we are tied second with argentina and croatia.

goes on head to head meaing we finish 4th.

meaning aus play USA.

=[ correct?

If Russia beat Argentina, we avoid playig USA and instead play Spain.

I think thats right

when i was watching channel 7 today they said we play spain if we win? so im confused but i shouldnt take cahnnel 7's word for anything their absolute idiots

i dont quite understand why all the media is saying we are playing team USA when it is still a realistic possibility that we will face Spain!

We finished 2nd. Its based on score difference.

We play the team that finish 3rd in Group B being Greece.

Further - If we beat Spain, we then play the winner of the USA and Argentina for a spot in the Gold Medal game.

(That is presuming the USA win tonight and finish top of their group)

Huh? Who says we finished 2nd? There's still games in progeress. Kobe-4-MVP is right, even if Argentina lose to Russia they still finish above us, despite identical 3-2 records, due to head to head. Same with Croatia, identical record but they finish higher because they beat us.

Conclusion, we can only finish 4th, USA can only finish top, therefore we play them next. Channel 7 are idiots.

From the FIBA Olympic site..

"If both teams have same win-loss record, the classification will be determined by the goal average (by division) taking into account the results of all games played in their respective group."

So, if Russia win we will finish 2nd. If Argentina win we will finish 3rd. We cannot drop to 4th.

ur saying channel 7 are idiots, but it was andrew gaze who said that we could avoid USA.

Is it actually head2head, im not disagreeing, i just havent seen any reliable sources saying its head 2 head and not pints difference.

As they're either tied with Croatia or with Croatia and Argentina if Russia win, since they lost to both Aus can only finish 4th - see FIBA rules p71:

D.1.1 If there are two teams in the classification with equal points, the result(s) of the game(s) between the two teams involved will be used to determine the placings.
D.1.2 If the points and the goal average in the games between the two teams are still the same, the classification will be determined by the goal average of all the games played in the group by each team.
D.1.3 If more than two teams are equal in the placing, a second classification will be established, taking into account only the results of the games between the teams that are tied.
D.1.4 If there are still teams tied after the second classification, then goal average will be used to determine the placing, taking into account only the results of the games between the teams still tied.

Skip, that quote you've given only refers to deciding who finishes 11 or 12, ie the bottom team in each group. The percentage only comes into play because there is no head to head to fall back on.

Here's the quote in full:

Places 11-12

The teams ranked 6th in each group of the Preliminary Round shall be classified for the places 11-12 according to the following criteria:

1. Win-loss record in their Preliminary Round group.
2. If both teams have same win-loss record, the classification will be determined by the goal average (by division) taking into account the results of all games played in their respective group.

shit.....we have played so well in our last 3 games. It seems unfair that we have to face USA in the first knockout game.

Unfortunate, but can we catch them off guard like we did lithuania and russia!

My Apologies. I am indeed very wrong on this one.

ESPN have an article about how Australia will present a challenge for the US:

Full story here

I'm not so optimistic but it's nice that they talk up the challenge that the US will face against Greece, Spain, etc.

For the gamblers, Australia are paying $23. The US odds are at $1.005 (bet $100, and you could win 50 cents...). The line is at +31 (more or less even odds for Australia to lose by less than 30 points).

Might be better value in the other games with China at $6+ over Lithuania, Croatia at $6+ against Spain and Greece at $2.50 to beat Argentina.

Anyone know if Channel; Seven are going to show it in full?

What time is it on?

The match is scheduled for 9:30pm according to Yahoo7

damn shame its the US .. had better chance v Greece and Spain. On form AUS is better then at least 2 teams ahead of them Coratia and Lithunia

Anon - ESPN article would be US time

20:00 in China is 21:30 in Adelaide:

Game time

I love this part:

"The Australian players played mind games with the Americans that night in Shanghai, calling them by their numbers rather than their names when they were defending them on inbounds plays. The members of Team USA didn't know whether to be flabbergasted or insulted because it was something so off the wall."

i was really hoping to see ricky rubio take on patty mills... would have been match up of the olympics i think