France looks to advance to the women’s basketball gold-medal game for the second time when it faces Belgium on Friday at Accor Arena in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The French, who were defeated for gold by the United States in the 2012 London Games, missed out on the opportunity to again play for the top prize in each of the last two Olympics as they lost in the semifinals to the U.S. in Rio and Japan in Tokyo. France defeated Germany 84-71 in the quarterfinals of the Paris Games, while Belgium posted a 79-66 victory against Spain to advance.
Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. The French are 5-point favorites in the latest France vs. Belgium odds, while the over/under for total points is 143.5. Before making any Belgium vs. France picks or 2024 Paris Olympics women’s basketball predictions, you need to see what SportsLine’s Calvin Wetzel has to say.
Wetzel, HerHoopStats.com’s lead betting writer, incorporates his mathematical background and strong knowledge of women’s hoops to turn the site’s prediction model into picks. After teaming up with Aaron Barzilai, a Ph.D. from Stanford, Wetzel is an incredible 1,385-988 (+372.33 units) on women’s college basketball picks since the start of the 2021-22 season. He’s also coming off a great 2023 season with a 238-185-1 overall record that featured a return on investment of nearly 7%. Anyone following him has seen huge returns.
Now, Wetzel has broken down France vs. Belgium from every angle and just revealed his picks and predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the lines and trends for Belgium vs. France:
- France vs. Belgium spread: France -5
- France vs. Belgium over/under: 143.5 points
- France vs. Belgium money line: France -230, Belgium +175
- FRA: The French defeated Serbia for the bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Games
- BEL: The Belgians have beaten their last two opponents by an average of 20 points
- France vs. Belgium picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why France can cover
After beginning the Paris Olympics with 75-54 victories against Canada and Nigeria, the French dropped a 79-72 decision to Australia in their group-stage finale. They made an impressive recovery against Germany in the quarterfinals, however, ending the first quarter with a 7-2 run and never looking back. Guard Marine Johannes led France with 24 points, Gabby Williams recorded 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, and fellow forward Alexie Chery scored 10 points.
The 29-year-old Johannes, who made five 3-pointers while the entire German squad had four, is averaging 13.8 points in the Paris Games while Williams is producing 14 points, 5.8 assists and 3.5 steals per contest. The 27-year-old Williams has scored 15 points in back-to-back games and is the only member of the team that has reached double figures in each of France’s matches. Along with Johannes, Williams and Chery, center Marieme Badaine has registered a double-digit performance for the French as she led the club with 13 points in the group-stage opener against Canada. Badaine also has pulled down six rebounds in three of her four outings. See the picks at SportsLine.
Why Belgium can cover
The Paris Olympics did not start well for the Belgians, who began group play with double-digit losses to Germany and the United States. They rebounded in an impressive way, rolling past Japan by 27 points before their 13-point triumph over Spain in the quarterfinals. Belgium had four players reach double figures in points in the wins, with forward Emma Meesseman finishing as the leading scorer in both.
The 31-year-old Meesseman, who played eight seasons in the WNBA from 2013-22, recorded 30 points and 11 rebounds against Japan and fell one board shy of another double-double as she scored 19 points versus Spain. Meesseman is averaging 24.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the Summer Games, while guard Julie Vanloo (11.8 points, six assists) and forward Antonia Delaere (11, 5.3) also have been consistent contributors. See the picks at SportsLine.
How to make France vs. Belgium picks
Wetzel has analyzed Belgium vs. France from every angle, and he’s leaning Over on the point total. He has also found a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He’s sharing what it is, and which side to back, only at SportsLine.
So who wins France vs. Belgium in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Belgium vs. France spread to jump on, all from the expert with a history of crushing his women’s basketball picks, and find out.
