FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup Power Rankings, Volume 2

RIGA/DAUGAVPILS (Latvia) - The FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2021 has reached the Quarter-Finals and the top eight teams know they are close to a medal. Before we see who reaches the Semi-Finals, it's time for a Power Rankings update after the first four games to see where the teams stack up!

#1 United States (previous rank - #1)

Tournament Record: 4-0
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 1st

The United States have not been tested yet with wins by 29, 48, 21 and 72 points - leaving the question what will this team look like when there is pressure late in the game and need a basket in the half-court. First off, opponents will need to stay close enough for that situation to even arise. And secondly, it's hard to imagine that even in the half-court, that the Americans will not be able to find an option to drive to the basket, or let Chet Holmgren do his thing or feed Kenneth Lofton into the post. Are USA beatable? Sure, every team is beatable on a single day. But that opponent will have to stave off 40 minutes of pressure defense - Australia only committed 10 turnovers - and also get and hit their shots - Australia made just 18.5% from long range. United States look good to take home their eighth U19 crown.

#2 Canada (#3)

Tournament Record: 4-0
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 2nd

Canada might just be the team that can knock off the United States. The two North American powers seem like they're on a collision course for the Semi-Finals - unless Spain or Senegal can stop that in the Quarter-Finals. Zach Edey has been an absolute force in the paint while the combo of Bennedict Mathurin, Elijah Fisher and Olivier-Maxence Prosper have been exhilarating on the wings. Ryan Nembhard has been rock solid at point guard - though a back-up playmaker really hasn't emerged, which could be a problem if Nembhard has to face the USA defense full-on. One concern has been Caleb Houstan hitting just 21.2% from long range despite having a beautiful stroke. But elite shooters eventually start hitting shots and Houstan heating up might come just in time for a Canada-USA showdown. Coach Paul Weir's men also showed that they can lock it down late for a comeback as they rallied to beat Lithuania to at least know what it's like to have pressure late. Otherwise, Canada's wins have been by 25, 29 and 30 points

#3 Spain (#6)

Tournament Record: 3-1
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 3rd

Spain jump three spots because of their perseverance and the fact that they have shown they can beat bigger teams. The fact that the Spanish knocked off France - even if it was a bit of a surprise for some - has to put them in front of France in the Power Rankings. Ruben Dominguez has been sensational for the Iberians and knows how to win games - as he has shown in the past. Juan Nunez is finding his spot in the team after being a late arrival to Spanish camp and the team just works as a unit. Millan Jimenez has emerged playing for Spain for the first time and played well along with Adria Domenech, Hector Aldrete and Guillem Ferrando. Jeffrey Godspower is the team's leading rebounder but Spain are crashing the boards as a team. If they can continue to do that and play their system, they could give Canada a strong fight in the Quarter-Finals.

#4 France (#5)

Tournament Record: 3-1
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 4th

Only the loss to Spain drops them to fifth behind the Spanish. But head coach Federic Crapez really has his team playing tough, tough defense. Victor Wembanyama has been excellent but not otherworldly - yet. Still he gives France a different dimension when he's on the court, especially defensively. The combination of Jayson Tchiacamboud and Matthew Strazel has worked for the most part - Tchicamboud showing he's probably France's MVP up to this point. Yvan Ouedraogo has been a force around the basket while Lucas Ugolin has been downright dominant on defense. Add to that Clement Frisch and Louis Lesmond filling in their roles perfectly and France are showing they are much more than just Victor and the Gang. The one question is if they can produce enough offense - which at times has dried up.

#5 Serbia (#2)

Tournament Record: 4-0
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 7th

Serbia are not making it easy on their fans. Sure, they are still undefeated and why would a team that has lost get dropped three spots? Well, it's because they haven't looked good for anywhere close to 40 minutes in any game - especially on the defensive end. And it's not like head coach Zoran Lukic's team struggled against the giants in the game - only putting away Iran in the fourth quarter; shutting down Puerto Rico for the third quarter; needing a valiant comeback and clutch shots to beat Latvia; and then failing to put away a young Japan team and only winning by three points. Every post-game comment from the Serbs is about not playing good enough defense. They are playing with fire as Argentina come into the Quarter-Finals brimming with confidence. All that being said, Serbia still have all the same talent as before. And even more clear is that they can be described as "In Jovic We Trust" as Nikola Jovic is emerging as a leader for the MVP race depending how far Serbia go. The question going into the big games is if they have enough size and strength across the board to bring home the crown.

#6 Argentina (#12)

Tournament Record: 2-2
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 9th

Argentina make the biggest jump from 12th in the pre-tournament rankings to sixth. Coming back from 17 points down to beat Spain to start the tournament, Argentina hammered Korea before losing by 37 points to France. The defeat to France was ugly, hitting just 25.6% for the game and only 12.5% from long range but Argentina grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and only lost the battle of the glass 60-53. And the South Americans bounced back in fine fashion to win a real battle against Turkey - showing the fight and will in the end and winning at the buzzer. Juan Francisco Fernandez has been the team's ultimate leader but what makes this team strong is anybody can step up - four different players have led the team in scoring in the four games. The heart in this team was not taken into account in the pre-tournament rankings and now we get to see if they can beat a third European nation.

