29 Jun
    7 Jul 2024

    USA train keeps rolling, blows out New Zealand with more records

    3 min to read
    Game Report
    Plenty to celebrate for USA

    There was never a doubt for United States as the six-time reigning champions steamrolled New Zealand 145-65 to reach the Final. They improve to 50-0 all-time in U17 World Cup history. And of course the Americans broke more records.

    ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - United States' dominance at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 rolled on with a 145-65 victory over New Zealand to reach the Final - leaving the Americans just one step from seven straight global cadet titles.

    USA's all-time mark at the U17 World Cup improved to 50-0 as they completely overwhelmed the Oceania side, which was making its first appearance in the Semi-Finals.

    Sharman White's USA team has been setting records all tournament and the Semi-Final was no different.

    The 145 points scored were the most in a Semi-Finals game, topping the USA's 120-71 win over Canada in 2018. It was also just one point off the all-time mark of 146 points set earlier this tournament.

    The winning margin of 80 was also the largest in Semi-Finals history - going well past the 51-point win in 2018. And the Americans' 69 points in the first half obliterated the previous record for most points in the first half of a Semi-Final of 54 points set in the same 2018 victory.

    In addition, the Americans forced 37 New Zealand turnovers - the most in Semi-Finals, topping Canada's 32 in 2018. And USA swiped 27 steals, 11 more than they had in the same game.

    Turning point

    The game was still very early with USA up 8-5 when the Americans started to create more and more New Zealand turnovers and reeled off a 24-4 run to move ahead 32-9. The Oceania side was never challenge or even come close to winning a quarter.

    Game hero

    It is impossible to pick out one USA player as a game hero - four of the 12 Americans scored at least 18 points - but if a single player had to be chosen it could be Brandon McCoy Jr with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals in just 15 minutes.

    Brandon McCoy did a bit of everything for USA

    Stats don't lie

    New Zealand just could not handle the USA defense, committing 37 turnovers. Despite coming in as the second-best two-point shooting team in the tournament, New Zealand shot just 43.5 percent on two-pointers and made only 21.4 percent from long range.

    They said:

    "Our guys came out locked in, they were ready. We're getting really really close to our goal and they were not going to be denied. They were lazer-focused and ready to go. We had a game plan and they executed it above and beyond what we even planned. So a great job by them." - USA head coach Sharman White

    Read the preview for the Semi-Finals matchup

    Semi-Final Preview: Can "David New Zealand" slay "Goliath USA"?

    FIBA

    Latest News

    Which U17 World Cup 2024 player will have the best pro career?

    Germany's Kayser and France's Soliman look forward to being back in 2026

    Six players who blossomed at the 2024 U17 World Cup

    Social Media
    Global Partners
    Event Sponsors
    Global Supplier
    © Copyright FIBA All rights reserved. No portion of FIBA.basketball may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form. By accessing FIBA.basketball pages, you agree to abide by FIBA.basketball terms and conditions