July 4, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - Sophomore Austin Wiley had nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds as USA Basketball ended Group D pool play with a 98-65 victory over Italy for a perfect 3-0 record in the FIBA U19 World Cup in Cairo, Egypt at the Cairo Stadium Indoor Hall on Tuesday.
Wiley is the only USA player to average a double-double in the three games with 10.0 points and 12.7 rebounds in 19.1 minutes per game. He is shooting 41 percent from the field and 60 percent from the foul line. His 12.7 rebounds ranks tied for second in the tournament.
Wiley, the team's captain, had a +26 plus-minus margin, tying for second-best for the Americans against Italy while playing 21:37. He was 3-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-6 from the foul line. Eleven of his rebounds were on the defensive glass.
Wiley is one of six players in the tournament to average a double-double with the lowest minutes per game.
In the win over Italy, the USA shot 39 percent from the floor, 38 percent from 3-point range and 64 percent from the foul line.
The United States will play Mali in the round of 16 on Wednesday at 8:30 am CT. Mali is 0-3 with losses to Canada 91-42, Japan 76-73 and Spain 62-43,
The Italians (2-1) played the Americans tough early, leading USA midway through the first quarter. The United States led 27-21 at the end of the first and 53-39 at the half behind Wiliey's seven points and seven rebounds in 11 minutes.
The United States pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Italy 20-6 to lead 73-45.
Wiley had 16 points and 16 rebounds in Sunday's win over Angola and had five points and eight rebounds vs. Iran in the opener.
All games are streamed live at FIBA.com.
To watch the USA-Italy game again, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx1o_pBazFY.
To watch the USA-Angola game again, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-mtNxq_N1Q.
To watch the USA-Iran game again, go to http://www.fiba.com/world/u19/2017/0107/Iran-USA.
Following the preliminary round, all 16 teams will be seeded according to group play results and will advance to the round of 16 on Wednesday. Winners will advance to Friday's medal quarterfinals, while the remaining teams will continue playing out for classification.
The medal semifinals will be held July 8, and the gold and bronze medal games on July 9.
Wiley is vying for his second-straight gold in as many summers as he averaged 8.0 points and a team second-best 6.4 rebounds for Team USA's gold medal winner at the FIBA Men's U17 World Championship in Zaragoza, Spain in 2016.
The United States is looking for its third-straight gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup after winning over Serbia in 2013 in Prague, Czech Republic and defeating Croatia in 2015 in Heraklion, Greece.
For additional information, go to usab.com and http://www.fiba.com/world/u19/2017