Lithuania vs. Slovenia prediction and game preview - September 7, 2023 | FIBA World Cup 2023

Lithuania and Slovenia will compete against one another on September 7 in the Classification Round of the FIBA World Cup 2023. While both teams are out of contention for the tournament, both teams are hoping to build momentum towards a 2024 Olympics run.

Currently, Team USA and Germany will play in the FIBA World Cup semifinals, while Canada and Serbia match up on the opposite end of the bracket. As such, Germany, Serbia, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Sudan, and France have all secured spots in the Olympics.

For teams like Slovenia and Lithuania, the classification round will see them look to build momentum prior to competing for the final four Olympic spots next summer.

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Lithuania vs. Slovenia | FIBA World Cup 2023 Game Preview

The game will take place at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila and will mark the first showdown between the two sides since 2014. In that meeting, Lithuania captured a narrow 67-64 win, however, with Luka Doncic now confident in leading a team, things could be different this time around.

This summer, Doncic is averaging 26.3 points per game and 6.3 assists per game for Team Slovenia, however, the team has dropped their two most recent games. While it may be easy for some fans to write them off after hearing that, the team hasn't lost three straight FIBA World Cup games since 2010.

On the flip side, Lithuania has been on a tear, with Rokas Jokubaitis setting a record for most assists ever by a Lithuanian player in a game with 9. In addition, he also finds himself sitting with the third most assists of any Lithuanian player in a FIBA campaign with 37.

Given that he has reached the number in just six games, he could be looking to pass Renaldas Seibutis, who sits in second place with 39 assists. With that being said, the team is coming off an 87-68 trouncing against Serbia, meaning they could have some added pressure as well.

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Lithuania vs. Slovenia, FIBA World Cup 2023: Game Odds

With all of that in mind, it looks like fans have remained split in regard to who they think gets the job done.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Lithuania currently sits as a slight -198 favorite compared to Slovenia's +164 underdog status.

Lithuania vs. Slovenia, FIBA World Cup 2023: Prediction

Although Slovenia is coming off two straight losses, as previously mentioned, the team hasn't lost three straight in over a decade.

With a young superstar like Luka Doncic on the team with experience at the highest levels of the game, the Sportskeeda prediction is that Slovenia gets the job done.