The United States men’s basketball team has won 24 straight games in the Summer Olympics, but the team is just 1-3 against the spread over its last four games. The Americans will try to lock up their third straight gold medal on Sunday with a win over Serbia.
USA vs. Serbia odds, Olympic basketball 2016: USA favored by 15 points in gold medal game
The United States will put its 24-game Olympic winning streak on the line on Sunday against Serbia as they compete in the gold medal game.
Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
The USA is a 15-point betting favorite in the gold medal game according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. On the moneyline, the Americans are a -2000 favorite to take home the gold on Sunday.
Held to their lowest score of the Summer Olympics, the United States gutted out a tough 82-76 win over Spain to advance to the finals. The USA failed to cover the spread as a 13.5-point favorite, but it marked the second straight game that the team was able to hold its opponent to under 80 points after allowing 92 points per game in its previous three contests.
With the seven wins that this year’s squad have picked up, the United States now owns a record of 137-5 in 18 Summer Olympic appearances.
While the United States advancing to the gold medal game shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, Serbia’s advancing to this point is definitely the story of the tournament. Entering the tournament as a +3300 longshot to win the gold on the Rio Olympics odds, Serbia is now down to +1000 on the moneyline to come away with the win.
Going off as a 4.5-point underdog against Australia, Serbia was completely dominant on defense and came away with an 87-61 blowout victory.
Sunday’s total is set at 181.5 points for the USA vs. Serbia matchup. Five of the United States’ last six games have gone OVER this total, including a 94-91 win over Serbia during the group stage.
The United States men’s national team has a clear talent advantage over the rest of the field, and if the team plays its best on Sunday it will defeat Serbia. But there may not be very much room for error; Serbia kept its last game against the USA to within three points, and the defense it played against Australia suggests that the Americans will have to fight hard for every open shot they get.
Serbia has a good shot at keeping this game close, and could even pull off an outright upset if the United States doesn’t keep up its strong defensive play of late.
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