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We’re officially one step closer to the gold medal game in the Tokyo Summer Olympics for women’s basketball. The last four countries standing in the semifinals are the United States, Serbia, Japan, and France. The semifinals are scheduled to begin on Friday at 12:40 am ET.
On Wednesday, the USA defeated Australia 79-55 in the quarterfinal round, while Serbia pulled the upset over China, winning 77-70. China finished Group C play with a perfect 3-0 record. Japan, which finished second in Group B with a 2-1 record behind the US, defeated Belgium 86-85. Finally, France pulled off the second upset in the quarterfinal round with its 67-64 win over Spain.
Here’s a look at the opening odds for the Olympic women’s basketball semifinals. Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Serbia vs. USA
Point spread: USA -17
Point total: 158
Moneyline: USA -2000, Serbia +1000
The only two teams standing in the way of Team USA winning the gold medal are Serbia and whoever wins the other semifinal game between France and Japan. Ever since their three-point exhibition loss to the Opals in Vegas, the US Women’s National Team has been on an absolute tear in the Olympics.
In their most recent win against Australia on Wednesday, Team USA won in dominating fashion 79-55. Breanna Stewart scored a game-high 23 points and was one of three players for the US that was in double figures. The United States has won all of their games thus far by an average of 15.3 points. Serbia will not go down quietly, however, after they pulled a massive upset over China in the quarterfinal.
France vs. Japan
Point spread: France -3.5
Point total: 149.5
Moneyline: France -155, Japan +135
This will be the second time that these two countries will face off against each other during the Summer Olympics. Back on July 27 in group play, Japan defeated France 74-70, thanks to their shooting from behind the arc. Japan shot an impressive 41% from three-point range, while holding France to 21% shooting from distance.
Saki Hayashi led Japan with 12 points and was among three players in double figures. As for France, Sandrine Gruda had a game-high 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting and a team-high 9 rebounds. If Friday’s game is anything like we saw last month, then this should be a good game between the two countries.