Belgium vs USA Prediction & Picks - Olympic Matches Women

Prediction published on 8/1/24, 11:44 AM  by Tyler Doty in Basketball Picks

Belgium take on the USA at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on the second day of the group stage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Group C. Germany and Japan complete the group. To everyone's surprise, the Belgians fell to the Germans 83-69 in their opening game of the Olympic tournament. This shock defeat puts them in a very tricky position if they are to progress from this group and reach the quarter-finals, as they did in Tokyo in 2021. As a reminder, Belgium are the reigning European champions after winning the Euro Basket in 2023. Emma Messeman's teammates have come to Paris with their sights set on an Olympic medal. A dream that may already be out of reach after their opening defeat to Germany.

In the opening game of the Olympic Games, the Americans sent out a message right from the start, beating the Japanese (102-76), who had already won the Silver medal on home soil in Tokyo in 2021. Unsurprisingly, A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart put on a show with 24 and 20 points respectively. As a reminder, the USA have won the last 7 gold medals. The last time a nation other than the USA was crowned was at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. So Cheryl Reeve's players are aiming for a hat-trick of gold medals! To achieve this, Team USA boasts some of the biggest names in the WNBA.