Slovenia vs. Australia Men's Basketball 2020 Tokyo Olympics: Odds and expert picks vs. spread, total for bronze medal matchup

Hours after the gold medal is handed out in men's basketball, there is more Olympic action on the hardwood on Saturday morning. The bronze medal is at stake when Slovenia takes on Australia. Both teams are led by NBA talent. Luka Doncic keys the action for Slovenia, with Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Matisse Thybulle starring for Australia.

Tip-off is set for Saturday at 7 a.m. ET. Caesars Sportsbook has Slovenia listed as a 2.5-point favorite. Slovenia is also listed at -140 on the money line (risk $140 to win $100), while the Over-Under is set at 181.5. 

Before making any 2020 Olympics bets, be sure to see what SportsLine's Olympics expert, Mike Tierney, has to say.

A national sportswriter whose work appears in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Tierney has covered nine Olympic Games in person. For Rio in 2016, Tierney profited big-time. He told readers to bet Over on Team USA's gold medal count (41.5) and Over on Team USA's overall medal count (102.5). The result? 46 golds, 121 medals and two easy cashes.

And for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Tierney hit two of his three predictions: Germany (+200) to win the most gold medals and the United States winning Under 10.5 gold medals (+110).

Now, with the Tokyo Summer Olympics underway, Tierney has analyzed every angle of Saturday's Slovenia-Australia men's basketball matchup to help bettors find the best betting options. He knows that both teams are capable of sky-high performance, as they've flashed the ability for dominance in Tokyo. Tierney is leaning on the under for the point total.

He's also identified an x-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. You ABSOLUTELY need to see what he has to say before locking in your picks. 

Who wins Saturday's Slovenia vs. Australia matchup? And what X-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK? Join SportsLine right now to find out which team in the Slovenia vs. Australia game you should back against the spread, all from the expert who has crushed his Olympic picks!

Tierney's pick: 

Australia +1.5

In Slovenia's one-point semifinals loss to France, Luka Doncic registered the first Olympic triple double since LeBron James nine years ago. Yet this was not classic Doncic, who shot 5 for 18 from the floor. Whether a sore wrist from Doncic's collision with a plexiglass barrier factored into the poor percentage is uncertain, but he could be ailing in this matchup for bronze. No doubt the increasing double teaming is wearing him down. Doncic has carried his overachieving squad to this point, and the load might be getting too heavy. The Aussies must dust themselves off after a 97-78 beatdown by Team USA. This is a seasoned roster that should be fed up with getting nosed out of bronze medals. Australia settled for fourth in the previous Olympics and FIBA World Championships. Motivation should be on its side against a foe that is delighted to have gone this far.