The Opals return to the court at 5am (AEST) on Monday morning to play their third and final group game at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Their opponents for this crucial game are none other than hosts, France. As always, we bring you our game preview and best bet for the Group B clash below!
2024 Paris Olympic Games – Women’s Basketball
Australia vs France (Monday 5am AEST)
Match Scenario: This game will be the final group game of the entire competition, which is great for the Opals because they’ll know the exact scenario and result needed to ensure they advance to the knockout phase, by either finishing in the top two in Group B or as one of the top two third-placed teams among the three groups. For France, they’ve already qualified for the knockout phase, so it’s just a matter of where they finish and who they play next.
After a shock loss to Nigeria in their opening game in Paris, the #3 ranked Opals found themselves in a must-win situation in their second game of the tournament against Canada. And in what was a low-scoring, back-and-forth style matchup, the Opals managed to prevail in the end by five points (70-65).
Sami Whitcomb was the star of the show against the Canadians with a stat-stuffing 19 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. She was hitting them from everywhere and was a big reason why the Opals finished the game shooting 40% from deep, after struggling mightily against Nigeria a few days prior.
Elsewhere, France have enjoyed a dominant start to their home tournament. They’ve won by identical margins in identical score lines in their two games to date, firstly dominating Canada (75-54) before making relatively light work of the dangerous Nigeria (75-54).
The #7 ranked French are playing a lot better than that ranking would indicate and are currently priced as the second favourites to win the gold medal. They’ve had an incredibly even spread from their squad so far and have also been embracing the fantastic support of the home crowd.
Game Prediction: This is a major challenge for the Opals and one where I just can’t see them overcoming on the form we’ve seen from them through two games. The roster is in a bit of a transition phase and don’t quite have the high-level talent to rely on in these big games as we’ve had in the past. France are absolutely flying right now and can also play relatively stress free considering they’ve already secured their spot in the quarterfinals. I expect them to be too good here.
France -5.5
$1.93 (1 Unit)
