ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - It's been a while but USA and Australia have some major history against each other at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - and the two will battle in the first Semi-Final to book a ticket to Sunday's 2026 title game.
Along the way in building a 56-0 all-time record in the history of this competition, USA have beaten the Crocs four times. And they don't get any bigger than the last two matchups - the Finals in 2012 and 2014.
Australia, who lost to USA in a scrimmage before the tournament, have been playing great basketball and cruised past Canada 100-86 to reach the Semis. The Aussies would love to finally be the first team to beat the Americans. But it will take a major collective effort on their behalf to do so.
Victory number 56 in a row for USA was a record-setting 149-82 blowout of Puerto Rico - the most points scored in a single game. The Americans have not been challenged at all in Istanbul and really don't want to have a first test.
Key Matchup
Luke Paul vs Beckham Black and USA pressure
Luke Paul is the heart and soul of the Australian team and he will need to have a great game against the US pressure by Beckham Black and the other guards. Paul has committed nearly 5 turnovers per game in 26 minutes, but Australia cannot afford that to happen.
Black has been running the show for USA with 13.0 points when he needs to do some scoring and a tournament second-best 8.6 assists (to just 1.4 turnovers) along with 2.6 steals.
X-factors
Yahya Basaran has put together an outstanding tournament as Australia's top big man, scoring 9.4 points to go along with team highs of 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
Basaran will face a wave of USA big men the likes of Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, CJ Rosser, Erick Dampier Jr and Xavier Young. Like Paul, if Basaran can be effective against the American bigs, Australia will have a better chance.
Stats Don't Lie
Ready for an understatement: USA likes to run, especially after the opposition's miscues. The Americans race away to 31.8 points off turnovers per game. They also don't need mistakes to get in transition as they average 50.6 fast break points per game. In the first four games of the tournament, Australia did a solid job in that category, allowing only 13.5 points off turnovers and 9.8 fast break points per game.
But those numbers jumped to 23 and 21 respectively against Canada - a team that is similar to USA in terms of athleticism. And the Australians average 18.4 turnovers per contest. So they must control the ball.
Past Matchups
These two nations have not met in the U17 World Cup since 2014 - but three of the four matchups have been big games. After winning in the 2010 Quarter-Finals and the 2012 group stage, USA knocked off Australia in back-to-back Finals in 2012 and 2014. The 2012 title game ended in a 95-62 victory while the Americans won the Final two years later 99-92.
They Said
"Australia are really good. They're really good. They know how to play basketball. They play it the right way. They share the basketball. They have a couple of guys that are really tough to contain. We're going to have our hands full. I've been really impressed with their basketball IQ. I just think the way they play the game is the right way, so I'm very impressed by them." - USA head coach Scott Fitch
"I think we just need to have energy. Energy is what is really going to push us through. Keeping the defensive chemistry, keeping the offensive chemistry, just not deviating too much from what we've already done. So that's what's really going to help us get the win tomorrow." - USA forward Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje
"It's no small task. But anytime you want to win and be successful, you have to beat the best in the world. They've shown they're the benchmark nation at this age group over a long period of time. We've got some work to do over the next 24 hours. They have significant strengths that they're very good at, and we have significant strengths we're very good at. The team that holds its identity for the longest period of time in those types of games is successful." - Australia head coach Greg Vanderjagt
"Talented team. Super long, super athletic. So we'll do what we need to do and come out and hit them strong tomorrow." - Australia guard Luke Paul
FIBA