Argentina vs Nigeria
July 12, 2021 4:30 pm EDT
The Line: Argentina -3.5 -- Over/Under 168.5
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Argentina and Nigeria meet Monday night in a mens basketball International Friendly exhibition match at the Michelob Ultra Arena. Argentina should be eager for a bounce back performance after allowing a comeback to Australia and losing on a last second shot. Nigeria is coming off a massive upset where they beat the United States outright despite being 30-point underdogs
Argentina had a big lead in the third quarter and then fell apart down the stretch. In the losing effort, Luis Scola led Argentina with 25 points while Facundo Campazzo and Luca Vildoza dished in double-digit points as well. While it’s still exhibition play, teams want to get in the habit of finishing games and winning when they’re supposed to. I except a better effort from Argentina this time out.
In the victory for Nigeria, Gabe Vincent led the way with 21 points and four assists while Caleb Agada had 17 points and three rebounds. Ike Nwamu was the third double-digit scorer and Precious Achiuwa grabbed seven rebounds. Nigeria shot 43.8 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from three. It’s the sort of win that does wonders for the confidence and could turn Nigeria into a potential threat once the Olympics start. Nigeria has a lot of NBA players on its roster and a three-time champion at head coach, so there’s potential here. This will be a team to watch closely.
Argentina has never lost to Nigeria, and that includes a 13-point victory in a preliminary World Cup match back in 2019. Argentina is 8-0 against Nigeria all-time.
I was on Nigeria against the US and this is still a respectable roster that doesn’t get enough love. However, I am concerned about a potential letdown for Nigeria, as the upset victory has been talked about a lot over the last 24 hours. All that extra attention could throw a team off with a quick turnaround. Also, Argentina will be playing with a chip on its shoulder after losing the way it did against the Aussies. This feels like a good spot for Argentina.
I’ll lay the reasonable chalk.
