The 2023 FIBA World Cup is upon us as Day 3 of the group stages takes place on Sunday, August 27th. With that said, it is once again time for our 2023 FIBA World Cup odds series with an Australia-Germany prediction and pick.

Australia dominated its 2023 FIBA World Cup opener with a 98-72 victory over Finland. Patty Mills scored a team-high 25 points on 11-of-22 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and four steals. Josh Giddey almost notched a triple-double as the Oklahoma City Thunder guard tallied 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Australia played an efficient two-way ball game, as they shot 50.7 percent from the field and held Finland to just over 40 percent shooting while forcing 19 turnovers in the process. Their next game won't be as smooth-sailing, as Germany figures to give them a lot of problems with their loaded roster.

At the same time, Germany is going to have its hands full after they dominated Japan to the tune of an 81-63 victory on Friday in Okinawa. Moritz Wagner led the way for the Germans with 25 points himself, as he went 10-of-14 from the field and added nine rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. Dennis Schroder had a bad shooting night, going just 5-of-13 from the field, but he did score 14 points with five rebounds and five assists. Sunday's matchup versus Australia should be Germany's first real test in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Here are the 2023 FIBA World Cup odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

2023 FIBA World Cup Odds: Australia-Germany Odds

Australia: -3.5 (-115)

Germany: +3.5 (-111)

Over: 171.5 (-122)

Under: 171.5 (-104)

How to Watch Australia vs. Germany

TV: ESPN+

Stream: Watch ESPN

Time: 4:30 AM ET/ 1:30 AM PT

*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Australia Will Cover The Spread

The Aussies enter this game as slim 2.5-point favorites as the third-best team in the FIBA Men's Basketball World Rankings. Australia boasts 11 players from the NBA, which makes them arguably the best team in their group. Patty Mills showed just what he is all about after going to work early to open the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The Atlanta Hawks guard dropped 25 points — and he didn't even have his three-point stroke going. Mills went just 2-of-8 from beyond the arc and actually did most of his damage in the two-point region.

Josh Giddey also looked extremely sharp in his World Cup debut as he flirted with a triple-double. If Giddey is able to run circles around Germany's defense, the Australians should be able to come away with an easy win.

The Aussies shot poorly from beyond the arc, going just 8-of-26. If they are able to shoot better, the Germans will have their hands full on Sunday night.

Australia also has a ton of options to assign to Germany's star point guard Dennis Schroder. With terrific defenders such as Matisse Thybulle, Dyson Daniels, and Dante Exum, they should be able to give a variety of defensive looks for Schroder. Their size and aggressive defense on the 6-foot-3 guard should bother the 29-year-old throughout the evening.

Why Germany Will Cover The Spread

Germany, on the flip side, are only slight underdogs against Australia, despite the Aussies being eight spots higher than them in the rankings. The 11th-ranked Germans have been making some noise since the 2022 EuroBasket, where they finished third in the tournament. They also took it to the USA during their exhibition game a week ago.

While Dennis Schroder is the main man of this team, Friday's opener made it clear that Germany has a ton of offensive options that make them a dangerous team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Moritz Wagner led the squad in scoring with 25 points, as he went 8-of-9 from within the arc. Daniel Theis was also efficient with 13 points on just eight field goal attempts.

Schroder didn't have his best night from the field as he made just 38.5 percent of his shots from the field. Franz Wagner also had a subpar outing with just 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

More than anything, the Germans won their opener on the defensive end. They held the Japanese to just 35.4 percent field goal shooting, with much of the damage coming from beyond the arc, where they made just 6-of-35 from three. Nonetheless, Australia is no Japan. They have much more offensive firepower, especially from beyond the arc.

Final Australia-Germany Prediction & Pick

This is going to be a tight contest, but I think Australia pulls it off in this one. The Australians have a little bit more firepower and look like the more complete team. They have a sniper in Patty Mills and an all-around offensive talent in Josh Giddey running the show. Defensively, they have the manpower to bother Germany's top perimeter guys such as Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner.

Final Australia-Germany Prediction & Pick: Australia: -3.5 (-115)