United States Lithuania Preview

The United States begins its march towards a medal with a quarterfinal matchup against a tough Lithuania team. The Lithuanians finished second in its pool with a +87 point differential and have not lost since their first game against France. For comparison sake, Brazil had a +86 point differential in the United States pool.

The Lithuanians have some of the older players in the tournament, which will present a (hopefully now familiar) challenge to the United States, but they also have a couple players who play in Europe's best leagues, as well as the Finals MVP from Lithuania's B league, so there won't be much to throw at them that they have not seen before and they have an impressive mix of experience and talent. It's worth noting that a handful of them play for Zalgiris, one of the oldest basketball teams in Europe and one of just 14 teams to hold an A license to Euroleague, gaining them an automatic pass into the second toughest competition in the world. Zalgiris advanced out of the first round this year before not advancing out of its group in the round of 16 after going 5-9 in that phase. Zalgiris has also won the last five domestic titles.

Paulius Dambrauskas

Height: 6-4

Age: 23

2015 team: Lietuvos (Lithuania)

2015 stats: 1.3 ppg, .5 rpg

Vaidas Kariniauskas

Height: 6-6

Age: 21

2015 team: Zalgiris (Lithuania)

2015 stats: 3.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg

Egidijus Mockevicius

Height: 6-10

Age: 22

2015 team: Evansville (NCAA)

2015 stats: 12.5 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.2 bpg

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Saulius Kulvietis

Height: 6-9

Age: 24

2015 team: Juventus (Italy)

2015 stats: 10.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg