Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson and Crew USA tackle Ezinne Kalu and Nigeria in Olympic basketball quarterfinals

The Olympic ladies’s basketball quarterfinals happen tomorrow, and with that, the U.S. will face off in opposition to Nigeria at 3:30pm ET. It might be one of many extra lopsided quarterfinals video games — however then once more, Nigeria has been counted out earlier than, and has continued to shock throughout this Olympic run.

The 2 ladies’s basketball applications hail from vastly totally different historic contexts: the US ladies’s crew has received a hanging 58 consecutive Olympic video games — and 7 straight gold medals — whereas Nigeria simply made historical past by changing into the primary African nation to ever make the quarterfinals in Olympic basketball historical past.

However, in single-elimination play, that may not issues. Historic accolades received’t management the result of a forty minute basketball recreation — if Nigeria performs exceptionally properly, and if the U.S. struggles, Nigeria have an opportunity, as wild an upset as it could be. And whereas USA Basketball has blown out each opponent thus far, a number of video games have been shut for a while earlier than they pulled away in dominant vogue.

Right here’s what to anticipate from this matchup.

A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart will proceed to steer USA

To this point all through this Olympic run, the US has been led by the dominant front-court tandem of Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson, every of whom are averaging 20.3 factors per recreation. Each have been extremely environment friendly — Stewart is taking pictures 62.5% from the sphere, and Wilson 56.8% — and have performed off of one another extremely properly. Stewart and Wilson’s elite play ought to come as no shock to anybody who’s watched ladies’s basketball this decade — collectively, they’ve racked up 4 MVPs and 4 championships, whereas persistently being essentially the most dominant gamers within the league.

Picture by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP by way of Getty Photographs

All through the group-stage video games, Chelsea Grey, Diana Taurasi, and Napheesa Collier have rounded out the beginning lineup, whereas bench gamers Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Younger have served as notably significant contributors, amongst others. Younger exploded for 19 factors (and 5 three-pointers) in Sunday’s win over Germany, whereas Thomas has offered a spark of vitality on each ends of the ground every time she’s checked in.

Brittney Griner, a longtime Crew USA veteran, has offered unequalled measurement off the bench, and has been the crew’s fourth-leading scorer via three video games, averaging 8 factors and 5.3 rebounds an evening. Sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu — the youngest participant on the roster —has added 7.7 factors per recreation, whereas Jackie Younger has scored 8.7 factors a recreation, punctuated by her huge efficiency in opposition to Germany.

The fantastic thing about this basketball crew has been its well-roundedness and ball motion — outdoors of Stewart and Wilson, who’ve each been closely featured within the offense, scoring and touches have been fairly constant throughout the board.

The components they’ve assembled offensively has labored. Crew USA is taking pictures 49.5% from the sphere and averaging 92 factors per recreation — 16 factors greater than Belgium has averaged, and the 2023 EuroBasket champions are answerable for the second highest-scoring offense within the discipline. Ball distribution has been the hallmark attribute of the U.S.’s offense — they’ve averaged 28.7 assists per recreation, led by Grey, who’s dished 6 dimes an evening.

Whereas the crew didn’t have a lot time to follow forward of exhibition play, a number of mixtures of gamers are additionally WNBA teammates. Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, for instance, each play for the Liberty. The Aces have 4 gamers on the Olympic roster, they usually’ve displayed notably sturdy chemistry when sharing the ground collectively. Even former WNBA groups have had the prospect to hyperlink up. That’s made a considerable distinction, stated Breanna Stewart.

“We positively know the place each other is,” Stewart stated, per USA Immediately. “You see it with anybody who’s right here with their teammates, you simply have that chemistry as a result of the (WNBA) season has been occurring, all of the practices, all of the reps. It’s useful that (Sabrina’s) at all times on the lookout for me. If you’re in a two- or three-man motion, there’s some sense of familiarity … particularly in transition, she is aware of the place I’m working and she or he’s going to search out me.”

Nigeria upset two groups en path to the quarterfinals

On the opposite facet of the coin, you’ve gotten Nigeria, who likely didn’t predict would qualify for single-elimination play. However, after upsetting Australia 75-62 of their first Olympic recreation, and later defeating Canada, 79-70, they secured a spot within the quarterfinals.

Picture by Gregory Shamus/Getty Photographs

Nigeria has been led by Ezinne Kalu, who’s averaged 19.3 factors per recreation on 47.1% taking pictures. Kalu was a standout at Savannah State College, and is now the fifth main scorer within the Olympic discipline. Kalu is a three-level scorer who’s shot 41.2% from downtown, and also can get downhill and draw free throws at a excessive clip. She’ll doubtless want a monster efficiency to drag off the upset — however she’s already proven she thrives in huge moments. Alongside her, Murjanatu Musa has additionally been impactful, averaging 10.7 factors and 6.7 rebounds per recreation.

After Nigeria certified for the quarterfinals, Kalu articulated the magnitude of the second.

“It means rather a lot, you realize, not simply to us as a crew, however to all the world of Africa,” Kalu stated, per AP Information. “It solely will get tougher from right here.”

It’s not the primary time the 2 international locations’ ladies’s basketball applications have confronted off. The U.S. and Nigeria performed each other in a group-stage recreation in Tokyo, and USA got here out on high by 9 factors in that one — although they led by double-digits for a lot of the recreation.

A loaded day of quarterfinals play

The Nigeria-USA matchup will shut out a day of girls’s basketball quarterfinals play. Serbia and Australia will kick issues off with a recreation at 5am, adopted by Spain-Belgium at 8:30am, earlier than a Germany-France matchup at 12pm ET.

If Crew USA defeats Nigeria, they’ll advance to the semifinals, which slated for Friday, August ninth. Each the Bronze and Gold Medal Video games are on Sunday.