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FIBA World Cup match preview: United States vs. Finland

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The FIBA World Cup is under way in Spain. Here’s the schedule and TV listings for today.

Saturday, August 30

3:30 p.m. ET.

United States vs. Finland

You can watch the game on ESPN. If you can’t get to a TV, you can also stream it on WatchESPN.

What to watch for today:

The Finland team is in the tournament as one of four FIBA wildcards, which basically means they’re in Spain as a charity case. Whether or not they are, this a huge deal for Finland, and probably their best chance to beat a wobbly, but still highly-favored United States team. The only name you’ll likely recognize on the Finnish roster is Eric Murphy, a jump-shooting big man who was drafted by the Chicago Bulls and waived last April. He was recently claimed off of waivers by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Kyrie Irving is going to start over Derrick Rose for the United States as Coach K continues to ease the former league MVP into things, and DeMarcus Cousins is going to play down low behind Anthony Davis.

Team USA should win by a wide margin, but it’ll still be interesting to watch this new-look squad in their first real competitive match.

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