Australia vs. Puerto Rico Olympic Women’s Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 8/2/21

Australia and Puerto Rico face off in a women’s Olympic basketball showdown on Monday morning. Each of these teams has lost their first two games, and their Olympics will be over after this game. 

Just getting to the Olympics was a big deal for Puerto Rico, but this is a team that has been completely overmatched in his tournament. Puerto Rico opened up their tournament with an 87-52 defeat at the hands of Belgium. In the last game against China, it didn’t get any easier, losing 97-55. At the end of the first quarter in the last game, Puerto Rico was down 32-17, and they never really turned it around as they were blown out. One of the big issues for this Puerto Rico team is they don’t get a whole lot of bench support. Against China, the bench only combined for six points. The defense of course will need to be better, but the offense is also going to need to be a lot better. If the offense isn’t any better, this is going to be a long game for them. 

On the other side of this matchup is Australia who also has started off these Olympics, losing their first two games. Australia was very competitive in the first game against China, but they couldn’t get the job done late and that led to a 78-74 defeat. In the second game against Belgium, it wasn’t as close, as they gave up 85 points, and lost by 15. Ezi Magbegor has been the best player for Australia and in the last game, she finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. In this game for Australia, it’s all going to be about pushing the pace. Australia is the better offensive team, and they need to try and push the pace to really put the pressure on Puerto Rico. 

Australis is the much better team and don’t be fooled by their 0-2 record, this game is going to get ugly early. Look for Australia to run up the score and they will come away with a cover of the spread.