Coming off their best-ever Olympic performance, the Japanese women's basketball team will look to build on their silver medal of 2020 when they battle the United States in a rematch of the gold medal game when they meet in a Group C matchup on Monday at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The United States has been a juggernaut since winning the first of nine gold medals in 1984. Since that time, the only non-gold medal came in the 1992 Olympics when they took third. In six Olympic appearances, Japan has earned one silver medal. Their next highest finish was fifth in 1976.
Tipoff from Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France, is set for 3 p.m. ET. The United States cruised to a 90-75 win in the gold medal game in Tokyo in the last meeting with Japan. Team USA is favored by 21.5 points in the latest United States vs. Japan odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 161.5. Before making any Japan vs. Team USA picks or 2024 Paris Olympics women's basketball predictions, you need to see what SportsLine's Calvin Wetzel has to say.
Wetzel, HerHoopStats.com 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 USA vs. Japan and the Paris Olympics 2024 odds and revealed his best bets. You can find his picks only at SportsLine. Here are the lines and trends for Japan vs. USA:
- United States vs. Japan spread: United States -21.5
- United States vs. Japan over/under: 161.5 points
- United States vs. Japan money line: United States -4000, Japan +1200
- USA: The Americans are 21-2 all-time against the Japanese in all events since 1975
- JPN: The Japanese last defeated the United States 84-71 at the 1976 Olympics
- United States vs. Japan picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Team USA can cover
WNBA star and gold medalist Breanna Stewart, a power forward, was the Olympic Basketball Tournament MVP in the 2020 Olympics and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She also was a member of the U.S. World Cup championship teams the past three tournaments. She played six years for the Seattle Storm of the WNBA, and is in her second season with the New York Liberty. In her eight-year professional career, she has averaged 20.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 blocks in 32.9 minutes.
Center A'ja Wilson is also a WNBA star and gold medalist, having won two WNBA titles, two WNBA MVPs and one WNBA Finals MVP. She is at the top of her game and is a six-time WNBA All-Star. She is in her seventh season with the Las Vegas Aces. This season, she is having the best season of her career, averaging 27.2 points, 12 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.9 blocks and 1.9 steals in 24 games, all starts.See the picks at SportsLine.
Why Japan can cover
Point guard Rui Machida is a three-time Olympian for the Japanese. The 31-year-old plays for the Fujitsu Red Wave of the Women's Japan Basketball League, after spending the 2022 season with the Washington Mystics of the WNBA. In the 2020 Summer Olympics, she set an Olympic record with 18 assists in an 87-71 semifinals win over France. This season, she is the assists leader in the WJBL, averaging 8.7 assists per game.
Also helping power Japan is point guard Nako Motohashi. The 30-year-old plays professionally for the Haneda Vickies of the WJBL and was a member of the 2020 Olympic silver medal team. She is also among the top assist leaders in the WJBL, averaging 2.6 per game, 23rd-best. In 183 career games, including 121 starts, she has averaged 10 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists.See the picks at SportsLine.
How to make Japan vs. United States picks
Wetzel has analyzed Team USA vs. Japan from every angle, and he's leaning Under 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 Team USA vs. Japan in 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 spread to jump on, all from the expert with a history of crushing his women's basketball picks, and find out.
