After beating Mexico in the round of 16, the U.S. Men's National Basketball Team is taking on Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals.
The Americans play Slovenia on Tuesday, Sept. 9 in a game being aired on ESPN at 3 p.m. ET. Whereas the team had not played Mexico is years, the U.S. played Slovenia in the exhibition round ahead of the tournament, winning 101-71.
The U.S. is two wins away from reaching the FIBA World Cup title game, as is the host country Spain, scheduled to play France in the quarterfinals.
"They (Slovenia) are unusually good in that they have one of the great guards in the world in Goran Dragić. And his brother (Zoran) is outstanding, too, and with (Domen) Lorbek, those three guys on the perimeter provide probably, outside of Spain, the most experienced perimeter that you have in the tournament," USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a team release. "And then you surround them with 3-point shooters. You can have really five guys who can shoot the three, so they have great spacing, they share the ball, half their shots are threes, and they are going to be a tough team to defend. We think they are one of the best teams."
Krzyzewski has lead the U.S. to 60 straight international victories, improving his overall record to 72-1 as the national team's coach. This year, the U.S. is noticeably missing NBA stars like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love.
The lack of big, athletic wingmen have exposed Team USA's poor defense, though they have compensated with a small, talented backcourt. If the U.S. should face Spain the finals, the matchup promises to be the Americans' toughest contest.
According to ESPN, Krzyzewski is not too worried about Derrick Rose, who might be the team's best backcourt defender and has been playing as a reserve. Rose has not looked to his aggressive self on offense, which is understandable given his two knee injuries in as many seasons.
