For those who can stand the sight of John Calipari losing to Mike Krzyzewski, Thursday night offers a midsummer diversion for basketball fans.

The United States' men's Olympic team tunes up for the Summer Games in London with a nationally televised exhibition against the Dominican Republic in Las Vegas.

The game pitting Duke's Krzyzewski against Kentucky's Calipari will be broadcast live on ESPN at 9 p.m.

When Duke meets Kentucky on Nov. 13 at the Champions Classic in the Georgia Dome, the rivalry between two of college basketball's winningest programs will rise to a frenzied peak.

Thursday night should be decidedly more low-key, with Calipari's Dominican Republic squad playing the role of practice dummy for the U.S. squad.

"It'll be fun," Calipari told ESPN's Andy Katz. "I'll see if they want us to play zone or play a certain way. I'll do whatever they want to help them out at this point."

The Dominican Republic fell one victory short of qualifying for the Olympics after a surprisingly strong showing in last week's qualifying tournament in Venezuela.

Calipari has not decided whether he will continue coaching the Dominican team in the future.

The United States is led by NBA stars LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant.

The Dominican Republic is led by former Florida star Al Horford and ex-Louisville standouts Francisco Garcia and Edgar Sosa.

The United States plays four additional exhibition games prior to opening Olympic play July 29.

Those games are Monday against Brazil in Washington, D.C.; July 19 vs. Great Britain in Manchester, England; and July 22 vs. Argentina and July 24 vs. Spain in Barcelona, Spain.