Team USA Suffers Embarrassing Loss To Germany In FIBA World Cup Semifinals Despite Being Double-Digit Favorites

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Team USA entered its FIBA World Cup semifinal matchup with Germany on Friday as 10.5-point favorites. The American squad filled with well-known NBA talent and still suffered defeat by the count of 113-111.

By no means was this Team USA assembled for the FIBA World Cup the same caliber squad we'll see in the 2024 Olympics, the loss to Germany is still a tough scene for U.S. basketball.

READ: HOW DOES USA LOSE TO LITHUANIA IN BASKETBALL? STEVE KERR’S SQUAD WILL SHOW YOU HOW!

What Steve Kerr's team knew was a risk heading into the tournament reared its ugly head against the Germans. The Europeans had a significant size difference over the smaller American bunch. Germany was able to snag 12 offensive rebounds during its win which led to 25 second-chance points compared to a whopping eight from Team USA.

Team USA lost to Germany at the FIBA World Cup. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

FIBA World Cup Upset

Those second-chance opportunities were the obvious difference maker as the Americans outshot the Germans in every facet including from the field, from three-point land, and from the free-throw line. The U.S. even had one fewer turnover than the Germans side but were still unable to squeeze out a victory.

Minnesota's Anthony Edwards led the way for Team USA with 23 points followed by an impressive outing from Laker Austin Reaves, who scored 21 points in the contest. Germany had three different players score at least 20 points with Andreas Obst, who plays for Bayern Munich, leading the team in scoring with 24 points.

Ironically, the matchup most basketball fans were hoping to see will still take place, albeit in the bronze medal game on Sunday with Team USA taking on Canada. The Canadiens are led by Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and R.J. Barrett of the Knicks.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.