Australia vs. Belgium Olympic Women’s Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 7/27/21

Australia and Belgium face off in an Olympic women’s basketball showdown on Tuesday. This is the first game for both of these teams who are competing in group C. 

Australia is still the favorite to come out of this group, but not having Liz Cambage is a big blow to this team. Cambage cited mental health concerns for her reasons for not wanting to compete in the Olympics. The Opals are a team that is going to want to push the pace of play, and the faster they are playing, the more comfortable they will feel. Australia is also a team that is going to shoot a lot of three-pointers, a place they feel very comfortable.Australia beat the United States in a leadup to the Olympics, and they have a lot of confidence heading into this one. Jenna O’Hea is the captain of this team, and she is going to need to have a big tournament if this team wants to compete for gold. 

On the other side of this matchup is Belgium who is new to the Olympics, but this is also a team that has a lot of experience. Emma Meesseman was a second-round pick of the Washington Mystics in 2013 and she was a big reason that Belgium was able to take home the Bronze at the EuroCup. Julie Allemand is one of the best players on the Indiana Fever, and will also be leaned on heavily in this game. 

Australia is the better team, but Belgium is also a talented squad, and they are going to keep this game close. Belgium is going to have a good defensive game, and that will lead to the underdog keeping this game close and covering the spread.