Wow.
I think that's a pretty common reaction for basketball fans after yesterday's four knockout matchups.
As a lot of people expected, Germany defeated Greece pretty soundly, and the United States dominated Brazil.
However, the other two games were off the charts.
Australia was up by as many as 24 points before a giant rally led by Nikola Jokic resulted in a 95-90 victory for the Serbians.
On the other side of the bracket, in what was possibly the biggest upset of the entire tournament thus far, France defeated Canada 82-73.
So how did it happen?
How were the Germans able to come back after an early 10-point deficit?
How did the Serbians do the same, except after being down by 24?
What went wrong for the Canadians?
And what makes the Americans so special?
Germany vs Greece
Early on, Greece was getting anything they wanted offensively, scoring 16 of their first 18 points in the paint en route to a 10-point lead after the first quarter, and giving viewers the impression Germany would have no answer to stop them.
Yeah...that didn't last long.
Germany would proceed to outscore the Greeks by 23 over the last three quarters to win 76-63.
It was very obvious what Greece's plan was defensively: Keep Dennis Schroder at bay.
However, what they did not account for was Franz Wagner stepping up big, finishing the game with a team high 18 points on 8/17 shooting.
Also contributing was Schroder with 13 points and 8 assists, and Isaac Bonga who was +22 on the floor for Germany.
For Greece, Giannis finished with 22 points to lead the team, though it wasn't nearly enough to combat Germany's stellar all around game.
The Germans will now take on France in the semi-finals, a team that may be much more well rounded than Greece, but with how well Germany has played over the last year and a half, they are good enough to give any team a run for their money.
Serbia vs Australia
In what was perhaps the most thrilling matchup of the day, Serbia climbed back from down 24 to defeat Australia 95-90.
The Aussies opened the game hitting 19 of their first 24 shots to go up 44-20 in the second quarter before Serbia would cut the lead down to 12 at half.
As he is every four years, "Olympic Patty" Mills was in full affect, scoring 20 points in the first 20 minutes of play.
Watching the game live, it felt like Australia would be sending Jokic back to his horses early.
But as always, Jokic didn't let that happen.
Serbia would outscore Australia by 14 in the 3rd to enter the 4th up by two.
They kept a steady lead in the final period of play, before Patty Mills would strike again with a mid ranger jumper with less than three seconds left to send the game to overtime.
In the extra period, Jokic would take over once again, putting Serbia up by three with a couple of clutch late game baskets, and Serbia would advance for good after the five point victory.
Jokic would finish with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals to lead the Serbians.
On the other side, Patty Mills finished with 26 points, and Josh Giddey had 25.
Serbia will now face the United States in the semi-finals.
Canada vs France
I think I speak for most FIBA fans when I say no one saw the result of this one coming.
Obviously France is a very good team.
But Canada is...well.... Canada.
The Future of FIBA.
The team with the second highest odds to make it to the gold medal game.
The team that was most likely to dethrone the United States.
I mean sure, France is still a very good team.
But they almost lost to Japan in a game that felt far less flukey than the United States's near defeat at the hands of South Sudan.
With upsets like this, normally the game is very close the entire way through.
However, that was not this case at all in this one, with the French leading the entire game, going up by as many as 19.
Canada would cut the lead to five with less than three minutes left, but France would prevail, winning by nine.
Guerschon Yabusele led France with 22 points, while Isaia Cordinier added in 20. Superstar Victor Wembanyama would score 7 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals.
For the Canadians, Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points, and RJ Barrett scored 16.
France will now play Germany in the semi-final.
United States vs Brazil
In what was easily the least surprising result of the quarterfinals, the United States defeated Brazil 122-87, while shooting 58% from the field and 48% from three.
For the Americans, six guys scored in double figures, including Devin Booker with 18 and Anthony Edwards with 17. LeBron James had 12 points to go along with 9 assists.
On the other side, Bruno Caboclo scored 30 points to lead the Brazilians.
The United States will face Serbia in the semi-finals.
(Sorry, I don't know what else to put, the U.S opened up a can of whoop-ass like there isn't much else to know.)
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