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Why USA's FIBA World Cup loss to Lithuania might actually be good for their title chances

The U.S. lost its first game of the FIBA World Cup early Sunday morning, dropping a second-round meeting with Lithuania 110-104 after recovering from a deficit of more than 20 points to make it a game late.

However, despite the near-blowout, it’s not quite time to panic for U.S. fans. The Americans aren’t eliminated yet. Their spot in the quarterfinals was already guaranteed after Friday’s win over Montenegro.

In fact, Sunday’s loss might actually help their pursuit of World Cup gold because, in addition to being another needed wake-up call, it matches the U.S. against Group I winner Italy, instead of runner-up Serbia — which Lithuania now has to play after upsetting the United States.

This is potentially a good thing because though Italy beat Serbia to win their group, Serbia — led by the Miami Heat’s Nikola Jovic — is considered a better team by many, including oddsmakers. Serbia has the consensus fifth-best title odds compared to Italy’s eighth-best.

Of course, the U.S. is the favorite above all, so it really shouldn’t matter who they play. But as Lithuania just proved, the U.S. can be beat. So the easier the path, the better.

USA versus Italy tips off Thursday.

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