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The third day of FIBA World Cup 2023 brings us the first matches of the second round. The Boomers trashed Finland 98-72 in their opening match. Josh Giddey made history on his World Cup debut too. Germany were also impressive as they beat hosts Japan 81-63. Now the two big favourites in this group lock horns in a battle for the top spot. This is our preview of the game, along with some of our favourite betting tips for this duel.
- Date & Time: Sunday, August 27, 2023, 9:30 a.m. GMT
- Venue: Okinawa Arena – Okinawa, Japan
Australia vs Germany basketball predictions
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While the two teams are seen as serious contenders during this World Cup, there are some interesting betting markets to explore here. So, let’s take a closer look at our latest Australia vs Germany basketball predictions:
Prediction 1: Germany over 82.5 total points @ 11/20 (1.55)
The Germans come into this match having a serious height advantage and they are expected to benefit from that by forcing the issue in the paint and getting easy baskets there. Germany tend to score points easily and they went over 82 points in 7 of their last 8 games. They stopped themselves on 81 points in the first game of this World Cup just because their lead was so big already.
Right before the tournament started Germany scored 91 in a close battle with Team USA. They also scored 86 and 113 in 2 friendlies vs Canada, so we feel confident to back the German team to cover this points spread again.
Prediction 2: Australia to Win @ 8/11 (1.73)
The Boomers played an excellent first game and they showed great versatility in guarding bigs against Finland. Australia have some gifted defenders in their ranks and despite lacking size they know how to protect their rim well.
The Boomers also have 3 excellent perimeter defenders on their roster in Patty Mills, Josh Green and Matisse Thybulle. Between them, they should be able to contain Germany’s main creator Dennis Schroder.
We certainly think the match will be close but ultimately the deeper roster and ability to rely on their bench a lot more should sway things in Australia’s favour so we back them to win.
Australia vs Germany preview – Can the Boomers fight the bigs?
Now let’s take a closer look at the latest Australia vs Germany team news ahead of their meeting in Group F at the FIBA World Cup:
Australia news, injuries, and starting lineups
The Boomers suffocated Finland in their first game and easily won 98-82. Veteran Patty Mills led the way with 25 points on 11-of-22 shooting. However, the history makers will remember the match for Josh Giddey’s debut. With 14 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists the OKC Thunder point guard became only the 2nd man in history after LeBron James to have a 10-5-5 FIBA World Cup debut.
Despite, missing their main centre Jock Landale the Boomers made a decent job of protecting their paint with Nick Kay playing well.
Australia have a deep bench too. The roster is also filled with players that can switch and guard multiple positions so the Boomers look like a team on a mission even without the hurt Landale, who will sit out the entire tournament.
Australia injury report:
- Jock Landale (C) – ruled out of the tournament
Australia starting lineup:
D. Reath, N. Kay, M. Thybulle, J. Giddey & P. Mills
Germany news, injuries, and starting lineups
The Germans opened their 2023 FIBA World Cup with a decisive 81-63 win against hosts Japan. The aggressive start practically ended the intrigue come halftime with Germany leading 53-31 after 2 quarters. Dennis Schroder was his usual self with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Dennis Thies was a beast inside the paint with 13 points and 8 rebounds, while Moritz Wagner came off the bench to record the game-high 25 points and 9 rebounds.
Franz Wagner played very well too but he got hurt in the 3rd quarter and it seems very likely that he will sit out the coming match. Franz is listed as a day-to-day injury but according to the German doctor his problem is yet to be determined: “Nothing is broken, torn, or anything like this; things that would end the FIBA World Cup for him. Franz feels better this morning than yesterday. We did another MRI this morning. But, the problem is that we don’t have the imaging yet, so we can’t say exactly what’s hurt yet.”
His brother Moritz Wagner is ready to step into the starting 5 and this shouldn’t weaken much Germany’s starting unit. However, Moritz scored 25 of Germany’s bench’s 32 points in the first game and without him to contribute when the regulars rest Germany’s second unit might struggle.
Germany injury report:
- Franz Wagner (SF) – day-to-day
Germany starting lineup:
J. Voigtmann, D. Theis, M. Wagner, A. Obst & D. Schroder
Australia vs Germany head-to-head matchups
These have been 3 previous matches between the teams with Australia currently leading the head-to-head 2-1. The last meeting was during the Tokyo Olympics just 2 years ago when Australia triumphed 89-76.
Where to watch Australia vs Germany on TV/live stream
If you live in the UK, you can watch all FIBA World Cup matches via FIBA’s streaming service Courtside 1891. Meanwhile, in the USA, the World Cup will be shown on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Australian fans can watch their team also on ESPN from all across Oz.
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