Well, it wasn't the kind of a game you want to write home about, but the US did defeat a stubborn Czech team 63-50. Previously, Michelle Voepel (amongst others) had expressed concerns about the number of turnovers the US has had in earlier games. They weren't as much an issue this game (12), but the offense was.

The US led 31-28 at the half, their lowest output and closest margin this tournament. Overall they shot an anemic 33% from the field and that, combined with very poor free throw shooting, may points to tired legs despite Donovan's generous distribution of minutes. Fortunately, the team's defense was a classic smother: they limited the Czechs to 27% shooting (only 22 points in the second half).

The round-robin phase done, Wednesday will find the US in the quarterfinals where they'll face Lithuania. Australia, the other undefeated team in the Championships, will face France (at the Boomers' site, you can check out Tully's blog). In the other games, Russia will battle Spain, and host Brazil (maybe Janeth-less) will contend with the Czech team.

Clay over at Full Court Press reminds us that their reporter Lee Michaelson is in Brazil covering the games. A reminder to college basketball fans: subscribing to any scout.com site at the premium level gets you access to FCP's subscription stories.