Stadium: Saitama Super Arena.
The USA women’s national basketball team has a sparing calendar at the start of the Olympic tournament. After their game against Nigeria, the USA will play Japan, the Olympics hosts, and a team with minimal resources. Will the USA get another convincing win?
The USA had no trouble in the first game
In the run-up to the first game of the women’s Dream Team, the bookmakers offered simply tremendous odds on the favourite to win. But the Americans didn’t push hard and came away with an easy 81-72 win. It was clear that the Nigerians did not stand much of a chance. Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson was the most productive player in the USA, scoring 19 points. Veteran leader Sue Bird had 13 assists and not a single point.
Japan had one of the biggest surprises of the first round
In the first game, the host country defeated the best team of the European continent, France, 74:70. As well as Belgium’s win over Australia was the biggest sensation in round 1 of the women’s group stage of the tournament.
It wasn’t easy to single out anyone from the Japanese squad. They played well as a good team. As many as 11 players scored a single point. But that’s something rare in a game as high-profile as the opening game of the Olympics. Bravo, Japan!
Expert Betting Tips
The American team will for sure improve as the tournament progresses. In the second game, Dawn Staley’s team will probably look far more potent than they did in the first game. As for the Japanese, after beating France, they can be overwhelmed by emotions and as a result, might not be ready for a match-up that is much better than the French one.
Betting options:
- USA to win with a handicap (-19.5) for 1.84;
- Individual Total 2 Over 90.5 for 1.89;
- 1 Quarter. USA to win with a handicap (-6.5) for 1.85.