to deliver 15 points for his team, a feat also managed by Mindaugas Kuzminskas, and while this sort of thing would help a team to win many games of basketball, when you are up against USA, it was way short of making an impact or mattering in the final outcome.
For France, Nicolas Batum of the Portland trail Blazers has led the way and given inspiration to his team. France weren’t too great in the group stages either, getting through after a final day win over Iran where there were moments when it looked as though France was heading out. There then followed an uneventful win against Croatia before the quarter final match where France turned the 2014 FIBA World Cup on its head. Even with Gasol, Gasol and Ibaka lining up against them, France delivered a fully deserved 65-52 win over the host nation and announced their arrival at the tournament. Spain had dismissed France easily in the group stages but it was France who dismissed Spain from the tournament. The game against Serbia in the semi-final was too much for the French though, and this has led to them being pitted against Lithuania with next to no recovery time.
Lots of basketball betting odds for the third and fourth placed match
When it comes to the betting odds, you will find that Bwin and Bet365 are both backing Lithuania to grab the Bronze Medal and send France home with nothing but a lot of great memories and a possible sense of regret. Bwin is offering odds of 1.70 for Lithuania while Bet365 has them priced at 1.80. If you fancy France to get some recognition for their defeat of Spain and take a medal home, you will find odds of 2.10 at Bwin and 2.15 at Bet365. While both bookmakers believe that Lithuania have the edge in this match, there is not a lot between the two sides, so placing your money on France is not akin to backing a big outsider.
If you fancy a handicap bet, Bwin is offering odds of 1.91 with Lithuania at -1.5 and France at +1.5 Both betting sites are offering winning margin bets if you are looking to find a bet that will keep you engrossed to the last few seconds.
The lowest odds you will receive from Bwin is 5.25 which is for Lithuania to win by 6 to 10 points. Some of the Bwin winning margin bets are:
- Odds of 6.25 for Lithuania to win by 1 to 5 points
- Odds of 6.50 for France to win by 1 to 5 points
- Odds of 5.25 for Lithuania to win by 6 to 10 points
- Odds of 5.75 for France to win by 6 to 10 points
- Odds of 7.25 for Lithuania to win by 11 to 15 points
- Odds of 9.50 for France to win by 11 to 15 points
Any margin of victory over and above this level will see you get odds of at least ten.
Bet365 give you a bit more variety in their winning margin bets, breaking your options down into smaller point groups. As an example, some of the bets you will find are:
- Odds of 9.50 for Lithuania to win by 1 to 2 points
- Odds of 5.50 for Lithuania to win by 3 to 6 points
- Odds of 8.50 for Lithuania to win by 7 to 9 points
- Odds of 15.00 for Lithuania to win by 10 to 13 points
- Odds of 10.00 for France to win by 1 to 2 points
- Odds of 6.00 for France to win by 3 to 6 points
- Odds of 10.00 for France to win by 7 to 9 points
- Odds of 11.00 for France to win by 10-13 points
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| 2 |  | Bovada Review | | | 50% | $250 | Bovada |
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Bet365 T&Cs: New Customers only. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.
Bwin also has a number of bets available with respect to how much players will score, including:
Nicolas Batum of France
- The odds are at 1.85 for an over/under bet on 16.5 points
Jonas Valanciunas of Lithuania
- The odds are at 1.85 for an over/under bet on 13.5 points
Donatas Montiejunas of Lithuania
- The odds are at 1.85 for an over/under bet on 7.5 points
You can also wager a bet on rebounds with an example being:
Jonas Valanciunas of Lithuania
- The odds are at 1.85 for an over/under bet on 8.5 rebounds.
There is an excellent range of bets available from Bwin so if you are keen to enhance your enjoyment or entertainment from this game, this is the betting site you should turn to when looking to add some basketball betting action to the third and fourth play-off match.
The third and fourth match is clearly not the biggest basketball event of this weekend, but it could be a classic encounter so make some time in your Saturday schedule to get involved.
Bovada
Bovada Bonus: 50% up to $250
Pros
- Offers a fantastic range of North American sports betting options
- Provides live betting
- Offers a lot of promotions
- Offers plenty of assistance in getting you started
- Live in-game betting options
Cons
- Not a great deal of deposit and withdrawal options
- Not much focus outside of the US
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