EuroBasket 2015 - Quarter-Final Preview: Italy v Lithuania

LILLE (EuroBasket 2015) - The Quarter-Final stage of EuroBasket 2015 will wrap up on Wednesday night when the star-studded Italians, who keep growing better every game, come up against Lithuania, who continue to find a way to win in tight situations.

Record: Italy (LWWLW) v Lithuania (WWLWWW)
Italy cruised [ast Israel to book their spot in the Quarter-Finals.

Lithuania, meanwhile, survived a battle with Georgia to move into the Last Eight.

Italy and Lithuania faced off in the Quarter-Finals of EuroBasket 2013 with Lithuania winning 81-77 en route to the final while Italy lost their next two games to finish eighth and miss out on the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Jonas Maciulis (LTU)

Key Match-Up: Alessandro Gentile v Jonas Maciulis 
Gentile has been a huge part of Italy's run to the Last Eight - both offensively and defensively. Maciulis showed he's a big game performer in the Round of 16 with 34 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks. But the Lithuanian had been averaging 10.8 points before the big outburst against Georgia.

Key Stat: Italy can score with the best of the best, averaging 86.0 points per game - which ranks them third in the competition. But they have not been able to stop teams from scoring, giving up 81.0 points per game - ranking them 21st. Lithuania only give up 69.5 points per game.

Pre-Game Thoughts
"I feel enormous respect for Lithuania as a nation first of all, I have worked with several Lithuanians in my career and I know fist-hand that they are a people who lives for basketball" - Italy head coach Simone Pianigiani.

"They are a great team with a lot of great players. They are unbelievable three-point shooters and good at one-on-one. I don't think any average team can beat Spain, that means they are a great team" - Lithuania head coach Jonas Kazlauskas.

Game Notes: Italy is dealing with injuries with captain Luigi Datome out for the remainder of the tournament while Andrea Bargnani is a game-time decision.

Go to eurobasket2015.org for complete coverage of EuroBasket 2015.

FIBA