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Team USA narrowly avoided a historic upset in a friendly against South Sudan a couple of weeks ago, winning 101-100 thanks to some heroics from LeBron James, who had 25 points. The US trailed by 16 points in the matchup before King James came to the rescue.
Well, those 2 squads meet up in France on Tuesday, and this time, the game counts. Will that lead to a reinvigorated USA squad? Or will South Sudan finish off a program-defining victory this time around?
Wednesday afternoon’s game is set to tip off at 3 p.m. ET and can be seen on the NBC family of networks.
Many of the top DFS apps have picks available for this big game, so let’s take a look at Underdog’s offerings for Wednesday’s showdown.
Sign up for Underdog ahead of Wednesday’s game to earn a first-time deposit match of up to $250 + a special pick. Use Underdog promo code SOUTH when you register for an account to secure this great offer:
My Picks for USA-South Sudan
Stephen Curry, USA: Higher than 12.5 points
Curry only had 11 points in Team USA’s opening victory against Serbia. But the Serbians are a more physical bunch than the South Sudanese. In what should be a faster-paced game, Curry could thrive. He should find plenty of space to launch his trademark 3-pointers. I like him to make a couple of tone-setting 3’s early and provide plenty of offensive firepower in this game. Even if LeBron handles most of the point guard duties, Curry will get plenty of shots up in this one.
LeBron James, USA: Higher than 16.5 points
Team USA is LeBron’s team this year. He’s the alpha on this team of alphas. He’s the reason the United States didn’t fall to South Sudan earlier this month, scoring 25 points to help his team avoid a historic upset. LeBron is going to get a lot of minutes and will have the ball in his hands often. That should lead to plenty of scoring opportunities. He’s a veteran player, so he — along with Curry — are the guys who need to make sure what happened in London earlier this month doesn’t happen again.
Carlik Jones, South Sudan: Higher than 14.5 points
Jones had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the exhibition game against Team USA. I expect the US to limit his impact on the glass this time around, and potentially lock down other South Sudanese players in order to limit his assist totals. But I think Jones is going to have the ball in his hands a lot. He’s going to need to score early and often to keep his team in the game. And this is real pool play, so every point counts. Jones should play plenty of minutes and have every opportunity to score 15+ points.
How Many Picks Should You Make?
I prefer to make 3-pick contests on Underdog, which usually pays out around 6x of your entry fee if all of your picks are correct. For the picks I detailed above, Carlik Jones’s pick only has a 0.75x multiplier, so this payout is a little lower than 6x.
As you can see below, a $5 entry fee for the 3 picks I made would potentially pay out $22.50 in winnings:
No matter how many picks you choose to make, just make sure you get them in before tipoff on Wednesday afternoon. Then sit back and enjoy what should be an up-and-down, exciting battle between Team USA and an upstart South Sudanese squad.
Remember to use Underdog promo code SOUTH when you sign up today to score a first-time deposit match worth up to $250 + a special pick. And make sure to check out all of our favorite DFS picks each day:
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
