Olympics Men’s Basketball: Lithuania vs Croatia
Through three games in the 2016 Rio Olympics men’s basketball competition, it looked as if Lithuania and Croatia were going to be two dark horses moving forward. Both had been quite impressive and looked to take it to the next level. Of course, they then answered the hype train by both suffering debilitating losses. With just one game remaining in the preliminary round that’ll be Lithuania vs Croatia, both teams are now looking to get momentum back on their side and potentially to improve their seeding.
Lithuania are perhaps in the most interesting position, especially coming off losing by 50 points to Spain on Saturday. Jonas Valanciunas, Domantas Sabonis, and the rest of the squad occupy second place in Group B entering Monday. With a win and an Argentina loss to Spain, there’s a scenario where the Lithuanians could be Group B winners. Considering how beneficial that can be in regards to seeding, that could be huge for them, especially as they lick their wounds from that Spanish beatdown.
On the other hand, Croatia enters Monday on the heels of being upset by Nigeria. Now arguably the most talented young team in the tournament that boasts the likes of Dario Saric, Mario Hezonja, and Bojan Bogdanovic will look to recover in their own right. Currently in fourth place, they could theoretically still make the quarterfinals even with a loss. However, they’ll look to not tempt fate and just pick up the win against the Lithuanians.
Details for Monday’s Lithuania vs Croatia men’s basketball matchup are below:
Date: Monday, August 15
Start Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Arena: Carioca Arena 1
TV Info: Olympics Basketball Channel
Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com
The Olympics Basketball Channel has the broadcast of this matchup live on Monday night. You may also live stream the game on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. Login using a cable or satellite subscription to either service and you’re on your way.