With the group stages being over and the teams having a well-deserved rest day on Monday the 16th of August, there is an opportunity to look forward to the rest of the tournament. It is set to be a big week of basketball action and this means that there is going to be a big week of basketball betting to look forward to.
Odds To Win Outright
The odds are still very much with the Americans in the 2016 Rio Games and if you want to back them, you’ll find odds of 1.070 available. This isn’t very enticing, so you really need to question if there is any value in backing the leaders.
Spain are available at odds of 19.00 and if Spain are going to take the title, they’ll need to overcome USA in the semi-final and then win the final match, so you can see that this would be a huge challenge. There is also the small matter of Spain still needing to get through the quarter-finals before they can think about a semi-final clash but we tend to look ahead when it comes to sporting tournaments.
Serbia can be backed at odds of 23.00 while Australia are available at odds of 26.00 to take Gold in Brazil this summer. Lithuania are on offer at odds of 29.00 while France can be backed at odds of 34.00 which is the same odds for Croatia. Argentina are the outsiders of the remaining teams, listed at odds of 51.00 and there is every chance their tournament will be over by the time Wednesday evening rolls around
Betting Without Favourite
Of course, when you take the United States out of the equation, the tournament opens up and many teams will find that they have a real chance of winning the tournament. Serbia find themselves the most likely to grab the win when discounting USA from the tournament and you can back them at odds of 2.70. There is also a lot to be said for considering Australia in this style of bet and they can be backed at odds of 3.70.
Lithuania are then listed at odds of 4.00 and Croatia can be backed at 5.50. The odds for these two nations, and the next ranked nation should be considered closely, because it owes a lot to the seeding and pathway to the final.
Spain had a slow start to the 2016 Rio Games but even though they have picked up the pace now, the fact that they are scheduled to meet the United States before the final means that they are classed as an outside bet to claim the title without the favourites. This is why you need to consider the path to the final before jumping in with this bet, it isn’t just about the bets team left in the tournament. For Spain to win without the favourite, they are still listed at odds of 19.00
France would have the same issue as Spain, which means that they are found at odds of 34.00 and Argentina, who face USA in the quarter-final are listed at odds of 51.00. Even though USA are discounted for the sake of this bet, their impact on the tournament cannot be overlooked or dismissed when you want to predict the winner when betting without the favourite.
To Win Medal
The odds on winning a medal are not quite as severe and you’ll find that Spain are actually listed as the second favourites here behind the USA even though they are expected to lose to the Americans in the semi-final. This is because a semi-final loss would see the Spanish drop into the Bronze Medal game, where they would automatically be favourites to take third place.
USA are available at odds of 1.005, Spain can be found at odds of 2.10 and then Serbia come in at odds of 2.50.You can back Australia at odds of 2.75 to win a medal and then Lithuania are available at odds of 3.00. France are listed at odds of 4.00 as are Croatia and Argentina can be backed at odds of 9.00.
When you consider Argentina are taking on USA in the quarter-final, and a defeat here would send them home with no more games, these odds look positively mean. For Argentina to grab a medal they would need to defeat America and then win at least one more game in the tournament to secure a minimum of third place. The likelihood of that happening would see you wanting better odds than 9.00!
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