Italy vs Turkey: Analysis and Prediction – As part of preparations for the FIBA World Cup Italy will play against Turkey in the „BLM Group Arena “ in Trento.
Italy vs Turkey Odds
Italy vs Turkey (1/2): 1.18/4.4
Asian Handicap (-10.5 / +10.5): 1.83 / 1.83
Total Over/Under (157.5): 1.83 / 1.83
Odds via Bet365 Sportsbook
Italy Team News
Despite missing some key players during the qualifiers, the Italians went smoothly through that journey and very easily qualified for the World Cup. Nico Mannion, who led the team during the qualifiers, will, unfortunately, miss this competition after an agreement with coach Gianmarco Pozzecco.
There are a lot of new faces on the preliminary roster, but the team’s most important players are still there. Simone Fontecchio comes after a bad season in Utah Jazz, and he will be very motivated. There is also Nicolo Melii, Luigi Datome, Achille Polonara, and Alessandro Pajola, very experienced players who know what Pozzecco is asking of them. The World Cup draw is favorable, so they could easily reach the quarterfinals.
The main question revolves around how coach Pozzecco will distribute playing time in this match. Considering his prominent role, we are sure that Gabriele Procida in this campaign will get a lot of playing time. We must say that we ary sorry that this is not an official match, because we would have enjoyed the show that Pozzecco and Ataman would put on.
Turkey Team News
Turkey faced another disappointment. After 22nd place at the previous World Championship, they didn’t qualify for this one. Greece, Serbia, Latvia, and even Belgium were too strong for the team led by coach Ataman.
While strongest national teams prepare for the World Cup, Turkey will play a pre-qualification tournament for the Olympic Games. Playing in their home country sounds well for Turkey, significantly increasing their chances of advancing to the next round. Scottie Wilbekin, Shane Larkin, and Cedi Osman will not play. However, the powerful frontcourt, Alperen Sengun, Omer Yurtseven, and Sertac Sanli are more than capable to lead the team to beat opponents.
When we look at the roster of their opponent, it is clear that the Turks will have an advantage in the paint. At least when it comes to offense because Sengun has shown that he can make a difference. It is just a question of how much he will play in this match.
Italy vs Turkey H2H
As expected, these selections played a large number of matches against each other. Both friendly and official, with variable success, the last match was played in 2019 and Turkey won that game. No one from the current Italian team was in the roster on that match.
Absences and Injuries
Coaches face no major injuries, and all players should be available to Pozzecco and Ataman. It is up to them to determine the minutes. We believe that most players will get around 20 minutes.
Italy vs Turkey Prediction
Italy under Pozzecco plays at a high tempo, with a lot of transition possessions, and they rarely score below 82-83 points. In addition, Turkey is not known as a team that plays good defense. However, although option of large number of points is tempting, we decide to not go with that bet. We chose option that Turkey do not lose more than 10 points.
Tip-off Time: Friday, 04.08.2023, 20:30 CET
Prediction: Turkey +10.5
Odds: 1.83
Sportsbook: Bet365