Kevin Durant and the U.S. men’s basketball team try to snap their losing streak against Australia at the best possible time as they eye a spot in the gold-medal game. Elsewhere, there’s a lot of hope for U.S. gold in track and field tonight, April Ross and Alix Klineman continue their quest for beach volleyball gold, and the U.S. baseball team tries to set up a gold-medal rematch with Japan. Here’s a look at the top U.S.-centric events of Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
Men’s basketball
What: United States vs. Australia
When: Thursday, 12:15 a.m.
TV: Peacock and streaming
You might think you could find the semifinals of the men’s basketball tournament on regular TV, but no, you cannot. It’s still Peacock or NBCOlympics.com to catch this one live. France and Slovenia meet in the other semifinal at 7 a.m. live, in living color, on NBCSN. Joe Vardon teed up the strong final four here.
Track and field
What: Men’s triple jump, men’s shot put, men’s 110-meter hurdles (evening session); men’s 20 km race walk; women’s pole vault, men’s 400-meter finals (morning session); plus heats and semis
When: Wednesday, 8 p.m. to midnight; Thursday, 3:30-5 a.m. (race walk); Thursday, 6-8:45 a.m.
TV: NBC, USA, NBCSN (race walk) and streaming
Plenty of Americans to watch in this batch of track and field events, and most medal events feature at least one good shot at gold for the U.S. Will Claye is a gold-medal contender in the triple jump, Ryan Crouser is the favorite in shot put and Grant Holloway is the world’s best at 110-meter hurdles. In the women’s pole vault, Katie Nageotte has the two top jumps of 2021. Michael Norman’s personal-best time in the 400-meter is better than anyone else in the field, though he’s two years removed from setting it. As usual, the highlights from the Eastern-time evening races will be featured in the NBC broadcast. The morning session will be live on USA. The race walk is live on NBCSN.
Baseball
What: United States vs. South Korea
When: Thursday, 6 a.m.
TV: NBCSN (delayed, Thursday, 1:30 p.m.) and streaming
The baseball team’s win over the Dominican Republic on Wednesday kept alive its hopes of winning the top prize. If Team USA beats South Korea, they’ll face Japan for gold at 6 a.m. ET on Saturday. A loss puts them in the bronze-medal game for a rematch with the Dominican Republic at 11 p.m. ET Friday night. Here’s Joe Vardon on the latest U.S. win.
Beach volleyball
What: April Ross and Alix Klineman vs. Switzerland
When: Wednesday, 8 p.m.
TV: NBC and streaming
April Ross and Alix Klineman are one win away from the gold-medal match as they face Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Heidrich of Switzerland in the semifinals.
Women’s soccer
What: United States vs. Australia
When: Thursday, 4 a.m.
TV: USA and streaming
It’s not where the women wanted to be, but as Megan Rapinoe said, there’s still a medal to play for. The U.S. goes for bronze against Australia. The teams played to a draw in their group-stage finale. Here’s Steph Yang on what’s gone wrong for the USWNT at the Olympics.
Golf
What: Women’s second round
When: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
TV: Golf Channel and streaming
Nelly Korda shot a 4-under 67 in her first round, tied for second just one shot behind Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom. Fellow American Danielle Kang is at 2-under, Jessica Korda is even par and Lexi Thompson is 1-over. Tee times for Wednesday night Eastern time: Jessica Korda (7:03 p.m.), Kang (7:41 p.m.), Nelly Korda (9:14 p.m.), Thompson (9:25 p.m.).
Skateboarding
What: Men’s park final
When: Wednesday, 11:30 p.m.
TV: CNBC and streaming
Heimana Reynolds, Zion Wright and Cory Juneau are the U.S. in the Olympic debut for men’s park skateboarding.
Women’s water polo
What: United States vs. ROC
When: Thursday, 2:30 a.m.
TV: CNBC and streaming
The United States is two wins from a third straight women’s water polo Olympic gold. Spain and Hungary — which defeated the U.S. in the group stage — meet in the other semifinal at 6:50 a.m.
(Photo: Ned Dishman / NBAE via Getty Images)