Les Bleus undefeated, rewarded with...

...a quarterfinal matchup with Spain. Lucky them.

The quarterfinal round leaves us with four pretty damn good games, and a situation where it seems any of the eight remaining teams can legitimately win this thing. Turkey-Greece is a great rivalry, and one which ought to see two relatively evenly matched sides go at each other. Serbia and Russia are two sides meant to be weaker than in the past, but yet both find themselves with a very good chance of qualifying for the World Basketball Championship. Slovenia and Croatia are two underrated sides that, while inconsistent, can challenge any team in Europe when they play to their capabilities

But the previously mentioned game between France and Spain is the undoubted highlight of this round. Possibly the two strongest sides in the competition, this could just as easily be a final. But the loser of this game will find themselves very close to missing out on an automatic qualifying spot for next year's World Basketball Championship, and so this will be a hotly contested matchup. In terms of talent, Spain seem to have the edge, just as they do in every game of this competition. But France's staunch defense and the electric play of Tony Parker will provide the inconsistent Spaniards with a stern test, and if they don't play to their abilities the French could embarrass them. No matter what, it should be a fun game.

an abbreviated look at Group D

The Rosters...

Bulgaria:Dimitar Angelov (Lukoil Academic Sofia); Bozhidar Avramov (Pamesa Valencia); Tencho Banev (Lukoil Academic Sofia); Vassil Evtimov (Khimik OPZ Yuzny); Stefan Georgiev (BC Levski Sofia); Zlatin Georgiev (BC Levski Sofia); Aleksandar Georgiev; Deyan Ivanov (Premiata Montegranaro); Kaloyan Ivanov (Vive Menorca); Chavdar Kostov (Lukoil Academic Sofia); Ivan Lilov; Boyko Mladenov (BC Levski Sofia); Hristo Nikolov; Andre Owens (Crvena Zvezda Belgrade); Earl Rowland (Telekom Baskets Bonn); Stanislav Slaveykov (BC Levski Sofia); Todor Stoykov (Lukoil Academic Sofia); Asen Velikov; Filip Videnov (CB Granada)

Lithuania: Tomas Delininkaitis (CB Murcia); Simas Jasaitis (Galatsaray Café Crown); Robertas Javtokas (Khimki Moscow region); Arturas Jomantas (Lietuvos Rytas); Mantas Kalnietis (Zalgiris Kaunas); Linas Kleiza (Olympiacos); Darjus Lavrinovic (Real Madrid); Ksystof Lavrinovic (Montepaschi Siena); Mindaugas Lukauskis (ASVEL Basket); Jonas Maciulis (AJ Milano); Andrius Mazutis (BC Donetsk); Marijonas Petravicius (AJ Milano)

Poland: Michal Chylinski (Clinicas Rincon Axarquia), Marcin Gortat (Orlando Magic), Michal Ignerski (Cajasol Sevilla), Iwo Kitzinger (Trefl Sopot), Lukasz Koszarek (Juve Caserta), Maciej Lampe (Maccabi Tel Aviv), David Logan (Asseco Pokom Gdynia), Krzysztof Roszyk (PGE Turow Zgorzelec), Szymon Szewczyk (Lokomotiv Rostov), Krzysztof Szubarga (Anwil Wloclawek), Robert Witka (PGE Turow Zgorzelec), Adam Wójcik (PGE Turow Zgorzelec)

Turkey: Ender Arslan (Efes Pilsen SK); Omer Asik (Fenerbahçe Ülker); Engin Atsur (Besiktas Cola Turka); Semih Erden (Fenerbahçe Ülker); Sinan Guler (Efes Pilsen SK); Baris Hersek (Bandirma Banvit); Ersan Ilyasova (Milwaukee Bucks); Omer Onan (Fenerbahçe Ülker); Oguz Savas (Fenerbahçe Ülker); Kerem Tunceri (Efes Pilsen SK); Hidayet Turkoglu (Toronto Raptors); Bekir Yarangume (Turk Telekom BK)

Predicted order of finish:

Lithuania seem to be pretty clear favorites in this group, and are a team capable of making a run to the final four and possibly the final itself. Even though they're missing a few guys that have been staples in recent years, they still have a very solid roster, and a team that can win against anyone.

Turkey have a pretty decent team, with a few stars, but overall they just don't seem to be that strong. Mediocre performances at the recent preliminary matches didn't inspire confidence.

Poland Gortat and Lampe are the standouts for the hosts, in a roster that is alright if not exactly awe inspiring. The hosts have a chance of upsetting Turkey, but ultimately they should just be thankful for having Bulgaria in their group.

Bulgaria..probably aren't going to do well. They haven't in the recent past, and there's nothing to suggest that will change.