#7 Lithuania (#7)

Tournament Record: 3-1
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 5th

It's still hard to know exactly what we have with Lithuania. Is it the team that twice wasted 14-point leads - losing to Canada but surviving against Senegal. Or the team that cruised - as they should - against featherweights Japan and Iran. Azuolas Tubelis is making a strong case for MVP but how strong his supporting cast is remains to be seen. Augustas Marciulionis has been up and down as point guard but Mantas Rubstavicius and Jokubas Rubinas have been lighting it up from long range. The lack of dynamic players - other than Tubelis - remains a problem and Lithuania next have to face France in the Quarter-Finals. Will the Lithuanian snipers be able to get their shots off over the bigger and more athletic French? If they can and those shots fall, Lithuania could end this tournament higher than this ranking.

#8 Senegal (#13)

Tournament Record: 2-2
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 38th

If you make the Quarter-Finals you deserve a spot in the top eight of the Power Rankings, and that is exactly the case for Senegal. The Africans opened the tournament by beating Japan for their first-ever U19 World Cup Group Phase win and then came back from 14 points down to Lithuania only to lose. A blowout loss to Canada followed but Senegal stepped up big time in the Round of 16. Their best player Ibou Dianko Badji left the team to take part in NBA workouts, but head coach Sir Denisio Adjivon's men rose to the challenge and defeated Latvia to reach the Quarter-Finals for the first time in the nation's history. Badji had been outstanding before leaving while Dahaba Magassa has played well at his side as well as Khalifa Diop. And Baye Abdou Ndongo stepped up in Badji's absence. Next up in the final eight is the United States - a whole other level of challenge. But Senegal are playing with house money now.

#9 Turkey (#9)

Tournament Record: 1-3
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 6th

Turkey are a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Argentina from facing a reeling though undefeated Serbia in the Quarter-Finals. The Turks have for the most part been able to overcome their point guard issues by winning two close games - against Australia by two points and Mali by four points. Captain Furkan Haltali has been excellent for the team and David Mutaf has been solid. Tibet Gorener and Adem Bona have both played below their levels and Turkey are hoping to finish strong for a ninth place result.

#10 Australia (#4)

Tournament Record: 1-3
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 11th

Australia have now failed to make the Quarter-Finals in two straight U19 World Cups and their last top-eight showing dates back to 2015. The Emus lost a tough battle with Turkey by two points in the Group Phase to eventually force them into third place in the group and an unfortunate match-up against Spain in the Round of 16. Dyson Daniels has been as advertised - with a strong 5.0 to 1.0 assist-to-turnover rate - though he has struggled from the outside. The rest of the team has not played to their expectations though. Three straight wins - and a ninth-placed finish - will help the morale on the long trip back home.

#11 Japan (#15)

Tournament Record: 0-4
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 27th

Japan probably have hard the hardest road thus far at the tournament as they played Senegal, Canada and Lithuania in the Group Phase and then had to take on Serbia in the Round of 16. They nearly beat the much bigger and more athletic Senegal and hung tight for 20 minutes against Canada before being blown out by Lithuania. But Kenichi Sako's men nearly shocked Serbia in the Round of 16, as the Europeans needed some big time play from Nikola Jovic to win. Ibu Yamazaki has been excellent for the Japanese and it looks like this age group could produce some senior national team players down the road - maybe not soon enough for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 though.

#12 Puerto Rico (#8)

Tournament Record: 1-3
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 12th

Puerto Rico have not lived up to the expectations from the pre-tournament Power Rankings. They needed a major comeback to beat Latvia in their opener but then fell apart in the third quarter against Serbia and were upset by Iran before getting blown out by Canada in the Round of 16. Rafael Pinzon and Aaron Clark have been a strong one-two punch but their lack of size has hurt them as well as shooting just 21.1% from long range.

#13 Mali (#10)

Tournament Record: 0-4
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 20th

Mali have averaged 25.3 turnovers and their starting star center Oumar Ballo leads the team in assists at 2.5 - which goes a long way in describing why the 2019 finalists have four losses in four games. Ballo can't pass the ball to himself and he has not been fed the ball to let him do his work. Add to that the team shooting just 20% from long range and it's no wonder they took a hit in the rankings.

#14 Latvia (#11)

Tournament Record: 1-3
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 16th

Latvia just have not been able to hit shots, connecting on just 33.5% from the field for the tournament. They did beat Iran and nearly upset Serbia but that wasn't enough to figure out how to beat Senegal. Latvia did not allow Senegal to hit a three-pointer in the Round of 16 and still lost by 13 points.

#15 Iran (#14)

Tournament Record: 1-3
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 29th

Iran came into the U19 World Cup with the unusual situation of a team having played together completely during the previous season in a domestic league. And that continuity paid off with a win over Puerto Rico and giving Serbia a fight for three quarters. Iran will hope to knock off Mali in the 9-16 Classification and have a chance to still match their best-ever showing of 11th place from 2013.

#16 Korea (#16)

Tournament Record: 0-4
FIBA World Ranking Youth Men presented by Nike: 19th

Korea will be challenged to win a game in Latvia even though they have one of the top players in the competition in Yeo Jun Seok. And the forward has shown his dominance, averaging 21.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks. Yeo has accounted for 37.4% of Korea's points and he averages an efficiency of 17.3 - which is four times higher than the next-best on the team: 4.3 efficiency for Kim Donghyun.

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