The knockout round for women’s basketball at the Paris Olympics begins on Wednesday.
All eight teams that have advanced to the quarterfinals will compete on Wednesday. Here’s a look at the bracket.
The United States went 3-0 in group play and will now take on Nigeria, a team that went 2-1 in group play. The game is set for Wednesday at 3:30 pm ET.
The States are favored by a massive 26.5 points and will look to extend their Olympic winning streak to a head-turning 59 games.
I’m expecting Team USA’s top dogs, Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson, to lead the way in a single-elimination format.
Stewart’s points prop is set at a moderate 17.5 points, a number I like her to exceed opposite Nigeria. Stewie has scored a team-leading 61 points through three games. Here’s a breakdown of how she has fared in each game.
| Japan | 102-76 | 26 | 22 |
| Belgium | 87-74 | 35 | 26 |
| Germany | 87-68 | 17 | 13 |
In the two must-win games for the USA to advance to the quarterfinals, Stewart led all players in minutes and notched 22 and 26 points. She played a more muted role in their contest against Germany but still scored 13 points in just 17 minutes.
But that game against Germany didn’t hold any bearing on the USA’s chances at securing Gold. Now that we’ve reached the knockout round, I expect Stewart to take on the same role that allowed her to score 48 points through the first two games.
Team USA has a sizable 92.5-point implied team total in this one. Nigeria has surrendered an average of 23.0 free-throw attempts through three games, paving a path for Stewart to get some freebies at the charity stripe.
It should be all systems go for this efficient three-level scorer, so I’ll side with Stewart to eclipse 17.5 points on Wednesday.
Past the United States, Spain is the only team in the women’s basketball competition to go undefeated with a 3-0 record in group play.
They survived China in a 90-89 overtime game, beat Puerto Rico by a score of 63-62, and won this past Saturday’s game against Serbia by a score of 70-62.
Spain now comes in as a 5.5-point underdog against a Belgium team that went 1-2 in the group stage. The game tips off on Wednesday at 8:30 am ET, and I’ll side with an undervalued Spain team.
Belgium suffered a 14-point loss to Germany and a 13-point loss to the United States. Securing a 27-point win over Japan allowed them to advance to the knockout round as one of two third-place teams.
Now, Belgium had a tough draw in Group C. I won’t fault any team for losing to the women’s USA squad, and Germany is a solid team, too. With that said, I don’t think Belgium has earned the right to enter the knockout stage as a 5.5-point favorite.
Julie Vanloo of the Washington Mystics and the 6-foot-4 Emma Meesseman are the stars of Belgium. Megan Gustafson of the Las Vegas Aces is the standout for Spain. The 6-foot-3 Gustafson has been awesome in this tournament and should manage to put her physicality on display opposite Meesseman.
The Spaniards have yet to lose in the Olympics and have a proven ability to close out games after grabbing one-point victories over China and Puerto Rico. They currently have +158 odds to medal while Belgium owns +172 odds to medal. I’ll take the points here and also consider backing Spain’s moneyline at +198.
The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.
