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Schedule | Fan Guide | History | U.S. Roster   
Tuesday, September 19
Basketball Fan Guide

IN THE CROSSHAIRS
ESPN.com puts Olympic basketball In the Crosshairs with our interactive fan guide feature. Check out each sport's fan guide for more In the Crosshairs looks at the Olympic sports.

Basketball in the Crosshairs

Olympic competition dates: Sept. 16-Oct. 1
Venues: The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park; Sydney SuperDome, Sydney Olympic Park

The outlook
The United States easily won the men's competition the last two Olympics with NBA players and should do the same in Sydney. The Americans have captured the gold medal in every Olympics they have competed except for 1972 and 1988 when the Soviet Union won. Croatia, Lithuania and Yugoslavia all feature NBA players, too.

For the first time, the U.S. women's team will truly be a team. Eleven of its 12 members played on the national team selected in May 1995, and the group spent the last eight months touring the world, compiling a 51-0 record. Russia, Brazil and China figure to be the best of the rest.

The finer points
Tournament format: Twelve men's and 12 women's teams divided into two pools for round-robin play. Top teams go to quarterfinal, semifinal and medal-round games.

Rules: International and NBA rules vary in the following ways: (1) a 30-second clock (rather than 24); (2) the eighth team foul in each half, and all succeeding ones, result in two free throws, and the individual foul limit is five; (3) the lanes flare out more deeply, creating more opportunities for three-second violations and less congestion; (4) the three-point distance is a little more than 20½ feet (compared with 22 in the NBA).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


 



   
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